The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province, set to become the world's tallest bridge, completed a key load test on Monday, ahead of its scheduled opening in late September.
The five-day testing process confirmed that the bridge's structural strength, stiffness and dynamic performance met safety standards, according to the testing team.
The load test, considered the final step before the bridge welcomes traffic -- included both static and dynamic tests.
The testing team drove 96 trucks, weighing more than 3,000 tons in total, onto designated points of the deck in batches to measure displacement and stress in the main span, towers, cables and suspenders.
"We simulate extreme conditions with 3,360 tons of load to activate the maximum capacity of the bridge structure under normal use. Today, we focus mainly on monitoring the displacement of the main towers on both banks, the bending moment at the tower roots, and the maximum tension in the anchor span cables," said Lei Min, the on-site load test director for Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge.
The bridge is 2,890 meters long with a main span of 1,420 meters. Rising 625 meters above the river, it will set the record for both the tallest bridge in the world and the world's largest span bridge built in a mountainous area, upon completion.
World's tallest bridge completes load test in China's Guizhou
The sixth China-Russia Media Forum, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday, discussed promoting friendship between and supporting development of the two countries through media cooperation.
Li Shulei, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech.
Attendees said that under the strategic guidance of heads of the two countries, China-Russia relations have maintained stable, healthy and high-level development, creating a model for a new type of international relations and relations between neighboring major countries.
In May this year, the heads of state of the two countries signed and issued a joint statement on further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, explicitly proposing deepened cooperation in the media sector between the two countries.
The media sectors of China and Russia should fully implement the important consensus reached between the heads of state, adhere consistently to the general direction of the China-Russia friendship, and foster a positive public opinion atmosphere for the common development of China and Russia, attendees said.
They also said that the media of the two countries should focus on major issues such as the alignment of China's 15th Five-Year Plan with Russia's economic and social development strategies, and report in depth on achievements of mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
They noted that the media should build bridges of people-to-people connectivity, promote exchange and mutual learning between the Chinese and Russian civilizations, join hands to address the challenges of digital and intelligent transformation, and work together to enhance the influence of the media.
The forum was hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Russian Presidential Executive Office, and organized by China's Xinhua News Agency and Russia's TASS News Agency.
Approximately 140 officials and media representatives from both countries attended the forum. During the event, the two sides signed 11 documents on deepening media cooperation between China and Russia.
6th China-Russia Media Forum eyes supporting development of both countries
