On June 30, after seven years of construction, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, another world-class cross-sea cluster project following the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, officially opened for trial operation. This new route reduces the travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan from two hours to just 30 minutes. The opening of this first direct link between the "Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou" and "Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen" city clusters makes the "one-hour transportation circle" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area a reality.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a world-class cross-sea cluster project integrating tunnels, islands, bridges, and underwater interchanges, spans 24 kilometers and is designed for speeds up to 100 kilometers per hour. CCCC played a comprehensive role in the design and construction of key sections including the western artificial island, immersed tunnel, Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, Zhongshan Bridge, and non-navigable bridges. Let's take a look at some of the world's "firsts" achieved by this project!

The undersea immersed tunnel of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is the world's first eight-lane steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnel. It stretches 5,035 meters and comprises 32 sections of 80,000-ton giant immersed tubes and a final joint.

CCCC built core installation equipment such as the integrated transport and installation vessel " "Yi Hang Jin An 1"" and the leveling ship "Yihang Jinping 2." They also introduced the Beidou Satellite Navigation System for the first time in cross-sea tunnel construction, overcoming numerous global challenges including the long-distance floating installation of super-large immersed tubes, leading the way into an intelligent era for offshore immersed tunnel construction.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge spans approximately 17 kilometers, with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge (formerly the Lingdingyang Bridge) measuring 2,826 meters in length and 1,666 meters at its main span, making it the world's largest span for a fully offshore steel box girder suspension bridge. The bridge deck is 91 meters above sea level, with a net height of the navigation channel measuring 76.5 meters, making it the bridge with the world's highest navigation channel. The total length of the main cable wires could wrap around the Earth four times, and each main cable has an ultimate load capacity exceeding 140,000 tons, capable of withstanding typhoon force winds of up to level 17. In 2024, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge won the George Richardson Medal, known as the Nobel Prize in the bridge industry.

Western artificial island

The western artificial island is 625 meters long and 456 meters at its widest point, with a total area of 137,000 square meters, equivalent to 19 international standard soccer fields. The main building on the western artificial island is the "central control system" for the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, and the 55-meter high wind tower on the left side of the main building is the "respiratory system" for the undersea immersed tunnel.