The pier is a bridge structure designed for locomotives and vehicles to board and disembark from ferry boats. In wide rivers, straits, and other water bodies, piers are correspondingly constructed on both banks, with the ferry routes forming an S-shape. In narrower rivers, the piers are set alternately on both banks, and the ferry routes take a V-shape.

The pier consists of pier piles, abutments, steel beams, trestle beams, and lifting machinery. The structural form of the pier is similar to that of a bridge, differing mainly in that the beams of a bridge are fixed and span the entire river, whereas the beams of a pier can rise and fall with the water level and the track slope can be adjusted accordingly. Additionally, the pier extends only partially into the water. The lower structure of the pier is made of concrete or reinforced concrete piles and abutments; the upper structure is composed of steel plate beams or steel truss beams. The piles and abutments are structures that support the upper part of the bridge and its load. The abutment is located at the shore end of the pier, connected to the embankment. The trestle beam is the equipment that connects the pier to the ferry, situated at the end of the pier that enters the water.

On the Yangtze River in China, the Wuhu Ferry between Wuhu and Yuxikou and the Wuhan Ferry between Wuchang and Hankou feature hoist-type pier structures, both equipped with medium-sized ferries capable of transporting trucks. The Nanjing Ferry between Nanjing and Pukou is equipped with a screw-type pier, using large ferries that can transport passenger and cargo vehicles.