The Humen Pearl River Bridge is a suspension bridge

Suspension bridge

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...

 over the Pearl River

Pearl River (China)

The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

 in Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 Province, southern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It connects the Nansha District

Nansha District

Nansha District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...

 of Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

 to Humen Town

Humen Town

Humen Town , also known as Taiping, is a town within the borders of Dongguan city, on the eastern side of the Bocca Tigris on the east bank of the Pearl River Delta, in Guangdong province, southern China...

 of Dongguan

Dongguan

Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to...

. Completed in 1997 it has a main span of 888 meters.

Economic significance

The Humen Bridge across the Bocca Tigris

Bocca Tigris

The Bocca Tigris, Bogue, or Humen is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong, People's Republic of China, where the Pearl River discharges into the South China Sea. The strait is formed by the islands of Chuenpee and Anunghoy on the eastern side and Tycocktow on the western side...

, the mouth of the Pearl River, is an important link in the expressway network of Guangdong Province in southern China, connecting the Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

 and Zhuhai

Zhuhai

Zhuhai is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the northwest, Zhongshan to the north, and Macau to the south. Zhuhai was one of the original Special Economic Zones...

 Economic Zones, as well as the rest of the coastal region, with Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

.

Features

The 3618-m-long bridge is divided into five sections: the east approach, the main navigation channel section, the middle approach, an auxiliary navigation channel bridge, and the west approach. Geological conditions at the bridge site are relatively good, with bedrock overlaid by thin soil layers, although conditions differ on each side of the river. Hurricanes are common occurrences, so the design wind speed at the bridge deck level was established at 61 m/s.

External links

• Another photo of the bridge