Shanghai Lupu Bridge

Shangha's Lupu Bridge starts from Luban Road, Puxi in the north, crosses the Huangpu River and ends at Jiyang Road, Pudong in the south, with a total length of 8.7 kilometers (about 5.4 miles). It was designed by Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute, and built by the local government between 2000 and 2003. It is the first steel arch bridge in the world, with the longest span.
Enjoying its fame as 'the First Steel Arch Bridge in the World', Lupu Bridge's main body is an all-steel construction, with only one span. It has a total length of 3,900 meters (4265 yards), of which the main body takes up 750 meters (820 yards). The main body of the bridge is arc-shaped, like a rainbow flying across the Huangpu River. Integrating the bridge technology of cable-stayed bridge, arch bridge, and suspension bridge, Lupu Bridge is a real engineering feat, built with the most complicated construction techniques and huge amount of steel. The cross section of its main arch is the biggest among the bridges in the world, 9 meters (30 feet) high and 5 meters (5 yards) wide. The bridge carries 6 lanes of traffic, while under it even a 70,000-ton-class ship can pass through smoothly.



Shanghai Lupu Bridge
seen from Expo Park at night Like the Bay Bridge of Sydney in Australia, Lupu Bridge is not only used for transport, but is also a tourist attraction. Unlike from the Napu Bridge and the Yangpu Bridge, Lupu Bridge's sightseeing platform was built at the top of its arch, which means sightseers get an amazing view from the top on one hand. On the other hand, it requires visitors to climb up over 300 steps to enjoy the scenery. Of course, there are high-speed lifts for visitors' convenience as well. Walking along the steps for about 280 meters (306 yards), you will get to the 100-meter-high (328-feet-high) and basketball-sized sightseeing platform, where the beauty of the Huangpu River will fill your eyes. Since Lupu Bridge is situated on the axis of the 2010 Shanghai Expo. the sightseeing platform at the top is also the best point to have a bird's eye view of the Expo's ground, yesterday, today and tomorrow. What's more, there are plans for a bridge museum and the world's largest water screen laser show built on site at the foot of the bridge in the future.