Research progress on ancient Chinese bridges and typical restoration cases from a multidisciplinary perspective

Ancient bridges in China are significant testimonies to Chinese civilization, reflecting remarkable engineering ingenuity as well as rich historical and cultural values. They can be divided into various structural types including beam bridges, arch bridges, suspension bridges, and pontoon bridges. These bridges not only serve as physical evidence of the evolution of bridge structural forms and building technologies, but also act as important medias for cultural transmission. In recent years, with the increasing emphasis on the conservation of cultural heritage, researches on ancient bridges in China has gradually developed into an interdisciplinary issue encompassing archaeology, architecture, surveying and mapping, and cultural studies. In disciplines such as architectural history, hydraulic engineering history, and transportation history, ancient bridges have been recognized as a special type of immovable cultural relics, which attracted particular interest of study. This paper presents a systematic review of researches in these fields, summarize the major advances of studies in both China and other countries, analyzing existing key challenges and technical bottlenecks, and outline current research approaches and future trends. On this basis, together with recent technological innovations in the conservation of ancient bridges in China, the study further discusses the future directions for studying and protecting ancient bridges, providing theoretical basis and technical references for their scientific conservation and appropriate utilization.