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.
