Study Report on an Ancient Wood Bridge, Honqqiao, China

Hongqiao was an arch shaped wood bridge, which collapsed hundreds of years ago and we can only see its beautiful form in a famous Chinese painting drawn in Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1127). It was built in a very special structural system of lap beams, which is different from trusses, arches and beams. In the present paper, the author reports on investigation results on the history of the Hongqiao Bridge as well as the arch shaped wood bridges in China, and analyzes its geometrical dimensions and structural principle. By structural analyses, the author demonstrates the distribution of internal forces, and represents its special structural characteristics.