A 900-year-old wooden bridge caught fire in China on Saturday (see video above). At 98.2 meters, the Wan’an Bridge was the longest of its kind – it was considered the Bridge of World Peace. The bridge collapsed due to the fire. Experts assume arson and an investigation has been launched.
The 900-year-old Song Dynasty (960-1127) wooden arch bridge in Pingnan County, eastern China’s Fujian province, has been reduced to rubble. Miraculously, no one was injured in the incident.
“Spontaneous ignition on the water is rare”
The exact cause of the fire is now being investigated. “I suspect this is a man-made event and not a natural disaster, because the spontaneous ignition of a bridge on the water is rare,” an ancient architecture expert at Peking University said on Sunday.
The massive fire was finally extinguished after about ten hours. However, the bridge itself collapsed within 20 minutes of the fire starting.
Significant cultural value lost
At 98.20 meters long, Wan’an Bridge was the longest wooden arch bridge in China. It had considerable cultural value – not only did it serve as a symbol of wisdom and ingenuity in designing wooden architecture in ancient China, but its sheer length also made it extremely difficult to build.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
