[Photo/CGTN]

The Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing was opened in 1968. It was the first road-rail bridge to be designed and built entirely by China. Both functional and attractive until today, this remains a source of pride for the country’s bridge-builders.

In the late 1970s, the reform and opening-up set the stage for China’s economic development to reach the next level. Hundreds of major bridges were built across the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Before long, bridges also began to span steep cliffs and seas.

A plan to build a bridge across the Lingding Channel was first mooted in 1983. But to today’s engineers, the project is about more than just realizing an old dream.