Anping Bridge ( simplified Chinese : 安平桥 ; traditional Chinese : 安平橋 ; pinyin : Ānpíng Qiáo ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : An-pêng Kiô ) is a Song dynasty stone beam bridge in Fujian province. It is 2,070 metres (1.29 mi) long. The bridge is also known as the Wuli Bridge ( simplified Chinese : 五里桥 ; traditional Chinese : 五里橋 ; pinyin : Wǔ Lǐ Qiáo ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Gō͘-lí-kiô , literally Five Li Bridge ) because its length is about 5 li , where a li is about 500 meters or 0.3 miles. It is a nationally protected historic site registered with the National Cultural Heritage Administration .
19-530: The bridge lies in the prefecture-level city of Quanzhou , crossing what originally was a tidal estuary of the Shijing River that separates the town of Anhai (in the county-level city of Jinjiang ) east of the river, from the town of Shuitou (in the county-level city of Nan'an ) west of the river. The bridge is named after Anhai, which was formerly known as Anping. Anping Bridge consists of 331 spans of granite beams resting on top of stone piers,
38-482: A less detailed map, Xianning would be indicated by a point, more or less corresponding to the coordinates of its city government. Other populous areas may also be exhibited as points, such as the county of Tongshan , with no indication that Tongshan is, in fact, enclosed by Xianning. On a more detailed map, Xianning would be drawn as an area, similar to a county of the United States, and Tongshan would be drawn as
57-435: A prefectural level city from its actual urban area (city in the strict sense), the term shìqū (市区; "urban area"), is used. The first prefectural level cities were created on 5 November 1983. Over the following two decades, prefectural level cities have come to replace the vast majority of Chinese prefectures; the process is still ongoing. Most provinces are composed entirely or nearly entirely of prefectural level cities. Of
76-475: A smaller area within Xianning. This convention may lead to difficulty in the identification of places mentioned in older sources. For example, Guo Moruo writes that he was born in the town of Shawan, within the prefecture of Leshan, and attended primary school in the town of Jiading. A modern map is unlikely to show either town: Shawan, because it is too small, and Jiading, because it is the seat of Leshan, and
95-578: Is a county-level city with powers approaching those of prefectural level cities. There are a total of three classifications of prefecture-level cities: In Europe and North America, cities are generally represented as points, while counties are represented as areas. Thus, Bloomington, Indiana , is indicated on the map by a point, which is distinct from, and enclosed by, the area of Monroe County, Indiana . In China, however, large cities such as Xianning may, in reality, contain both urban and rural elements. Moreover, they may enclose counties or other cities. On
114-593: Is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China's prefectural cities were designated as counties as the country's second level division below a province. From 1949 to 1983, the official term was a province-administrated city (Chinese: 省辖市). Prefectural level cities form
133-434: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal entry with subordinate districts, and a prefecture with subordinate county-level cities and counties which is an administrative division of a province. A prefectural level city is often not a "city" in the usual sense of the term (i.e., a large continuous urban settlement), but instead an administrative unit comprising, typically, a main central urban area (the core city, city as in
152-474: Is therefore indicated on the map by a point labelled "Leshan." A more detailed map would show Shawan as a district within Leshan, but Jiading would still be missing. Statistics of China such as population and industrial activity are generally reported along prefectural city lines. Thus, the relatively unknown city of Huangshi has 2.5 million residents, more than most European capitals, but upon closer inspection,
171-512: The Republic of China as their special municipalities . Criteria that a prefecture must meet to become a prefectural level city: Fifteen large prefectural level cities have been granted the status of sub-provincial city , which gives them much greater autonomy. Shijiazhuang , Suzhou , and Zhengzhou are the largest prefectural level cities with populations approaching or exceeding some sub-provincial cities. A sub-prefecture-level city
190-525: The 22 provinces and five autonomous regions of the PRC, only nine provinces ( Yunnan , Guizhou , Qinghai , Heilongjiang , Sichuan , Gansu , Jilin , Hubei , and Hunan ) and three autonomous regions ( Xinjiang , Tibet , and Inner Mongolia ) have at least one or more second level or prefectural level divisions that are not prefectural level cities. In the case of the disputed Taiwan , it has six prefectural level cities, but these are governed separately by
209-509: The city covers an area almost 100 kilometers across. Furthermore, Huangshi contains several other cities, such as Daye . If a person wished to calculate the population of the urban area of Huangshi, and had a map of Huangshi, and a table of its population by district, the task might not be easy. The urban area might be split between several districts, and some of those districts may include rural elements as well. Sansha#Administrative divisions Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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#1732772925845228-512: The core urban area, and towns also form small urban areas scattered in the rural. The larger prefectural level cities span over 100 kilometres (62 mi). Prefectural level cities nearly always contain multiple counties , county level cities , and other such sub-divisions. This results from the fact that the formerly predominant prefectures, which prefectural level cities have mostly replaced, were themselves large administrative units containing cities, smaller towns, and rural areas. To distinguish
247-462: The exchange of cultures and ideas around the world. Construction of the bridge started in 1138 during the Southern Song dynasty and lasted until 1151. It was originally 811 zhang [2,223 metres (1.381 mi)] long and 1.6 zhang [4.4 metres (14 ft)] wide, with 362 spans. Upon completion, it was the longest bridge in China until 1905, inspiring the local description, "No bridge in
266-481: The hinterland to Quanzhou, where the items would be sold around the world. The estuary of the Shijing River has mostly silted up in this area, and the remaining river channel under the bridge is fairly narrow. Consequently, the bridge now mostly crosses what amounts to a sequence of lakes or ponds, separated by wetlands. A modern public highway crosses the Shijing River a few hundred meters south (downstream) of
285-1199: The historical Anping Bridge over a fairly short bridge. The areas around the bridge are being developed into parks. Prefecture-level city Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present A prefecture-level city ( Chinese : 地级市(地級市) ; pinyin : Dìjíshì ) or prefectural city
304-560: The largest beam weighing 25 tons. The width of the bridge varies from 3 to 3.8 metres (9.8 to 12.5 ft). It originally had five pavilions where travelers could rest; however, only one pavilion (Shuixin Pavilion) still exists. In 2021, Anping Bridge was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other Song dynasty sites around Quanzhou because of its importance to medieval maritime trade in China and
323-575: The second level of the administrative structure (alongside prefectures , leagues and autonomous prefectures ). Administrative chiefs (mayors) of prefectural level cities generally have the same rank as a division chief (Chinese: 司长 ) of a national ministry. Since the 1980s, most former prefectures have been renamed into prefecture-level cities. A prefectural level city is a "city" (Chinese: 市 ; pinyin: shì ) and "prefecture" (Chinese: 地区 ; pinyin: dìqū ) that have been merged into one consolidated and unified jurisdiction. As such it
342-407: The usual sense, usually with the same name as the prefectural level city) surrounded by rural areas, which together are divided into districts, and some surrounding counties or county-level cities governed by the prefecture-level city on behalf of the province, which all have their own urban areas surrounded by their own rural areas. The urban areas of the surrounding counties are usually smaller than
361-450: The world is as long as this one" ( simplified Chinese : 天下无桥长此桥 ; traditional Chinese : 天下無橋長此橋 ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Thian-hā bû kiô tn̂g chhú-kiô ). There have been six major repairs since its opening, and the bridge is now shorter due to silting of the estuary. During the Song and Yuan periods (10th to 14th centuries), this bridge connected sites of ceramic and iron production in
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