Ruyi Bridge, completed in 2018, is one of ZZHK Architects’ most iconic projects. Ruyi Bridge, with its bright red color and serpentine curves, has earned the title of one of the World’s Most Amazing Bridges.
Zhang Ke, one of China’s most influential young architects, founded ZZHK Architects, an architectural firm that has some of the most creative projects in China and around the world. The firm targets highly-recognized design with character by specializing in research and improvements in excellent development projects, high-standard architecture, and planning projects.
The Ruyi Bridge is located on Tianfu 2nd Street, south of the CR Phoenix City residential area in Chengdu’s High-Tech Zone, The main bridge, which crosses Tianfu 2nd Street, overlooks the greenway of Dayuan Central Park. Both sidewalks have spiral stairways with an inclination of 1:4 to 1:12 to help pedestrians cross. Additionally, two bicycle ramps with an angle of 1:12 are installed at the ends of the main bridge to link the greenways on both sides of the street. The Ruyi bridge ties together Dayuan Park on the south with the urban space and green scenery on the north. The pedestrian and cycling lanes can be linked and extended in this situation. This integration allows for a smooth transition between the two sides, encouraging people to explore the natural environment as well as the cityscape.
As the facade of Ruyi Bridge is modeled after the Chinese Panpipes, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, the design concept is known as the Sound of Panpipes. The bridge’s undulations and fluttering mimic the fresh and beautiful flow of the music beat, forming a functional urban sculpture. From above, the bridge seems like a Ruyi immersed in the city. Ruyi is a classic Chinese S-shaped decorative piece made of jade. This unique design not only provides a visually stimulating experience but also becomes a melodious landmark within the cityscape. It pays homage to traditional Chinese culture, expressing both the beauty of music and the gracefulness of a classic Chinese ornament. Its stylishness is further emphasized by the intricate metalwork, reminiscent of a traditional jade Ruyi, which symbolizes good luck and fortune in Chinese culture. Ruyi once represented good fortune, thus a bridge of this design represents things moving smoothly with luck.
The bridge has a “Ruyi”-shaped design plane 331 meters long. Tianfu 2nd Street is made up of 42m of prefabricated steel box girders with equal cross sections. The two spiral ramps were built from continuously hollow slabs of reinforced concrete that are 42 and 76 meters long, respectively. The bridge has two streamlined seats placed at both intersection sites, and its clearance width ranges from 2.36 to 9.23 meters. Ruyi Bridge is currently a popular scenic place for residents’ daily lives, fitness, and amusement.
It was reported by the media that this bridge was subordinated to the Chengdu High-tech Zone’s Major Landscape Improvement Project in May 2016. Ruyi Bridge has since been featured in ArchDaily, ABBS, gooood, and other professional architecture publications.
It was featured in the articles “The Most Amazing Bridges Around the World” and RTW Gap Sabbatical Trip Inspiration Travel Destinations: The Most Stunning and Modern Pedestrian Bridges Across the World. During the Golden Panda Tianfu Creative Design Awards in November 2020, Ruyi Bridge won a Copper Award in Space Creativity (Professional Group). The award-winning Ruyi bridge stands as a testament to the incredible engineering feats modern architecture is capable of while also providing a tranquil space to appreciate its beauty.
Project Details
Architects: ZZHK Architects
Area: 1151 m2
Year: 2018
Manufacturers: Cree, Mean Well
Architect in Charge: Ke Zhang
Design Team: Fan Chen, Jia Liu, Wenjie Zhen, Haochuan Ye, Bin Fan, and Zhipu Cao
Client: Chengdu Gaotou Construction Development Co., Ltd.
Engineering Services: Southwest Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute of China
City: Chengdu
Country: China
