CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The short videos and photos of the towers of Baijusi Yangtze River Bridge have recently gone viral on various social media platforms. These videos and photos created in different places at different times under different weather conditions present various visual beauty of the towers, and they are even called “Chongqing Version of Interstellar” and “Another Perspective on 8D Chongqing” by netizens.

Why were the towers of the Baijusi Yangtze River Bridge designed this way? Now listen to Wu Qing and Li Minna, the team members from the Bridge Division of T. Y. Lin International China.

Designers: A scientific and artistic interpretation of water culture

With a total length of 3.6 kilometers, the Baijusi Yangtze River Bridge starts from Chenjiage Interchange in Dadukou District and ends at Taiyanggang Interchange on the Inner Ring Expressway in Banan District. Its main bridge is a dual-purpose steel truss cable-stayed bridge with the largest span in the world, with a main span of 660 meters. The upper bridge is a two-way eight-land urban expressway, and the lower bridge is the railway track for Line 18. The Baijusi Bridge will be open to traffic on January 24, 2022.

At a distance, the two towers of the Baijusi Yangtze River Bridge look like two drops of water merging into the Yangtze River. Passing through the middle of the water drops, the bridge connects the banks of the Yangtze River. The modern design of the bridge, based on the water culture of Chongqing – the origin, prosperity, and beauty of Chongqing is related to water, is a scientific and artistic interpretation of water culture, as well as the manifestations of artistic innovation featuring the combination of architecture and culture, said Wu Qing. The bridge has become a new name card of Chongqing and created a new era of smart and artistic bridges.

Why is the bottom of the bridge tower a circular structure, rather than a solid or rectangular one? Such design aims to ensure good ventilation and light transmittance, and the round holes look like the eyes of time that witness the growth of Chongqing, said Wu Qing.

The design of a solid structure would be a waste of materials and make the force on the bridge tower be transmitted from the top of the tower legs to the bottom; in contrast, the current design not only meets the needs of structural support but also looks very artistic, added Li Minna.

In addition, the passive anti-collision device set up at the bottom of the bridge towers seems like pieces of armor, adding a sense of science and technology to the towers.

Photographers: It’s beautiful with a sense of science and technology

The netizen "@fox8816", who first posted the video of the tower of the Baijusi Bridge, lives in Banan District and witnessed the whole construction process of the bridge. On December 30, 2023, the first day of the New Year's Day holiday, she had fun with her family members along the Yangtze River. When she found the large bottom of the bridge tower was in stark contrast to the small figures of people under the bridge, she took a video of the scene and shared it on a social media platform. The video has been watched by over 1.3 million audiences, making Baijusi Bridge instagrammable.

Chongqing’s well-known photographer @Zhang Kunkun also took many photos of the Baijusi Yangtze River Bridge. “@Fox 8816' is my good friend, and she lives near Baijusi Bridge. When the bridge was just open to traffic, we came to take photos of the bridge many times,” said Zhang.

“The bottom of the bridge towers may not be fully seen in the season of high water. As the river fades, it is a good time for us to appreciate the ingenious design of the bridge tower,” said Zhang Kunkun. The round hole of the large bridge tower looks like the “Gate of Time and Space” in the setting sun, which is a sharp contrast to the small figures of people, creating an amazing scene of fiction movies and interpreting 8D magical Chongqing in a new way. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)