Five bridges link islands to mainland

By Chen Qian  |   2009-9-8  |     ONLINE EDITION

A PROJECT to build five bridges across Hangzhou Bay will enable Shanghai drivers to reach islands on Zhoushan Archipelago within three hours when the bridges open in November.

That means islanders and visitors won't need to take a ferry any more, Oriental Morning Post reported today.

The Zhejiang Province project, which cost 11.5 billion yuan (US$1.69 billion), is the largest to link islands in China.

The 27-kilometer-long Jintang Bridge will link Jintang Island and Zhenhai in Ningbo. Jintang Bridge and Xihoumen Bridge, which links Jintang and Cezi islands, form the second phase of the project.

The bridges will enable islanders to reach Ningbo in one hour, Hangzhou within two and Shanghai within three, according to the report.

Zhoushan Archipelago is a city consisting solely of islands in northeastern Zhejiang lying across the mouth of Hangzhou Bay.