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Ascending the Steel Arch

Mounting Lupu Bridge in a tour group - By Helena, Aug 29, 06

Last Saturday morning I went hiking in Shanghai. No, this is not a joke. I really did some hiking in downtown Shanghai - Shanghai Climb. This experience took place on the Lupu Bridge, the world's longest steel arch bridge. It is situated on Luban Road, and links Puxi to Pudong across the Huangpu River. The bridge is also unique in its kind because it mixes three methods of bridge-building technology: cable-stay, arch and suspension. I was lucky because the weather could not have been better: the sky was light blue, and we started the journey by taking the so-called "high-speed elevator" (it is actually a normal speed elevator, but shhhh…) up to the main deck of the bridge. Along with a security guy escorting us (lest we could jump over the bridge in a desperate attempt to reach Nirvana?), we also had our own personal guide, explaining us the key dates of the Bridge and other facts about the river and the 2010 World expo site which lay just before our eyes. My guide's name was Shi Wen. I strongly recommend her, she has been very patient and nice towards us, even if we could not stop taking pictures of her and the policeman for fun, and made the visit last longer than expected... The bridge is 550 metres-long, and we had to climb 367 steps up the slope along the arch rib, for about 280 meters, to enjoy on the top a fantastic view of the Huangpu River. From the top of this arch what I really enjoyed was the fact that we could have an overall view of Shanghai's past (all the closed steel factories), present (the harbor and the ships being repaired) and future (all the harbor facilities are to be destroyed to build the 2010 World expo site, and rebuilt on an island), as the bridge is situated on the World expo site's central axle. The construction of the Lupu Bridge began in 2000 and it opened in June 2003. But only since last May are people allowed to visit it. Our guide told us that on the top of the bridge, we are 110 meters above the river. And apparently, great things are expected in the coming years, since sightseers will be able to go further on the bridge (for example along the roads), and a waterfall will be installed from the middle of the deck.

Well, the visit, even if it is not so much of an "unforgettable" experience where we can enjoy a 'breath-taking scenery of the Huangpu River', as they say in the leaflet, it is still worth having a look because it offers a nice and different view of Shanghai and of the river, far from the crowd that you can find on the Bund.

Details for Shanghai Climb | here

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