China opens longest sea bridge

China has opened the world’s longest cross-sea bridge.

The Jiaozhou Bay bridge is 26 miles long and links China’s eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao.

State-run CCTV says the 35-metre-wide bridge is the longest of its kind and cost more than 10bn yuan (€1bn)

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Chinese TV reports said the bridge passed construction appraisals on Monday and the bridge and an undersea tunnel opened to traffic today.

It has taken four years to build the bridge, which is supported by more than 5,000 pillars.

According to Guinness World Records, the previous record holder for a bridge over water is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana. The Chinese bridge is more than 2.5 miles longer.