The Lupu Bridge (), named after

Luwan District Luwan District (; Shanghainese: lu1uae1 chiu1, pinyin: Lúwān Qū), formerly romanized as Lokawei, was a district located in central Shanghai until its merger with Huangpu District in June 2011. It had an area of and population of 350,000 as o ...

, is a

through arch bridge A through arch bridge, also known as a through-type arch bridge, is a bridge that is made from materials such as steel or reinforced concrete, in which the base of an arch structure is below the deck but the top rises above it. It can either be lo ...

over the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, connecting the city's Huangpu and

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

districts. It is the world's third longest

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

, after the Ping'nan Third Bridge in

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

and the Chaotianmen Bridge in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

. The bridge has a total length including approach spans of and opened on June 28, 2003. The main bridge structure is 750m long including the two side spans of 100m each, and the main span of over the

is longer than the previous record holder for the longest

, the New River Gorge Bridge in

Fayetteville, West Virginia Fayetteville is a town in and the county seat of Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,892 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville was listed as one of the 2006 "Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America" by Budget Travel Maga ...

. It cost 2.5 billion yuan (US$302 million),L. J. H. Ellis
Critical Analysis of the Lupu Bridge in Shanghai
Lupu Bridge
/ref> including US$78.04 for the main steel structure alone. It is located adjacent to the former

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...

site and served as the centrepiece of the world exposition in Shanghai.

Name

The name of the bridge, Lupu, is an abbreviation of the two districts of

which it links, one of which is now defunct. The north bank of the river administered by

until 2011, when it was merged into Huangpu District. However, the bridge still retains the name of the old district. The south bank of the river is administered by

Pudong New Area Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

. This follows the naming convention of the three earlier bridges across the

, namely the Nanpu ( Nanshi-

), Yangpu ( Yangpu-

), and

Xupu Xupu County () is a county of Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of Huaihua Prefecturel-level City. Located on the west central Hunan, the county is bordered to the north by Yuanling County, to the northeast by Anhua County, ...

(

Xuhui Xuhui District is a core urban district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 982,200 as of 2008. The Xuhui District is named after its namesake, the historic area of Xujiahui. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dyna ...

) Bridges.

History

The bridge was envisioned to ease congestion between the quickly developing areas in southern Puxi, as well as to help cope with the traffic expected for

. The Expo 2010 site was just to the east of the Lupu Bridge on the Puxi side, and on both sides of the bridge on the

side. Construction began in October 2000 using a cantilever method and temporary cable-stays. Over 35,000 tonnes of steel were used in construction. The bridge's arch was joined on October 7, 2002.Recent development of arch bridges in China
When the bridge was completed, it became the world's longest arch bridge, surpassing the earlier title holder, the New River Gorge Bridge in

. An inauguration ceremony was held on June 27, 2003, featuring a group of runners, including

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associa ...

, who were the first to cross the bridge.Lupu Bridge Opens - 6/27/03
/ref> The bridge opened to vehicular traffic the next day. In 2009, Lupu Bridge lost its title of the world's longest arch bridge to the Chaotianmen Bridge in

.Chongqing completes world's longest arch bridge
The longest span of the Chaotianmen Bridge was only longer, at .Chaotianmen Bridge
Lupu Bridge from Expo

The Lupu Bridge was one of the architectural centerpieces of

in Shanghai, as it formed part of the western boundary of the Expo site.

Road connections

The bridge carries 6 lanes of the North–South Elevated Road, a major elevated roadway in the city, with 3 lanes in each direction.The Lupu Bridge, Shanghai, China
From

, motorists can access the Lupu Bridge from on-ramps to the North–South Elevated Road westbound on Yaohua Road or northbound on Jiyang Road. The North–South Elevated Road actually ends immediately after the Lupu Bridge and becomes Jiyang Road, with an off-ramp to eastbound Yaohua Road.Google Maps - Yao Hua Lu Ji Yang Lu China
/ref> On the Puxi side immediately north of the bridge, the North–South Elevated Road intersects with the Inner Ring Road, another major elevated highway in Shanghai, forming the Luban Road Interchange, a

roundabout interchange A roundabout interchange is a type of interchange between a controlled access highway, such as a motorway or freeway, and a minor road. The slip roads to and from the motorway carriageways converge at a single roundabout, which is grade-sepa ...

.Google Maps - Shanghai Lu Wan Qu Lu Ban Lu Li Jiao
/ref>

Criticism

The construction of an arch bridge was viewed as wasteful in respect to the extra costs associated with building this type of bridge. Other designs which were less expensive in nature were rejected in favour of the more expensive tied arch design. Lupu Bridge became the first arch bridge across the

in Shanghai and many feel its design is just a show piece for the city. But the bridge's proponents argued that all the other bridges crossing the Huangpu were all cable-stayed bridges and having Lupu built as an arch bridge would make for variation of bridge types in the Shanghai landscape.

Tourist attraction

The Lupu Bridge used to be a popular tourist attraction along the

. The bridge itself was actually also an attraction, as tourists could ascend to the observation deck at the top of the bridge. The attraction was known as ''Shanghai Climb'', and involved riding a high-speed elevator from the base of the bridge, and then climbing 367 steps at high altitude along the arch of the bridge to the top. The attraction entrance was located on Luban Road, at the base of the Puxi side of the bridge.Shanghai Climb
/ref> The observation area provides great views of

and the

site during the Expo. Currently (as of 03.05.2016) the bridge is closed for sightseeing. The closest subway station currently in operation to the base of the bridge for the tourist attraction is the Luban Road Station on Line 4 of the

Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 municipal districts and to Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Served as a part of Shang ...

. Lupu Bridge Station on

Line 13, Shanghai Metro Line 13 is a north-west to south-east line of the Shanghai Metro network. It runs between in Jiading and in Pudong. It was once used as a dedicated line () for the World Expo to serve the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The line is colored on system ...

is actually named after the bridge itself, however it was a temporary station used during

and is currently not in operation.Shanghai Metro Line 13: More than just the Expo
/ref>

Awards

The Lupu Arch Bridge, Shanghai, China, received the 2008 IABSE

Outstanding Structure Award The Outstanding Structure Award is an award presented by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to the Engineer, Architect, Contractor, and the Owner in recognition of ''the most remarkable, innovative, creative or othe ...

for being "A soaring box-arch bridge with a record span, clean impressive lines and innovative use of the side spans of the arch and the deck to resist the thrust of the main arch."

External links

Shanghai Lupu
- Chinese bridge site showing suspended deck arch construction and completion
Shanghai Climb
- Information about climbing the Lupu Bridge.

Notes

{{Shanghai Bridges and Tunnels Through arch bridges in China Arch bridges in China Bridges in Shanghai Transport in Shanghai Bridges completed in 2003