Humen Bridge-A Rainbow over the Ancient Fort

The Humen Pearl River Bridge is a bridge over the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, it is the largest scale bridge built in Guangdong Province so far. It connects the Nansha District of Guangzhou to Humen Town of Dongguan. Completed in 1997, the suspension bridge has a main span of 888 meters, and the segmental concrete section's main span of 270m is one of the longest such spans in the world. The bridge is not only a substantial part of the expressway net in the Pearl River Delta area, but also a landmark tourist destination in Dongguan.

With a length of 15.76 kilometers and the main bridge of 4.6 kilometers, it dramatically shortens the trip between the West bank of the Pearl River estuary to the East bank and thus shortens the land trip by 120 kilometers from Hong Kong and Shenzhen to Zhuhai and Zhongshan etc. Now it takes only 10 minutes to get from one side of the Pearl River estuary to the other side.

The site of the modern Humen Bridge also contrasts with its historical past, as near to the bridge is the Weiyuan Emplacement which was the site of the Opium Wars of 1840-1842 and 1856-1860. The days of gunpowder smoke are well and truly over, however, and the bridge has turned what was once the 'moat' of the Pearl River into a modern thoroughfare.

The bridge is best viewed at night when it is at its most charming with the bright streetlights shining upon the water below. If walking on the bridge, the enchanting nightscape of the entire city laid out below can be seen. Visitors can catch the special-line autobuses going from downtown Dongguan to Weiyuan Emplacement for CNY 7.

For more information, please visit www.top-chinatour.com