Situated on the north of the middle section of Binhe Road of Chengguan district in Lanzhou city, Yellow River Iron Bridge (also known as Zhongshan Bridge) is reputed as the No. 1 bridge over the Yellow River.
Yellow River Iron Bridge was first established as a pontoon bridge in 1372, the fifth year of the Hongwu Period in the Ming Dynasty. As the Emperor's General Feng Sheng was at war with Yuan General K?keTemür (nicknamed Wang Baobao) in Lanzhou, a pontoon bridge was set up by Ming troupes 3.5 kilometers to the west of Lanzhou city.
According to local chronicles, the bridge was "carried with 24 big ships aligned across the river, supported with wooden beams, protected with fences, and paved with wooden boards. Four iron props were mounted on the northern and southern banks and tied with two iron cables each being 120 zhang (an ancient length unit, equal to 40 meters) long. The bridge would be set up upon river thawing and removed upon freezing".
In 1376 (the ninth year of the Hongwu Period), the bridge was moved to five kilometers to the west of Lanzhou city upon command of Ming General Deng Yu, and renamed as "Zhenyuan Bridge".
In 1385 (the 18th year of the Hongwu Period), upon instruction of a Lanzhou commanding officer Yang Lian, the bridge was relocated to its current location and continued its service until the Qing Dynasty.
On September 11, 1906 (the 32nd year of Emperor Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty), the local governor Peng Yingjia and the then governor-general of Gansu province Sheng Yun, on behalf of Gansu Provincial Administration of Foreign Affairs established in 1905, signed a construction contract on Yellow River Iron Bridge construction with a German company Telge&Schroeter. The total cost of the project was 165,000 taels of silver for "constructing an iron bridge with a warranty period of 80 years".
In 1907 (the 33rd year of Emperor Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty), the Qing Government began the construction of the iron bridge.
According to records, a manager with the Telge&Schroeter company was in charge of the project, with a US expert and a German expert as technical instructors, and a Tianjin native Liu Yongqi as the project manager. Telge&Schroeter employed 69 technicians for the project.
