The Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University (THAD) won an Award of Merit at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in recognition of its efforts in the survey and repair of Guyue Bridge in East China’s Zhejiang province.

The award was announced at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 20/20 Forum in Penang, Malaysia on Oct 14.

The project was designed by THAD, a subsidiary of Tsinghua Holdings Human Settlement Construction Group and Beijing Guowenyan Cultural Heritage Conservation Center Co.

The forum received 57 applications from a group of countries and regions, including Australia, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran, New Zealand, Philippines, and South Korea, hitting a record high.

The reason given by the jury is as follows:

The meticulous restoration of the 800-year-old Guyue Bridge embodies the successful combination of high technology with a respect for traditional construction. State-of-the-art surveying, engineering and materials were deployed to understand and strengthen the ancient structure, one of the oldest documented folding stone arch bridges in China. A new composite material was invented and applied to slow down the bridge’s future deterioration. Local artisans using handmade construction techniques ensured continuity in the building vernacular. The project has returned a local landmark - which had fallen into disrepair and has been impassable for the last two decades - back to the community, thereby contributing to the recovery of an important traditional rural landscape.

The certificate of the Guyue Bridge project

Winners hold the certificates of honor at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 20/20 Forum in Penang, Malaysia on Oct 14.

Winner of the award poses for a photo with the certificate at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 20/20 Forum in Penang, Malaysia on Oct 14.

Poster of the awards ceremony

A file photo of the Guyue Bridge taken in 1980s

The renovation project of Guyue Bridge

Location: Zhiyajie village, Chi’an town, Yiwu city, Zhejiang province

Duration: July 2014 - January 2019

There was a simple but elegant stone arch bridge built in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) on Longxi Stream, Chi’an town, Yiwu, Zhejiang province.

The bridge is the earliest folding arch bridge in China. It was built in the sixth year of Emperor Jiading's reign (1213) during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The stone beam on the south side of the bridge was engraved with the date of construction. It is said that it was built by a native, Xu Qiao, vice minister of works of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The bridge was first recorded in the 1982 cultural relics census. In 2001, it was approved by the State Council as a key national cultural relic to be protected.

It is made of volcanic breccia and a folded stone arch, built using a single arch with longitudinal connections and segmented and parallel laying.

The four-layer bridge boasts high historical, artistic, scientific and cultural value. However, after nearly a thousand years, the bridge body was broken and covered by wild plants, and the main load-bearing structure was badly damaged.

Therefore, in August 2014, THAD was entrusted by Yiwu local cultural relics department to conduct a comprehensive and detailed investigation. Following the investigation, a targeted repair plan was formulated.

The project aims to clarify the current state of the bridge, analyze its main problems and their causes, judge its structural stability, and then formulate targeted repair plans. The local government hopes to pass the bridge on to future generations in good condition.