Travel in Zhaoxian, Shijiazhuang

Zhaozhou Bridge, Bailin Zen Temple, Daguan Shengzuo Stele, and Yongtong Bridge are all famous cultural relics in Shijiazhuang City. Zhaozhou Bridge, located on the Xiao River south of Zhaoxian County in Shijiazhuang City, is a stone arch bridge named after the ancient name of Zhaoxian, Zhaozhou. Locals call it the Big Stone Bridge to distinguish it from Yongtong Bridge outside the west gate of the city, which locals call the Small Stone Bridge. Zhaozhou Bridge was built in the Sui Dynasty, designed and constructed by the craftsman Li Chun, and later named Anji Bridge by Song Zhezong Zhao Xu. Zhaozhou Bridge is the oldest, largest span, and best-preserved single-arch open-shoulder stone arch bridge in the world. Its unique construction technique pioneered the "open-shoulder arch" structure in the history of world bridges, making it of high scientific research value. Bailin Zen Temple, originally built during the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was initially called "Yuan" and later "Yongan Yuan" in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Jin Dynasty, it was named "Bailin Zen Temple," and since the Yuan Dynasty, it has been known as "Bailin Zen Temple." The existing temple buildings (except for the Bailin Temple Pagoda) were successively completed in 1992. It is an important ancestral temple in the history of Chinese Zen Buddhism. The Daguan Shengzuo Stele, originally a relic of the Zhaozhou Confucian Temple, is made of bluestone, with the stele body and stele head carved from a single large stone. The stele head is rectangular with a slightly pointed top, inscribed with six large characters in regular script: "Daguan Shengzuo Stele," written by the powerful minister Cai Jing. The stele head's calligraphy is deep, solemn, and majestic, giving the stele its name. Yongtong Bridge, commonly known as the Small Stone Bridge, is located on the Ye River north of Tongxi Road in Zhaoxian County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. Its architectural style and structural form are similar to Anji Bridge (Big Stone Bridge), but it is smaller, hence the name Small Stone Bridge. Together with Anji Bridge, they are known as the "Sister Bridges." Yongtong Bridge was built during the Yongnian period of the Tang Dynasty, named for its meaning of eternal communication and has a history of over 1,200 years, more than 160 years later than Anji Bridge. In the morning, take bus No. 1101 from the east square of Shijiazhuang Station for 6 yuan to the terminal station Zhaozhou Bridge, with a total travel time of 1 hour and 20 minutes.