There is an incredibly beautiful bridge in China 36 kilometers. It passes through the Hangzhou Bay and the Qiantang River at the Yangtze River Delta. Until recently, it was the longest bridge in the world, but in 2011 its record was broken Qingdao bridge also in China.
It is high time to admit that jokes about Chinese quality do not correspond to the current state of affairs, and the Hangzhou Bridge is a great confirmation of this. This bridge is S-shaped, it is a complete part China East Coast Super Highway connecting the north and south of the country. Its beginning is in jiaxine, and the end is in Ningbo. Thanks to the bridge, Ningbo to Shanghai can now be reached two hours faster, and the journey becomes shorter by 120 kilometers. The project provides for a guaranteed service of the bridge for a century and the possibility of its easy reconstruction after this period. The bridge even has a shipwreck protection system.
The name of the chief engineer for the construction of this bridge is Wang Yong. He proudly states that the Hangzhou Bridge was built under incredibly difficult technical conditions, but all difficulties were successfully overcome. The fact is that it crosses one of the strongest water flows on Earth, the bottom here is very heterogeneous, and typhoons happen very often. The bridge was built for five years - from 2003 to 2008, but already in 1994 the first research work. Nine years of consultations and numerous studies continued, more than 700 experts from around the world were involved in the work on the project.
As a result, the option of a bridge held by cables was chosen. It was decided that such a bridge would be better able to withstand high waves, multidirectional currents and complex bottom geology. The bridge is also not afraid of earthquakes up to seven points.
Today hangzhou bridge daily passes from 45 to 50 thousand cars. Thanks to him, in the Yangtze River Delta, the process of economic development. The local governor believes that thanks to the bridge, a more convenient and efficient transport network will form in this area.
And some more numbers.
The Hangzhou Bridge has three lanes for vehicles in each direction, and its total width is 33 meters. Its spans are so high above the water that fourth and fifth generation container ships can pass freely under them.
During the construction process, the bridge nodes were first cast on the ground, and then transported for installation to the part under construction. Huge floating cranes were used to install them, and 50 GPS systems monitored the accuracy of fitting spans to each other.
When the bridge was ready, an incredibly magnificent and crowded opening ceremony took place.
There is an island in the middle of the bridge where drivers can take a breather. Its area is 10 thousand square meters, it has not only gas stations and restaurants, but also hotels. For tourists provided viewing platforms. And at both ends of the bridge there are public parks - a paradise for tourists.
Address: China, Hangzhou Bay
Start of construction: 2003
Completion of construction: 2007
Open for traffic: 2008
Length: 35,673 m
Coordinates: 30°28"13.7"N 121°06"53.6"E
Short story
Real miracles happen in the Celestial Empire, where technological progress goes hand in hand with ancient traditions into the future. China is a country that in the very near future, despite its huge population, will become the richest and most powerful in the world.
It is in the Celestial Empire that the largest amount of products consumed on our planet is produced. There is a widespread belief that anything that bears the "Made in China" mark is considered to be of poor quality and short-lived. Perhaps there is some truth in this, but this applies to those household items, clothing, electronics, etc., which are made in artisanal conditions. But everything that is done in China for the indigenous population, you can safely put the adjective "best". A striking example of technological progress in China and its developed economy is the transoceanic bridge called Hangzhou. This is the real industrial wonder of the world, which you will not find anywhere else in the world. Hangzhou Bridge in China crosses the sea (East China) and the Yangtze River Delta.
The length of this attraction of the Middle Kingdom is 36 kilometers. Until 2011, it was the largest bridge in the world, now it takes the second place of honor, but it is considered the longest transoceanic bridge. By the way, the bridge that displaced Hangzhou from the first place is also located in China, it is called Qingdao and, as you might guess, was put into operation in 2011. The Hangzhou Bridge was not built to surprise the whole world, it was built to connect Zhejiang Province and Shanghai.
Naturally, before the opening of the Hangzhou bridge, get from this province to one of the largest cities in the Middle Kingdom, where a huge number of factories and industrial enterprises, it was possible on a separate motorway. True, this journey took the driver of the car 4 hours. Even more time was spent transporting raw materials in huge trucks. Time in China is worth its weight in gold, this is once again confirmed by the Hangzhou Bridge. He reduced the travel time by as much as 2 (!) Hours. “What is 2 hours?” - any resident of Europe can ask a question. For a Chinese, two hours is a luxury. To save this time and shorten the path between the developed economic province and the other side of the Yangtze Delta, a bridge was built, which cost the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire 1 billion 420 million dollars. This amount gives the clearest definition of what time means to the Chinese. If we calculate the savings not in time, but in fuel, then the Hangzhou Bridge in China made it possible to reduce the distance from the provincial city of Ningbo to Shanghai by 120 kilometers. By the way, the population of the provincial "town" of Ningbo is more than 5.5 million people. Shortening the distance between this city and the majestic Shanghai became vital after the start of market reforms in China.
