While the impending construction of the monolithic Shanghai Center has drawn much attention, this is only the most recent of Shanghai’s forays into the field of “biggest” engineering feats. Now the limelight of architectural machismo turns from “tallest” to “longest” with the May 1 opening of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, a sprawling six-lane, 36km S-shaped bridge linking Cixi City just west of Ningbo to Jiaxing in Shanghai. Reaching out across Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea, the bridge can legitimately claim its rightful place as the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, though the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, USA, still holds the title of longest bridge—so close.

Cutting the distance between Shanghai and Ningbo by 120km, travel time between the two cities has been reduced from nearly four hours to just over an hour (depending on your departure point and Shanghai traffic, of course). Though completed in 2007, the bridge is only now being opened to public traffic. Not purely for the convenience of travelers, the bridge is also expected to aid in the development of the Ningbo and Shanghai port authorities, particularly the port of Beilun and the Yangshan Deep-water Port.

In true fashion, the opening of Shanghai’s latest achievement coincides with another event of pomp and prestige—the Olympic Torch Relay. The torch will pass from Zhejiang Province into Shanghai via the Hangzhou Bay Bridge on May 20 before proceeding on through the various Shanghai districts. But, regardless of whether it’s all for show, convenience or economics, the opening of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge leads us to one irrefutable conclusion--Ningbo has just become a hot destination for weekend travelers.