China officially launches the world's longest sea bridge

In usual fashion, China has officially launched its 55km bridge and tunnel which turns out to be the worlds longest sea bridge.

We're guessing China's general theme for construction is "Go big, or go home," as the country keeps finding new and increasingly nerve-racking ways to attract and entertain tourists. The design is such that the entire bridge is about 20 times the length of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

The 55km Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge spans the Pearl River Delta and goes underwater for 6.7km midway through the help of two artificial islands so that large cargo ship containers can pass above. Its construction was such a challenge that it took almost a decade, marred by budget overshoots, delays and safety issues. The construction began in 2009 and was slated to open in 2016 but was delayed for another two years before the final commissioning date was suddenly released for Tuesday, October 23.

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The entire construction cost more than $20bn (£15.3bn) and the lives of nine workers.

On a lighter note, the bridge connects three very different parts of China - the two Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong and the mainland, cutting travel time from almost four hours to barely 30 minutes.

The bridge is built with blood pressure monitors and yawn cameras. Drivers across the bridge will have their heart rate and blood pressure will be monitored and the information sent to the control centre. The cameras also monitor the drivers alertness — if a driver yawns more than three times in 20 seconds, the “yawn cam” will raise an alert.

Only certain cars are allowed to travel the bridge and travellers between Hong Kong have to be pass through immigration border control as the countries have different legal and political systems.

Would you like to travel on this bridge?