Precious Belt Bridge

The Precious Belt Bridge is a Chinese stone arch bridge located near the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu , China. The Precious Belt Bridge is located at the intersection of the and Dantai Lake, about 2.5 kilometer south east of Suzhou.

History

The first construction of the bridge dates back to the year 816 AD, during the mid Tang Dynasty. during the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor.

, while attached to the Macartney Embassy in 1793, visited the Precious Belt Bridge during the diplomatic mission to China. He accurately described the bridge's length and the central arches being of greater height than the rest.

Dimensions

The bridge's span is 317  long and has a width of 4.1 m , with a total of 53 arches in its span. The three central arches are enlarged to allow for the passage of - by historical standards - larger river vessels without . The average span of each arch is 4.6 m .