Marco Polo Bridge (Lugou Bridge), Beijing

The long, low stone deck of the Lugou Bridge crossing the Yongding River on the southwest edge of Beijing, carried on 11 segmental arches. Work began in 1189 and finished in 1192; after flood damage it was rebuilt under the Kangxi Emperor in 1698, so what stands is largely the Qing reconstruction of the Jin dynasty design. Marco Polo praised it as a very fine stone bridge with few equals in the world, which is how it got its Western name. Walk the parapets slowly: hundreds of carved stone lions line both sides, each one different, and nobody quite agrees how many there are. It was also the site of the 1937 clash that began the Second Sino-Japanese War. Motor traffic has long since moved to newer bridges.