Yalu River Broken Bridge
Yalu River Broken Bridge 鸭绿江断桥 | |
|---|---|
The former swing span at the south end of the bridge's surviving portion | |
| Coordinates | 40°06′54″N 124°23′29″E / 40.1149°N 124.3915°E |
| Crosses | Yalu River |
| Locale | Dandong, Liaoning, China |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | Originally 944.2 m (3,098 ft) |
| Width | 11 m (36 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | October 1911 |
| Closed | 1950–1951 |
| Location | |
Interactive map of Yalu River Broken Bridge | |
The Yalu River Broken Bridge (simplified Chinese: 鸭绿江断桥; traditional Chinese: 鴨綠江斷橋; pinyin: Yālù Jiāng Duàn Qiáo) is a truncated railway swing bridge converted to a viewing platform and historical site in the city of Dandong in Northeast China. Constructed in 1911 by the Empire of Japan, it was the first bridge built across the Yalu River and connected the Chinese city of Dandong with the Korean city of Sinuiju, in what is now North Korea. The bridge linked Japanese-ruled Korea to the Eurasian rail network. The bridge originally consisted of twelve truss spans supported by stone foundations in the riverbed. During the Korean War (1950-1953), the eight spans over the Korean side of the river were badly damaged by American bombing and were later dismantled. The bridge was not rebuilt. In 1993, the government of Dandong converted the remaining four spans on the Chinese side of the Yalu into a historical site with a walkway and viewing platform.