Artificial island opens tour of mega-project in Pearl River Delta

Newly opened public tours now allow visitors to explore the West Artificial Island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a major bridge-tunnel project in south China, offering views of cutting-edge engineering and beautiful coastal scenery.

The tour includes round-trip transport and guided sightseeing, providing a rare opportunity to get close to one of China's most remarkable infrastructure projects.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link connects two major cities divided by the Pearl River Delta. Artificial islands were created at the transition points where bridge becomes tunnel.

By opening the West Island to the public, the two cities hope to showcase the success of the mega-project and inspire appreciation for the power of engineering.

During the trial period, the experience includes round-trip transportation and approximately three hours of island exploration. In the future, tourism authorities hope to expand visitor options.

"We are currently studying the development of boat tours to view the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, utilizing the existing rescue dock on the West Artificial Island to create a water-based access solution. We will also research low-altitude aerial tour options to provide alternative visitation methods when land access to the island is closed during major holidays, thereby meeting public demand," said Li Xinlong, Marketing Director of Shenzhen Cultural Tourism Industry Development Company.

Since its opening more than a year ago, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has seen traffic volumes soar, with total vehicle flow surpassing 42.7 million. On peak days, vehicle traffic reached 181,600 trips, prompting authorities to temporarily suspend island tourism during major holidays to prevent congestion.

Through its "one corridor, six roads" smart traffic management system, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link connects seamlessly with six expressways, optimizing travel routes across the region.

"During major holidays, we generally close land access to the West Island tourism program to avoid impacting normal traffic flow," explained Li Huiqiang, deputy chief of the Link's Road Administration Brigade.

Currently, the link handles an average of 88,500 vehicle trips daily, with a series of intelligent systems in place to ensure its safe and efficient operations.

Artificial island opens tour of mega-project in Pearl River Delta

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a newly formed defense pact among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, represents a deterrence strategy rather than an actual threat to Iran, according to Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The three nations on Friday signed the joint defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to deepen cooperation among the three regional powers amid rising regional security concerns, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

The agreement aims to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, under which an armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against all, the ministry said in a statement.

However, its signing amid the backdrop of the Middle East conflict has prompted questions as to whether the parties would actually uphold their obligations in the event of a real attack.

"Treaties like these are more about deterrence than operational use. That is, if we were to attack the U.S. base in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, Pakistan wouldn't react. Even Türkiye, because they know that if they respond they'd be drawn into a war against Iran, is mostly engaging in propaganda. And in my view, it has no effect in terms of threatening Iran," said Kanani Moghaddam, who now works as a military analyst.

"We want to attack the U.S. base; we're not attacking Saudi Arabia. This base is in Saudi Arabia, and in any case Saudi Arabia understands that we're not seeking war with them. It seems that this pact that has been forged will have no effect on the war between Iran, the United States, and the Zionist regime; it is viewed more as a deterrent measure," he said.

Former IRGC commander plays down threat from Pakistan-Saudi-Türkiye defense pact