Hangzhou bridge construction in China
If you look at the Chinese Hangzhou Bridge from a bird's eye view, you can see that it has the shape of a giant Latin letter "S". This form was developed by engineers not because of technical difficulties, which, by the way, during the construction of the longest transoceanic bridge arose a lot. This was done to prevent major car accidents. According to numerous studies, a car driver who drives over a bridge over a body of water can fall asleep even at noon. The shape of the letter "S" makes a person constantly monitor the road and, thereby, not to lose vigilance.
The chief engineer, who developed the Hangzhou Bridge project together with other authoritative architects, Wang Yong, repeatedly stated after the solemn commissioning of the bridge that this bridge is not just the longest, it is the most important and most necessary for the whole world. There is no exaggeration in his words: firstly, thanks to the longest transoceanic bridge, the Chinese economy has taken a step forward, which means that people around the world will be able to receive even more products; secondly, the most complex construction of the bridge showed what humanity is capable of in the 21st century.
In fairness, we note that the development of the project began in 1994. All calculations were completed only by 2003, the construction of the longest bridge in the world for that period of time started in June. The Hangzhou Bridge in China was built in record time. In 2008, its testing has already begun. The grand opening of the bridge and its commissioning took place in 2009. Surprisingly, even the Chinese themselves, who know firsthand what a labor feat is, did not expect to build a 36-kilometer bridge so quickly in the most difficult conditions. According to the approved plan, the bridge was to be commissioned by the Expo 2010 exhibition.
The construction of a cable-stayed bridge that connected the shores of the East China Sea can be safely called fantasy. In order to bring the grandiose plan to life, the engineers and the contractor had to spend nine years doing a lot of research. The thing is that the flow of the Qiantang River, which flows into the East China Sea, is considered a natural wonder of China. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to see this Chinese miracle every year. Their attention is attracted at once by several water currents in this area and huge waves generated when a river flows into the sea.
In addition, the climate in Hangzhou Bay cannot be called favorable: destructive typhoons sweep over it two or three times a month. Besides, the area over which the Hangzhou bridge lies is considered seismically dangerous. It is impossible to even imagine what difficulties architects and builders overcame during the construction of this industrial wonder of the world.
According to the results of the research and consultations of the most authoritative architects of our time, it was decided that the Hangzhou Bridge would be cable-stayed (built using cables). This design of the bridge is most consistent with the terrain. The depths of the Yangtze Delta and the East China Sea are characterized by sharp drops. Moreover, underwater studies revealed that the bottom in many areas where the Hangzhou cable-stayed bridge was supposed to be erected was notable for its heterogeneous mass. But this was not the main difficulty: in the place where the bridge was built, natural gas emissions from the depths of the sea were constantly observed. Thanks to another study and a number of work carried out, the Chinese even solved this problem. They changed the characteristics of the soil, which made it possible to distribute and predict the release of gas.
The metal structures from which the bridge was made were cast in giant blast furnaces (naturally, on land), and then they were delivered on huge ships and floating platforms to the sites where the installation was carried out. Naturally, all these gigantic structures and girders had to be unloaded and installed in their place. This problem was solved with the help of huge floating cranes. Each of these units contained an electronic device that, with an accuracy of up to a centimeter, allowed them to anchor.
As mentioned above, 1,420,000,000 US dollars, or almost 12 billion Chinese yuan, was spent on the construction of the Hangzhou Bridge. The amount is huge, but thanks to private investment and public investment, the world's longest, by the way, and most reliable transoceanic bridge was born. Indeed, this bridge is almost completely safe, which is confirmed not only by the Chinese themselves, but also by numerous architects and engineers from Europe and the United States of America. Firstly, it is built in the shape of the letter "S", which does not allow the driver to fall asleep at the wheel, secondly, it is guaranteed by the contractor for 100 years and, thirdly, this bridge will not even flinch during an earthquake of 7 ,5 points.
In addition, the engineers decided throughout the entire bridge, which is 33 meters wide and 62 meters high above the water surface, to place light diodes at certain intervals that constantly change their color and concentrate the driver’s attention. By the way, the height of the bridge at 62 meters above sea level makes it possible for container ships belonging to the fourth and even fifth generation (!) to pass under it.
The Hangzhou Bridge in China has 6 lanes: three lanes go from Jiaxin to Ningbo and three lanes back. By the way, according to the original plan, they planned to lay the beginning of the bridge in Shanghai, but the authorities of this huge metropolis and its indigenous people protested: they referred to the fact that the Hangzhou bridge would lead to numerous traffic jams in the multi-million city. The developers of the project carefully weighed everything and came to the conclusion that there is common sense in the protests of the residents of Shanghai, so Hangzhou takes its beginnings in the less populated Jiaksin and passes through Shanghai.
