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Bridge A Pearl River Delta, China story

Agriculture  / 
Cities  / 
Coasts
  1. Earthshots
  2. Pearl River Delta, China
  3. Bridge
Description

Cities that are growing this rapidly must also show accompanying infrastructure changes. The additions of bridges, highways, railroads, and airports are intended to merge the cities of the delta into a single megalopolis.

One ambitious project is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, set to open in 2018, to connect the three cities and cut the travel time from Hong Kong to Zhuhai from 3 hours to 30 minutes. Visible as a long, thin line across the bay, the bridge-tunnel system includes 42 kilometers of bridges over water and a 7-kilometer tunnel. The tunnel allows ships to enter and exit the bay and runs between two artificial islands. The entire system is about 15 times longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. The total cost of bridge was $7.56 billion.

Built to withstand an 8.0 earthquake, the bridge will make it easier for goods from the entire PRD to be transported to Hong Kong’s international airport for export. Speaking of the airport, a third runway, scheduled to open in 2014, is being added north of the existing runways. It will be 3,800 m long and is being built on 650 hectares of reclaimed land.

The natural color image from Europe's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows the bridge at 10-meter resolution. Ships are visible in the water, including the wakes behind the ships.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 29, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 29, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Nov. 29, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/45) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Nov. 11, 2019, Sentinel-2A — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China

Pearl River Delta, China Additional Imagery & Stories

Dongguan
Dongguan

The urban growth in the PRD is vast. There are no longer any clear urban centers—a different growth trajectory from other large cities in China such a...

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Guangzhou and Foshan
Guangzhou and Foshan

As an example of how the cities of the region have merged after the 1978 reforms, these images are a closer look at Guangzhou and Foshan. Even in 2000...

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Industry
Industry

The PRD was mostly rural before the 1978 reforms began. The major industries were farming and aquaculture. The major crops were rice, sugar cane, pean...

Read More
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