An incredible £270million bridge allows cars to travel between two of the world’s biggest countries – and is one of the most impressive pieces of modern infrastructure in the world.
The vehicle bridge, connecting China and Russia over the Amur River, opened in the summer of 2022, linking the Heihe city in China’s Heilongjiang province with Blagoveshchensk, the capital of Russia‘s Amur region.
The major infrastructure project’s unveiling saw eight freight trucks from China and eight from Russia staging a procession over the 0.6-mile long structure, a choreographed display of Beijing and Moscow’s deepening ties, replete with oversized national flags.
It came just months after Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine left it isolated on the world stage and stung by numerous international sanctions, providing the Kremlin an opportunity to show it still had a powerful ally in Beijing.
Russian deputy prime minister and envoy to the country’s Far East Yury Trutnev said at the time: “The Blagoveshchensk-Heihe bridge has special symbolic significance in today’s disunited world.
“It will become yet another thread of friendship linking the people of Russia and China,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said at the launch that Beijing wants to deepen its practical cooperation with Russia in all areas.
Heihe and Blagoveshchensk had already been benefitted from trade and tourism before the pandemic broke out, but in a sign of Russia‘s intent to maximise their cooperation, the government ordered all students in Blagoveshchensk to study Chinese from from September 1, 2022, as per CNN, citing local media.
Construction began in 2016 and was finished in May 2020 but only launched two years later due to by cross-border COVID-19 restrictions, BTS-MOST, the company building the bridge on the Russian side explained.
The company said in 2022 that freight traffic on the bridge would see the travel distance of Chinese goods to western Russia by shortened by 930 miles, as per Al Jazeera.
It was initially opened only to freight vehicles but not cars due to Coronavirus restrictions.
The toll bridge was expected to carry 630 freight trucks, 164 buses and 68 vehicles daily after the Covid curbs were lifted.
It was reported that vehicles crossing the bridge would have to pay a 8,700-rouble (now £65) toll, though the price was expected to be decreased as fees began to offset the cost of the project.