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China topped out main tower No. 5 of the Taoyaomen Bridge, 218 meters high, in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, on May 8, 2026. According to Xinhua, with this, the two main towers of the mega-project are completed, with only the deck and cables remaining to be installed.
The Taoyaomen will be the world’s largest hybrid deck cable-stayed road-rail bridge, according to China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, the official constructor. The main span reaches 666 meters, according to recent technical documentation, and it connects Fuchi and Cezi islands in the Zhoushan archipelago.
The deck will carry both cars and freight trains on a single 27.6-meter-wide level. In parallel, the structure is part of the Zhoushan Cross-Sea Bridge Group, which connects the islands to the mainland and feeds the Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the world leader in cargo handling for 17 consecutive years.
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The numbers for Taoyaomen and the Zhoushan mega-project, according to China Railway, Xinhua, and the Zhejiang government, tell the story in five points:
- 218 meters high for tower No. 5, topped out on May 8, 2026
- 666 meters main span, world record for a cable-stayed road-rail bridge
- 2,000 tons of live load capacity on the deck
- 10 kilometers total length including approaches
- 1.4 billion tons of cargo handled in 2025 at Ningbo-Zhoushan port, fed by the cluster
What makes the Taoyaomen bridge technically difficult
The choice of hybrid deck cable-stayed design has an engineering reason. According to China Railway, this model combines elements of pure cable-stayed with traditional box girders at the ends, which allows for a much larger central span without compromising the stability of the railway section.
In parallel, trains generate concentrated loads on the wheels, a completely different distribution from road traffic. Therefore, the hybrid deck absorbs these two dynamics without needing to separate the modes at different levels.
The cable system of tower No. 5 descends in a fan shape to the deck. In parallel, this distributes the weight of the roadway among the available 218 meters of height, allowing for a clear span of 666 meters between the towers.
The tower is made of reinforced concrete, calculated to resist wind, seismic activity, and the sea spray of the Pacific coast. According to China Railway, the project used two topless Potain MCT 385 cranes, a model chosen for allowing precise movement at extreme heights.
The schedule has already moved past the vertical phase. In parallel, the assembly of the main deck, cables, and rails now begins. The full delivery date has not yet been officially disclosed by the constructor.
Why China places so much importance on Zhoushan
The Zhoushan archipelago has a unique location. According to official data, it is located opposite Ningbo, at the southern tip of the Yangtze estuary, and houses the world’s largest port in terms of volume handled.
Ningbo-Zhoushan port hit 1.4 billion tons in 2025, the first port facility to enter the “1.4 billion tons club,” according to the Global Times. The target for 2035 is 1.8 billion tons and 60 million containers.
In parallel, without bridges connecting the islands, this volume is impossible to maintain. Therefore, the Chinese government invested in an integrated network: Xihou Bridge (50 km, 2009), Jodai Bridge (2021), and now Taoyaomen (under construction).
Taoyaomen is the third major bridge in the cluster. According to the regional plan, more connections are scheduled to link Yang Shan and close the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo-Zhoushan logistics ring.
This ring concentrates more port capacity than any other region on the planet. In parallel, Brazil has 5 ports in the global top 100 and none in the top 20.
How Taoyaomen ranks among China’s largest bridges
China owns 9 of the 10 largest bridges in the world. According to the international bridge database, the ranking includes Pingtang (332m tower), Duge / Beipanjiang (269 and 248m towers, 720m span), Sutong (1,088m span), Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau (55 km), Changtai Yangtze (1,176m span, cable-stayed record).
Taoyaomen, with a 218m tower and a 666m span, is not the largest in height or span. In parallel, its title is more specific: the world’s largest hybrid deck cable-stayed road-rail bridge. It’s a technical niche, not an absolute record.
The tower height record belongs to Pingtang in Guizhou, with 332 meters. The span record belongs to Changtai (1,176m, completed in September 2025), and the longest total bridge is Danyang-Kunshan (164.8 km).
In comparison, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau, at 55 km, crosses the Pearl River Delta and cost about US$18 billion. In parallel, it includes underwater tunnels and artificial islands.
CPG has already covered the Chinese pace of mega-projects in an article on critical infrastructure for minerals. The difference compared to the US and Brazil lies in volume and execution speed.
Brazil comparison: Salvador-Itaparica bridge as a possible reference
Brazil built the Rio-Niterói (13.3 km, 1974) as its largest road bridge. In parallel, the next major project is the Salvador-Itaparica, with 12.4 km in length and a 900-meter cable-stayed central span, even longer than Taoyaomen’s main span.
The Brazilian project has an estimated cost of R$ 11 billion. According to the disclosed schedule, the effective start of construction is planned for June 2026, with completion in 2031.
The timeline contrast is clear. Taoyaomen began its deck in 2024, finished the towers in May 2026, and is expected to be delivered in 2027 or 2028. According to the Chinese schedule, that’s two or three years versus five for Brazil.
In parallel, the Salvador-Itaparica is only for roads, while Taoyaomen integrates train and car. Therefore, the Chinese technical complexity is greater, but the pace of work remains faster.
The difference is not just financial. According to analysts, it is mainly about the production chain: China has structural steel, cables, Potain cranes, specialized teams, and planning software operating for decades on an industrial scale.
What comes after Taoyaomen in the Zhoushan Cross-Sea Bridge Group
After Taoyaomen, new maritime connections are being planned. According to the Zhejiang government, the cluster foresees integration with Yang Shan and expansion to connect Pudong (Shanghai) to the archipelago.
In parallel, the port continues to expand. The goal is to double the current cargo volume in a decade, and this is only possible with more available terminal, more storage, and more land outflow.
According to data from China’s Ministry of Transport, the country plans to invest about US$600 billion in infrastructure by 2030, with significant emphasis on bridges and tunnels. In parallel, the naval and railway sectors account for most of the recent expansion.
For Brazil, the lesson is twofold. The first is volume: even large national projects like the Salvador-Itaparica represent only one bridge at a time. China inaugurates several per year.
The second is modal integration. In parallel, Brazilian bridges tend to be purely road-based, while Taoyaomen proves the technical feasibility of carrying both train and car on the same cable-stayed deck.
It should be noted, however, that the main span of Taoyaomen appears as 580 meters in Wikipedia sources and as 666 meters in recent documentation from the constructor. The bridge’s inauguration date has not yet been officially confirmed. The article will be updated as China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group releases a definitive schedule.
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