The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, stretching 34 miles across the Pearl River Delta, is the world's longest sea crossing. The 55km structure took nine years to build at an estimated cost of £15 billion, slashing travel time between the three cities from an hour-long ferry to roughly 40 minutes by car.
The bridge is part of a wider scheme to boost transport connections in the Greater Bay Area, which Beijing is developing into a major economic hub. It aims to enhance trade and mobility by linking Hong Kong and Macau more directly with cities in Guangdong province.
Key components include three navigation channel bridges—Jiuzhou, Jianghai and Qingzhou—designed to allow large vessels to pass through one of China's busiest shipping areas. Engineers overcame challenges such as frequent typhoons and a harsh marine environment, using single-column piers anchored into the seabed to minimise interference with water flow and protect native wildlife, including the Chinese white dolphin.
The bridge opened to the public in October 2018 after an inauguration ceremony led by Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was built with 400,000 tonnes of steel and designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. As of May 25, northbound trips by single-plate vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao exceeded 10 million, with daily traffic averaging 11,000 trips.