Hangzhou Bridge is one of China's top attractions
After the ceremonial commissioning in 2009, the Hangzhou Bridge passes about 50,000 cars from Jiaxin to Ningbo and back every day. By the way, visitors to Shanghai quite often hire a taxi to ride around this gigantic and amazing technical attraction.
It is interesting that Chinese engineers decided to make a branch to ... in the middle of the bridge. island. Surprisingly, the island, which has an area of 10,000 sq. meters, artificial! Initially, it was supposed to be built so that a tired driver could rest on it.
The most beautiful and one of the longest bridges in China is called Hangzhou. This bridge crosses the ocean between the bay of the same name and the Qiantang River. Its total length is 36 kilometers. And the efficiency is up to 50 thousand cars a day. This is how much the bridge is able to pass over its surface every day.
Construction history
The transoceanic structure was designed for several years. But in 2003 construction teams proceeded to real work. The bridge took 4 years to build. Then it was tested for several months in a row to make sure it was safe.
The construction itself was carried out from two points on opposite banks. The cable-stayed bridge was erected simultaneously from the North and South sides. With the help of satellites and the latest technologies the structure was connected in the middle directly above the ocean waters.
All piles of construction have precise geographical coordinates. Thanks to this method, it was possible to bring the two sides of the bridge together on the first try. Many parts of the bridge were cast on the ground, but for work under water a unique privateer was built with a hammer on board to drive piles in the depths of the ocean.
In 2008, this bridge connected two areas: Shanghai and Ningbo. Residents of these two cities used to spend up to 5 hours on the road to get to one of them. They had to drive along the road, which was an arc of 400 km. Now the travel time has been reduced to 1 hour thanks to the Hangzhou Bridge.
Features of the building
The most striking features of the bridge include the following aspects:
- Platform island. This place is in the middle of the structure. There, drivers can rest in order to continue their journey with renewed vigor. The island has restaurants and hotels and many other entertainments;
- 250 innovations. That's how many new techniques were used in the construction of the bridge;
- Safety system. The whole road is divided into 7 lanes with different lighting. It is believed that in this way, driver fatigue can be reduced almost completely;
- Smart lighting. Any road lamp located on an amazing structure has automatic brightness control;
- Surveillance cameras. They are all over the bridge at a distance of half a kilometer from each other;
- Special durability. Today, the Hangzhou Bridge has already withstood 19 typhoons. He does not care about strong tides and other vagaries of the weather.
The height of the bridge is 62 meters. And its aesthetic component has long conquered lovers of the urban style in architecture.
China Railway Bridge Bureau Group Co. Ltd is the company that was the main contractor for the construction of the bridge. Analyzing many projects, builders and architects settled on the option where the structure was held by special cables.
This decision helped to maximize the seismic stability of the bridge. And also made him invulnerable to severe storms and typhoons. This decision completely eliminated the influence of the tides on the bridge.
During the construction of the structure, there was a danger of disruption of work due to the release of natural gas. This gas was released from the ocean depths. But the bridge was positioned in such a way that the concentration of gas was insignificant.
The famous Hangzhou Bridge is a beautiful building that is an ingenious embodiment of engineering. When this bridge was opened, the government organized a magnificent and magnificent opening ceremony. After all, the bridge helps to solve not only transport, but also economic problems. And also contributes to the rallying of different provinces, and their successful interaction with each other.
The People's Republic of China always surprises with the scope of its buildings. Apparently, after the Great Wall of China, they cannot stop, and they need all the very best. Particular attention is drawn bridges in China. If you turn to Wikipedia with the question " longest bridges in the world”, then you can see that 12 out of 20 are in the PRC, and occupy the top three positions. In the material we will talk about the most exciting of them.
Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct
We will start with the longest bridge in the world, which is listed in Guinness Book of Records. The length of the bridge is 164.8 km. Most surprisingly, the construction took only two years, the construction period from 2008 to 2010.
The Danyang-Kunshan viaduct is located in the east of the country in Jiangsu province, connecting the cities of Shanghai and Nanjing, and is part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed railway. Approximately 9 kilometers of the bridge is above the water.
Bridge Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau
Another longest in the world, but already a sea bridge connects big cities: Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Macau. The structure consists of a series of bridges - 38 km, underwater tunnels - about 7 km, access ramps and artificial islands. The total length of the construction is 55 km, and the length of the main part of the bridge is about 30 km. Construction was completed in 2017, it took 8 years.
According to preliminary information, the bridge should be put into operation in May 2018. Prior to the construction of this facility, the first place among sea bridges was also occupied by the Chinese Qingdao bridge across the bay.
