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JIAOZHOU BAY BRIDGE – CHINA – world’s largest over Sea Bridge


“ENGINEERING WONDER”

INTRODUCTORY FACTS & FEATURES
Time is passing rapidly and the world is having wonders. Without any doubt we can say that this era is the era of engineering. From the years of recent past we have seen a number of engineering wonders. Engineers have created masterpieces which are just breathtaking. The same happened in China and Chinese engineers set a world record by making a bridge over the sea. On 30th June 2011 China opened the world’s largest over Sea Bridge which is called Jiaozhou Bay Bridge. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is a roadway bridge in eastern China’s Shandong province. This bridge is “T” shaped. There are three entry and exit points on the bridge. The total length of the bridge is 42.58 km which is 26.4 miles. This bridge links the Qingdao which is the eastern port city to Huangdo Island. The bridge has reduced the distance between Qingdao and Huangdao by 30 km. The construction of this bridge is the part of Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project which includes the construction of Qing-Huang Tunnel as well which is an under sea tunnel.

These two projects were opened at the same date for the traffic. There are 5000 pillars which are keeping the bridge high over the sea water. The construction of the bridge took more than four years to complete. This engineering wonder is the result of the efforts of 10,000 workers who worked round the clock to make it possible. They worked in the form of two teams. It is expected that the bridge will carry 30,000 cars per day. It’s really a big load of traffic and shows that how many people will be facilitated from the bridge. Previously the longest over Water Bridge is in Louisiana which is named Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

History
This amazing bridge was designed by Shandong Gaosu Group. Its design is just marvelous that it will not be effected with the sever earthquakes, typhoons and collisions with the ships. This is a big project in real a big structure which you can imagine from the fact that about 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 million cubic meters of concrete were used in the construction of the bridge. The width of the bridge is about 35 meters (115 ft) and carries six lanes and two shoulders. The cost of the project is more than 10 billion Yuan which is equal to $1.5 billion but according to some other reports the cost is more than $2.3 billion.

SAFETY CONCERNS
According to some media reports, Chinese authorities were in hurry to open the bridge regardless some safety issues like incomplete crash barriers, loose nuts on guard rails and missing lights. But chief engineer of the project claims that there is nothing wrong with the safety of the bridge and the problems highlighted are just of minor nature.

Terra Cotta Warriors – Best Historical Place To Visit In china

Terra Cotta Warriors

Terra Cotta Warriors

Understanding Terracotta?
The word “Terracotta” seems bit unfamiliar and does not give the idea that what it would mean exactly. People with sculpture and construction may have the idea. Infact terracotta is a kind of material that has been used in the construction of buildings, pottery and making different kinds of sculptures in the ancient times. Terracotta is basically a combination of sand and clay. It also means “baked earth”. The main factor in making terracotta is that it is baked in the sun at low temperature. As it is made of clay, it gives a reddish brown colour. This material has the characteristic that it can be glazed to give it some extra colour, shine and make it more durable. The main use of terracotta was in China that was in ancient times in about 2nd century BC. The usage of this material has links with Egypt, West Africa, Middle East the most. With the improving methods of construction the making of terracotta has also been evolved. Initially it was baked in the sun then ovens get introduced and finally it fell into kilns. Terracotta has a wonderful characteristic that it is waterproof , that’s why we can find the sculptures and buildings made with terracotta in the very near of their original form. Another characteristic of terracotta is that it reduces the cost of making sculptures and pottery.

Terra Cotta Warriors china

Terra Cotta Warriors china


Discovery of Terracotta Warriors

Terracotta warriors are the statues of King Qin Shi Huang’s army. These belong to the era 200’s BC. The statues of Terracotta warriors were discovered in 1974. the soldiers are in army uniform. There uniforms distinguish them from each other. age were digging a well when they found the wall of the mausoleum of the king Qin. These warriors depict the force of the king which defend the capital of the empire. These are the statues of the soldiers, their horses and chariots. These horses and statues are in their life size. There are three pits which contain the said statues. Pit is the largest among the three pits. It has about 2000 statues of the soldiers and horses. There is an assumption that the pit 1 may have about 6000 statues of warriors and horses and 50 chariots. These statues are made of terracotta and are given the different colours. The interesting thing about these statues is that each statue has different face and body shape.

Terra Cotta Warriors china

Terra Cotta Warriors china

Words about the King Qin Shi Huang?
Qin Shi Huang is one of the most important rulers of the China. He has the different reasons of popularity. He was famous for to sacrifice the life of anyone with the vision to achieve a task. This is not the imagination or indictment. Infact the ruler sacrificed thousands of laborers in the course of completing his projects. It is said that he became the king when he was just thirteen years old. He achieved more when he was thirty eight years old. At that age he had conquered the six neighboring states. The king was the first who unify the China. He introduced the same measuring and monetary system in the 7 states. The main contributions of Qin Shi Huang include agricultural reforms and construction of roads.
xians army china

Tourists’ attraction
Tourists have great attraction towards this amazing but interesting site from the ancient times. The museum was opened in 1979 for general public. The figures show that how the tourists are taking interest in the site. It is estimated that about 2,000,000 Cinese and foreign tourists visit this museum per year. It gives revenue of about 150 million yuan to the Chinese.