On Tuesday morning in Qinzhou City, located in the southern part of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the final main bridge over the Pinglu Canal was officially put into operation. The canal is a key project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. This event marked the completion of all 27 major bridges along the canal and paved the way for its full navigation in September. The Pinglu Canal, stretching 134.2 kilometers, is the first river-sea canal built since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Upon completion, it will run from the cities of Nanning and Qinzhou in Guangxi to Beibu Gulf, serving as a key artery for river-sea intermodal transport in the country's southwest.

The Pinglu Canal project includes a total of 104 bridges along its route, of which 27 are main bridges spanning the canal. Among them is the newly built Jicai Bridge, which crosses the main navigation channel within the urban area of Qinzhou. Erected on the site of an old bridge, it has been completely modernized. With a main span of 270 meters and an overhead clearance of 19.3 meters, the bridge can accommodate vessels with a displacement of up to five thousand tons. In addition, the bridge's roadway width has been increased by 4.5 meters to a total of 40 meters, effectively reducing pressure on river navigation in the central urban area of Qinzhou.

According to Yuan Mingyang, an engineer from Guangxi Pinglu Canal Construction Co., Ltd., the biggest challenge during construction was the demolition of the old bridge. Located in the densely populated center of Qinzhou, it could not be removed using traditional explosive methods. Moreover, the old bridge was a self-anchored suspension bridge, with its main cables anchored directly into the bridge structure itself — an extremely complex structural system. Throughout the demolition process, precise control of the structural balance was required, making the task exceptionally difficult. Thanks to innovative methods, the construction team completed the demolition of the old bridge in just seven months. While building the new bridge, a temporary bridge was erected to ensure the smooth flow of urban traffic.