China opens megabridge linking Hong Kong to mainland

China on Tuesday opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of engineering carrying immense economic and political significance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a ceremony in the city of Zhuhai to open the 34-mile-long bridge linking it to the semiautonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Digital fireworks exploded on a screen behind him as leaders of the three cities watched.

The 34-mile-long, $20 billion bridge took almost a decade to build.