Bridges presentation
chain-link suspension bridge of 200ft (61m) made up of twenty iron links, a common bridge type
built during the Ming Dynasty that was not adapted until the 19th century in America and Europe.
China's oldest surviving bridge, and the world's oldest open-spandrel segmental arch, is the
Zhaozhou Bridge (c AD 605), attributed to Li Chun and built south-west of Beijing in Hebei
Province during the Song Dynasty. Its thin, curved stone slabs were joined with iron dovetails so
that the arch could yield without collapsing. This technique allowed the bridge to adjust to the rise
and fall of abutments bearing on spongy, plastic soils and the live loads of traffic.
Following the decline of the Roman Empire with its many engineer- ing achievements, beam, arch,
suspension, and cantilever bridge building flourished in China while languishing in Europe for
nearly eight centuries. Chinese bridge builders experimented with forms and materials, perfecting
their techniques
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