Anping Bridge was the node of land transport between Quanzhou and the vast coastal region in southern China, and reflects the way maritime trade spurred on the development of Quanzhou’s water-land transshipment system. The construction of Anping Bridge was a joint endeavor by Quanzhou officials, religious groups, merchants and civilians, reflecting not only the contribution of the pluralistic composition of society in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties to maritime trade, but also the economic prosperity and accumulation of wealth that maritime trade brought to Quanzhou society. Anping Bridge is located 30 kilometers southwest of Quanzhou City in a bay at the juncture between Anhai in Jinjiang and Shuitou in Nan’an. The bridge was the main link between Quanzhou and Zhangzhou and Guangzhou to the south. It is also known as Five Li Bridge due to its length, which is around five li (one li measures around 500 meters) and is China’s longest existing cross-sea stone beam bridge. Construction on the bridge began in 1138 and was completed in 1152; it was a collaborative effort between monks, merchants, government officials and locals. The bridge runs roughly 2,255 meters from east to west and is between 2.9 and 4 meters wide. It is laid with long stone beams and granite guardrails run along each side. All together there are 360 stone step piers in rectangular, pointed boat-shaped and bicuspid boat-shaped styles. Lying across the piers are the huge stone beams, 5-11 meters long, that make up the bridge’s deck. The construction of Anping Bridge drew on the methods applied in building Luoyang Bridge, but with some added innovations. Different forms of piers were made according to local conditions using the ancient technique of “submerged bases of sleeping wood”, which was advanced technology accumulated and developed in the bridge building practices driven by marine trade. A number of ancillary buildings were constructed on Anping Bridge and in the surrounding area, that is, Auspicious Light Pagoda, Bridge Tower Pavilion, Water Heart Pavilion, Tidal Shrine, Zhenfeng Pagoda, Rain Pavilion, High Vantage Building and Tide Listening Building. In the surrounding area of Water Heart Pavilion, 16 stele inscriptions recording repairs made to the bridge in previous generations have been preserved. Beside the pavilion’s front columns, two statues of generals protecting the bridge stones still stand; these are stone sculpture works of Song Dynasty. Anping Bridge was included into the first group of major cultural heritage sites protected at the national level by the State Council in March, 1961.