Luoyang Bridge, Quanzhou, showing oyster beds. Henderson collection, DH-s023.
This magnificent and famous stone beam bridge (Wan’an Bridge) in Qhanzhou, Fujian province was first built in the eleventh century; it has been restored many times since then and still stands. The elegant granite ship-shaped piers cut the rapid current of the Luoyang River.
Oysters were cultivated around the bridge to help bind the piers and stone blocks – a pioneering example of using a living organism to reinforce a structure. This photograph (DH-s023) was taken in the late nineteenth century, and shows what appears to be extensive oyster beds exposed at low tide.