Pressured by the needs of the world’s fastest growing economy, the Chinese government has opened the Hangzhou Bridge to the public, proudly proclaiming it’s status as the world’s longest road bridge. Spanning 36 km. (22 miles), the USD 1.7 billion bridge spans Hangzhou Bay to link the financial hub of Shanghai with the port city of Ningbo to the South in the eastern province of Zhejiang (to give you an idea of the length, imagine that if the bridge was transported across the English Channel, it would span the distance between England and France). Thus, the road distance between the two key cities in the Yangtze delta is reduced by 120 kilometers, and travel time is cut by two and a half hours.

A ceremony, attended by Premier Wen Jiabao, was held in the middle of the cable-stayed bridge to mark its official opening (a cable-stayed bridge, practical for spans up to a kilometer in length, is second only to suspension-type bridges as the longest spanning bridge design.). The bridge is reinforced to withstand the annual monsoon winds which blow from the Pacific Ocean and pound the east coast every summer. Additional safety precautions include banning vehicles with large loads and carrying any dangerous chemicals from crossing the bridge.

Construction for the 6-lane bridge started back in November 2003 in an effort to relieve traffic congestion in the booming region. 30% of the cost is carried by private investors, the first time the private sector in China is allowed to fund a major public infrastructure project. After all, the Hangzhou Bridge is as much a tourist attraction as it is a way to cut transportation cost and time between cities. There is a tourist-friendly 10,000 sq. m. (111,111 sq. ft.) platform which will support hotels, restaurants and gas stations. There is also a viewing tower for the Qiantang tides, a popular crowd attraction in the area and the centerpiece of the annual China International Qiantang River Tide-Watching Festival. Some 6.7 million people have visited the festival since it began in 1994.

Moreover, the bridge is essential in an area which has become a key player in an age of globalization. One of the investors, for example, is the Youngor group, a huge conglomerate virtually unknown outside China but a major manufacturer of consumer goods for such global retail chains like Marks and Spencer. Youngor needs better infrastructure to maintain its export activities and lower its production costs. Investors expect capital costs to be recovered in 15 years via tolls and lower transportation costs.

The Hangzhou Bridge is expected to further stimulate regional growth by 15 per cent. It is also the last link of the motorway which link Beijing and the north to the booming southern and eastern seaboard, including Shanghai and Shenzhen, the most spectacularly successful city among the liberalized ’special economic zones”. It is one of the earliest of a series of landmarks for a new China, a country bracing itself for years of continued growth.

Sources:

The Australian

Yahoo News

Also grab yourself a copy of the latest Beijing Olympics Book.

Posted in Attractions, China

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