World's Longest Sea-Crossing Bridge Opened Today in China

"Fifteen years ago, China started to work [pdf] on an ambitious project that would eventually become the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge ever built," according to an article by Echo Huang. "Now that bridge, which connects the mainland to both of the country’s special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, is finally ready."

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened on Wednesday morning in China, with a ceremony featuring fireworks and presided over by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"The 55-kilometer (34.2 miles) span—the sea-crossing portion alone is shorter—is part of Beijing’s efforts to knit Hong Kong, Macau, and the southern mainland into the so-called Greater Bay Area to rival San Francisco’s Bay Area as a tech hub," adds Huang. "The project follows the logic that China has been using for years to guide economic development—if you want to get rich, first build a road."

Huang also notes that China recently opened an $11 billion bullet train connecting Hong Kong to the mainland. The article includes a lot more detail about the planning and construction of the bridge, as well as operations of the bridge once it's opened.