China has built a massive £300billion motorway network that totally transformed the country’s economy.
In 1988, China had no expressways at all until it began construction on the Expressways of China network.
After over 30 years of development and £234billion spent, the country now has its new expressway network which has 110,000 miles of road.
The first motorway to be built in China was the Shanghai–Jiading Expressway, which opened in October 1988.
The construction projects soon ramped up in the early 1990s.
The Chinese network impressed none other than motorhead Jeremy Clarkson, who once hailed the road system as the “eighth wonder of the world.”
One of the centrepieces of the Expressways of China network is a huge 34-mile-long bridge, that connects Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai.
It took over nine years to build and cost £15billion.
Not only is the bridge huge, it was also designed to make it secure during earthquakes and typhoons.
A remarkable 400,000 tonnes of steel was used to construct it, enough to build 60 Eiffel Towers.
The bridge’s construction was marred by safety concerns though as 18 workers died while working on the development.
Chinese officials believe the funds used to build the bridge will be recouped and some. They expect to make £1trillion for the Chinese economy.
Hong Kong lawmaker Tanya Chan told the BBC she was not convinced by these figures.
She said: “I am not so sure either how the bridge can sustain itself if not many cars are using it.
“I am pretty sure that we would never earn that [construction cost] back.”
