World-Leading Bridge

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge 

The world’s longest sea-spanning bridge, the highway-railway bridge with the longest span in the world, the first sea-spanning dual-use bridge in the world – these are just some of the “world firsts” China has created in the sphere of bridge building. But the one which best represents China’s modern industrial power is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge began on December 15, 2009. As soon as the ceremony for the commencement of the project was over, the chief engineer, Su Quanke (苏权科 ), convened a meeting at which he laid out a high-speed plan for the construction work.

Engineer Lin was the first to speak: “The topological features of the site for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge are very special: The bridge will span the busiest sea lane in Lingdingyng Bay, and possibly block it at its narrowest part. Also, it will be built near a busy airport. So we have to build it in a way that does not interfere with either sea or air traffic, don’t we?”

The conference hall fell silent as the delegates all looked at each other. All the plans they came up with had some flaw or other. Inside the conference hall, sighs could be heard, and Su Quanke himself was racked with anxiety, when his gaze happened to fall on a photograph of an ancient Chinese bridge which was lying on a desk – why not get inspiration from the experience of ancient Chinese bridge builders? China has a multiplicity of complicated rivers and landforms, and the ancients took local conditions into account and used local resources to ensure a perfect addition to Nature.

Excitedly, Su Quanke shared his idea with the other engineers: “Why don’t we work in harmony with the local natural conditions? Now, the bearing capacity of the bridge will be excessive if we build it directly across the sea, and the sea itself here has many winding bays, so why don’t we build the bridge to connect several different spots, and thus ensure unimpeded transportation both on the sea and in the air?” Even before his words had died away, his colleagues started to applaud. This was the first instance of innovative objective thinking in Chinese bridge building, based on the rich heritage of Chinese bridge building.

Although the problem of the design for the structure of the bridge had been overcome, there still remained many difficulties concerning its actual construction. For instance, there were thirty-three sections of tunnel to be joined up. When the first section was laid, nobody was confident that it could be placed in the proper position, because this was the first attempt to do this in the history of Chinese bridge building, and, in fact, it would be the first attempt in the world. The engineers did not dare make the slightest slip. It took ninety-six continuous hours to lay the first section. When it was finally perfectly placed in its designated position, some of the workers were so tired that they slumped to the ground and slept right away where they lay.

Finally, after innumerable difficulties had been overcome, on July 7, 2017 the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was fully opened. Seen from the air, the winding bridge looks like a long dragon. From Zhuhai Bay, the bridge stretches for over thirty kilometers above the sea, together with six-point-seven kilometers of tunnels under the seabed, to end in Hong Kong. On the way, there are three specially modeled cable-stayed bridges, named “China Connection,” “Dolphin” and “Sail,” respectively, capable of sustaining a total of three hundred thousand tons of wheeled cargo.

Su Quanke remarked, “The bridge not only links the three geographical regions, it also forms a link between our thoughts and feelings, including the creative superiority we have developed over centuries.”

When we look at this magnificent sea-spanning bridge, as a great achievement of the century, we can see a combination of the millennia-long history of bridge building in China and modern technology, and the glitter of the Chinese people’s diligence and wisdom.

The Moral of This Story

China’s modern bridge construction is not just an embodiment of the development of modern industrial technology. It is even more an expression of the development of the heritage of China’s bridge-building industry and culture. It manifests China’s historical heritage, spirit of determination to overcome difficulties, and boldness in a pioneering way.

现代桥梁

屡创“世界第一”的港珠澳大桥

世界最长跨海大桥、跨度最大的公路铁路两用桥、首座公路铁路两用跨海大桥……中国桥梁界为世界桥梁创造了众多的 “世界第一 ”，而其中最能代表中国现代工业实力的，当属港珠澳大桥。

2009年 12月 15日，港珠澳大桥正式投入建造。开工仪式刚一结束，总工程师苏权科立刻召开了会议，争分夺秒地进行工程部署。

工程师小林首先发言：“港珠澳大桥所处的地理位置条件十分特殊。伶仃洋上有黄金海运航线，大桥可能将其拦腰斩断；而且，大桥选址邻近机场，是繁忙的空中航道。大桥该如何修建，才能不影响航道和航班呢？”

大家面面相觑，会议室里一片沉默。大家提出了好几个方案，却都存在问题。会议室内传来叹气声，苏权科心中有些焦急，目光却落在了桌面中国古桥的照片上——为什么不从中国古老造桥经验中获取灵感呢？中国河流地域众多，情况复杂多变，古人因地制宜、就地取材，方能巧夺天工。

苏权科兴奋地与工程师们交流了自己的想法：“我们何不与自然条件 ‘言和 ’呢？既然大桥平直走向受力过大，那就顺着海水的流向，多拐几个弯；为了保证空中与海上的航道畅通，大桥也可以在不同的位置设置海上与海下的不同通道呀！”话音未落，大家情不自禁地鼓起掌来。苏权科的创意是中国对桥梁外观设计思想的一次提升，这个提升来自中国桥梁文化丰厚的底蕴。

虽然解决了桥梁构造设计的难题，实际建造中仍然面临许多困难。隧道由 33节沉管和最终接头组成，第一节沉管运到安装现场时，每个人心里都没有底。这是中国桥梁史上的第一次尝试，也是世界的第一步。工程师们都不敢有丝毫懈怠。第一次沉放持续了整整 96个小时，当沉管最终严丝合缝地沉放到预定位置时，有的人立刻就坐到了地上，七倒八歪地睡着了……

最终，工程师们克服了一个又一个难题，港珠澳大桥于 2017年 7月 7日实现了全面贯通。从空中俯瞰大桥，那逶迤的桥身如一条长龙，从珠海洪湾这端起，穿行三十多公里后消失于海中，经过海底 6.7公里的隧道穿行，再次跃出水面，直达香港。同时，桥身上还建设了 “中国结 ”“海豚 ”“风帆 ”三座造型独特的斜拉桥，三十万吨巨轮也能顺利通过。

正如苏权科所言：“它不仅把三地的地理联系起来了，它把我们的思想感情，包括我们几百年来创造的优势的东西都能够联系起来了。”

当我们注目于这座横跨伶仃洋的世纪大桥时，我们将看到，这是中国上千年的桥梁建造史与现代技术的结合，中华民族的汗水与智慧正在熠熠闪光。

故事要旨

中国现代桥梁的建造不仅是现代工业技术发展的体现，更是对中国桥梁业和桥梁文化的传承发展，表现了传承历史、攻坚克难、敢为人先的中国精神。

现代桥梁 屡创“世界第一”的港珠澳大桥 英文介绍