70 years on

Editor’s note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Oct 15, 1957, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was completed. The 1,670-meter bridge is also known as the “first bridge of the Yangtze”.

Bridge construction across the country has continued to ride on the rapid economic development of recent decades.

The country is home to about half of the world’s longest suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, steel arch bridges and cross-sea bridges.

There are more than 60 bridges and tunnels built over the Yangtze alone, carrying rail and road traffic.

They form a vital part of the country’s infrastructure.

In 1968, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge opened to traffic, as seen in this item from China Daily. It was the first domestically designed modern bridge of its kind over the river.

In 2008, the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was built. The cable-stayed bridge spans 1,088 meters. It integrates Nantong, Jiangsu province, into a one-hour “traffic loop” with Shanghai.

In December 2009, the Xihoumen Bridge opened to the public. Built on the Zhoushan archipelago, it is the world’s second-longest suspension bridge of its kind, with a main length of 1,650 meters.

In 2014, construction of the 11,072meter-long Hutong Yangtze River Bridge began, linking the cities of Nantong and Suzhou in Jiangsu. The link, scheduled for completion by next year, was designed with a main length of 1,092 meters, making it the world’s first road-rail cable-stayed bridge spanning more than 1,000 meters.

Last year, the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge, the world’s longest sea bridge, was officially opened. Hailed as an engineering wonder, the 55-kilometer bridge aims to stitch the cluster of 11 cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area closer together.

After the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge is another ambitious mega transportation infrastructure project in the Pearl River Delta. It connects two major cities in the Bay Area — Shenzhen on the eastern side of the Pearl River and Zhongshan on the western side.

Construction of the bridge started in December 2016, with completion expected in 2024. The 24-km engineering feat will include a series of bridges, islands and tunnels, becoming the world’s first eight-lane undersea tunnel of its kind.