In the span of a single generation, China has redefined the limits of civil engineering, transforming itself from a nation reliant on foreign bridge-building expertise to the undisputed architect of the world’s most audacious crossings.
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Across mist-shrouded gorges, typhoon-whipped straits and sprawling urban megaregions, Chinese engineers are erecting structures that defy geography while smashing world records.
A study published in China’s Journal of Transport Science and Engineering reveals the scale of this metamorphosis. By 2030, the world’s longest suspension spans, tallest crossings and every record-holding cable-stayed megastructure will bear the imprint of Chinese civil engineers, it said.
From the 625 metre abyss-spanning Huajiang Canyon Bridge – equivalent to stacking two Eiffel Towers end-to-end – to the Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge’s gravity-defying 2,300-metre (7,545ft) suspended main span, these projects are the result of an ongoing engineering revolution that may reshape our world, according to the researchers.
Precision survey methods, advanced modelling and innovative engineering techniques –including materials science breakthroughs – have allowed China to build mega bridges.
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Meanwhile, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, along with intelligent and automated construction equipment, will allow for even safer and more efficient bridge construction, the researchers said.