Bridge over Hangzhou Bay
it longest transoceanic bridge in the world connecting Shanghai and Ningbo. Its length is 36 km., And halfway there is a platform island where drivers can stop and rest or have a bite to eat right in the middle of the bay. The construction of the bridge lasted from 2003 to 2007.
Pedestrian glass bridge
Another record holder was a pedestrian bridge in southern China in Sichuan province. He received the title - the highest in the world glass bridge. Its length is 488 meters, and it is located at an altitude of 1,880 meters above sea level (the distance from the bridge to the bottom of the gorge reaches 186 meters).
At the same time, no more than 500 people are allowed on the bridge, but the structure itself is designed for 2,000 visitors. Of course, this walk is not for the faint of heart. In addition to this, the bridge has a special effect: plasmas are built into it, which emit cracked glass underfoot.
Duge Bridge
If we talk not about pedestrian bridges, but about automobile bridges, then the Chinese have bypassed everyone. Completed in 2016 highest suspension bridge in the world, which connects the western and eastern banks of the Beipanjiang River. The Duge Bridge is located at an altitude of 564 m above the river and has a length of more than 1,341 meters. It took 3 years to build it.
Bridge over Siduhe
Another suspension bridge crosses the Siduhe River Valley in Hubei Province. It was he who occupied the first place among suspension bridges before the Duge was built. But we could not bypass it because of the laconic design, which looks so organically against the backdrop of a picturesque landscape. The total length of the bridge is 1,222 meters, the height above ground level is 496 meters.
Lupu Bridge
Second longest steel arch bridge in the world with a total length of about 4 km. It is laid over the Huangpu River and connects two districts of Shanghai. Lupu Bridge has a modern design and looks especially impressive at night when the lights are on.
To select the project, a competition was held, which was organized by the city administration. The opening of the bridge took place in 2003.
Sutong Bridge
The bridge is located in Suzhou in Jiangsu province in east China. It runs across the Yangtze River and is 8,206 meters long. The opening of the bridge took place in 2008. It is not only an important object, as it shortens the path between the two counties, but also a striking landmark due to its futuristic design.
Jiaxing Shaoxing Bridge
The longest and widest bridge among multi-pylon cable-stayed bridges, crosses hangzhou bay and connects the cities of Jiaxing and Shaoxing. General bridge length 10,138 meters. It also looks very impressive at night in the lights of illumination.
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Hangzhou Bridge is the longest transoceanic bridge in the world, crossing the Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea and the Qiantang River. Its length is about 36 kilometers, and its height is 62 meters.
The bridge was built in four years, then closed testing was carried out for several more months. According to experts, the bridge withstood 19 typhoons and many sea tides.
Construction of the bridge began simultaneously from the southern and northern shores of the bay in June 2003. It was important that both parts of the bridge line up exactly when they meet.
The traditional method of visual observation used by builders to ensure the docking of bridges was not suitable due to the large distance between the banks, in conditions of heavy rains and dense fog. Therefore, global positioning systems using satellites have been used, which calculate points on the earth's surface with an accuracy of several centimeters. The base stations of this system were installed in Hangzhou Bay on opposite shores and kept in touch with the satellite.
Each pile received a unique permanent address with its own latitude and longitude, so that the system would find it for precise installation of the structure already on the water. The piling barges had two systems that communicated with a base station on the shore and found the exact position of the structure. This method has made a real revolution in bridge construction.
Almost all nodes of the longest transoceanic bridge in the world were cast on the ground, after which the finished structures were transported to the installation site. In addition, in order to drive six thousand piles into the seabed, a huge hammer was needed. For this, a special floating privateer of gigantic size and incredible power was built.
In May 2008, a cable-stayed bridge connected two Chinese cities - Shanghai and Ningbo (Zhejiang Province).
Previously, their inhabitants had to "make a circle" 400 km long and spend five hours on the road to get from one city to another. Thanks to this bridge, the journey has been reduced by more than 320 km, and the maximum travel time between cities is now one hour.
It is noteworthy that in the middle of the bridge there is a platform island where drivers can rest and continue their journey with renewed vigor. In fact, the island stands on stilts, thereby not interfering with the natural currents in the bay.
More than 250 technical innovations are implemented in the project. Thus, the bridge is equipped with the most advanced passive safety systems, including the division of the roadway into seven zones with different lighting. This idea arose for a reason - it helps reduce driver fatigue.
The uniqueness of this bridge is also that each lamp placed on the road is equipped with a special automatic control unit, due to which the brightness of the lamps and their inclusion are automatically adjusted depending on the amount of traffic. In order to monitor the movement of vehicles, CCTV cameras are installed every half a kilometer.
