The first beam bridge across the sea - Quanzhou Luoyang Bridge.

Luoyang Bridge, the oldest existing beam bridge across the sea in China, is located on the Luoyang River in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. It is the beginning of the raft foundation of the world bridge and is a national key cultural relic protection unit. Luoyang Bridge (also known as Wan'an Bridge) is located at the mouth of the Luoyang River, 5 kilometers away from Quanzhou City. It was built by Cai Xiang, the governor of Quanzhou, from the fifth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1053-1059). The Luoyang Bridge is made of huge and hard granite stones. The existing bridge is about 731 meters long, with 47 holes in the main bridge section and 45 stone piers, which are built on a natural island (Zhongzhou) in the middle of the bridge. There are 645 railings and 104 lion columns on both sides of the bridge, and the bridge deck is paved with more than 300 long stone slabs, the longest of which is about 11 meters long and weighs 15 tons. There are 7 stone pagodas of various shapes on both sides of the bridge, 4 stone generals guarding the bridge, a pavilion and a stele pavilion on Zhongzhou, a temple dedicated to Cai Xiang, the builder of Luoyang Bridge, on the south side of the bridge, and a Zhaohui Temple dedicated to Tongyuan King on the north side of the bridge, which became the command post for Cai Xiang to build the bridge. As a masterpiece of simply supported beam stone bridge across the sea, Luoyang Bridge is a major technical exploration of the development of Quanzhou's transportation system. The construction of Luoyang Bridge used "raft foundation", "floating beam erection", "oyster cultivation and foundation reinforcement" and other bridge construction techniques, which represented the most advanced bridge construction techniques in China at that time. It is known as one of the "Four Ancient Bridges of China" together with Lugou Bridge in Beijing, Zhaozhou Bridge in Hebei and Guangji Bridge in Guangdong. As the first important bridge across the river and sea in Chinese history, Luoyang Bridge is in line with the rise of Quanzhou City, and the history of Luoyang Bridge is a history of the development of maritime trade and economic prosperity in Quanzhou. "Standing like the East and West Towers, lying like Luoyang Bridge" has become the spiritual temperament of Quanzhou people, passed down from generation to generation, telling the wisdom and spirit of the ancestors of Quanzhou, and writing a brilliant historical chapter of Quanzhou's birth to the sea.