The bridge has an integrated structure and distributes its weight.
The bridge floor is 9 meters wide in the center of the bridge and expands out to 9.6 meters on either side where it meets the riverbank.
Li constructed 28 independent arch segments, which form the main arch of the bridge. The combined arches sustain weight and tension together so the bridge will not collapse if one segment of the arch breaks.
The design also makes it easy to repair the arch. If one segment is broken it can simply be replaced. The contact surfaces of the arch segments are covered with tiny patterns to enlarge frictional forces.
The segments of each arch were carefully crafted to be the same size and shape.
Five iron rods go through the 28 arch segments to hold them together and form the main spandrel arch. Dozens of dovetails tightly join the segments.
The four smaller arches are also held together with iron rods each and were made in the same way.
Guard slabs on either side of the bridge are engraved with delicate patterns of dragons, which are a symbol of water God in the Chinese culture.
The stone guard pillars on both sides of the bridge were sculpted to show lions in different poses.
Tablets next to the bridge include clear instructions on how to repair the structure. The local government built a small museum for these tablets.
The Jiaohe River was a busy waterway since the Sui Dynasty but was seriously polluted in the 1980s and 1990s. The river became a sewage ditch for Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei province, until the local government built a new sewage system in 2012 and cleaned up the river.
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