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China's drive for the world's largest infrastructures
July 25, 2008
The Great Wall will no longer be the only world-renown construction in China. With the use of modern engineering and technology, as well as the drive to gain recognition as a First-World nation, China has entered into an age of developing the world’s largest infrastructures. From dams to bridges, the nation now holds a number of “world’s largest” titles.
MSNBC News Producer Adrienne Mong has recently entered into a discussion of this very idea. It is no wonder that with the Summer Olympics set to open in Beijing this August, all eyes have turned to travel in China.
With reporters traveling throughout the nation to set up stories for the Olympics, Mong has commented on China’s road development in saying “were it not for the rice paddies and water buffalo, [the highways] could have been anywhere in the United States or Europe.”
Road development, however, is only one of a variety of construction projects taken on by the Chinese government. Some of the more awe-inspiring constructions include the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei and the Beijing Airport—each currently the largest of their kind in the world.
One of China’s newest engineering accomplishments is the development of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, also known as the world’s longest sea bridge. This bridge contains six lanes in each direction and stretches across 22 miles, connecting Shanghai with Ningbo, which is located in the Zhejiang Province. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge was opened this past May and has created quite a stir throughout the area.
When being built, a key feature for this bridge was to be a service center located halfway across the bridge. This center, actually a platform island, would have included food, hotels, conference areas, and a ball shaped lookout tower. When the bridge was initially opened for public use, however, this center was not yet completed. As a result, passengers were slowing and stopping directly on the bridge to look out over the area. This resulted in a variety of accidents, and a need for the government to implement a minimum speed limit regulation.
The engineering and technological challenges and accomplishments created by the Chinese government have not only advanced the development of the nation, but have led to the vision and construction of the world’s largest infrastructures.
Posted by Melissa D'Amico on July 25, 2008 | Comments (5)
