China's Zhangzhou–Shantou High-Speed Railway marked a significant milestone in its offshore construction on Thursday as the the auxiliary structure of the Dongshan Cross-Sea Grand Bridge, a key component of the railway, was fully completed.
The 20.26-kilometer-long Dongshan Cross-Sea Grand Bridge is a key control project of the Zhangzhou-Shantou High-Speed Railway, which connects Zhangzhou in east China's Fujian Province with Shantou in south China's Guangdong Province.
The completed jetty lies 11.5 meters north of the main bridge and extends 9.4 kilometers in length, which will facilitate the construction of the Grand Bridge.
"Jetty is an auxiliary route and working platform for offshore construction. Compared to vessels, transporting construction materials and equipment via the jetty can reduce the cost, and is more weather resilient. The jetty can also be connected to temporary work platforms, providing a stable site for the construction of the main body of the bridge," said Wang Ruchuan from the Zhangzhou-Shantou Railway Bridge Office under the China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group.
Also on Thursday, construction of the first marine pier of the Dongshan Cross-Sea Grand Bridge was also completed.
The Zhangzhou-Shantou High-Speed Railway is a key component of China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network, forming part of its coastal corridor. The construction began in February 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2028, with a designed top speed of 350 km/h. Once in operation, it will connect with other major high-speed railways in Fujian and Guangdong, further enhancing the regional rail network.
China's Zhangzhou–Shantou Railway sees progress with completion of cross-sea bridge jetty
International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.
The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.
In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.
Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.
Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.
Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.
In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.
"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.
"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.
Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims
