Google vs. Baidu: Faceoff in China!

Google vs Baidu, Who will win China?

Google (GOOG), she says, lost share in China, dropping to 17% in the third quarter, from about 19% in the second quarter.

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt (L) and ex-President of Google China Kai-Fu Lee

Lee scurried to set up an office for his incubator, raise a fund and assemble a team from thousands of job seekers. Lee’s PR reps in China and the Valley hyped his new project as his fulfillment of a dream to coach young Chinese entrepreneurs and support their best start-up ideas.

DangDang - Amazon of China!

It shouldn’t be all that surprising to see a big American brand being one-upped by a local competitor. Indeed, the story of a home-grown Chinese start-up triumphing over an iconic Internet rival is by now a familiar theme.

Just like Chinese search engine Baidu trumped Google, online bookseller Dangdang (当当网) outsmarted Amazon in China (卓越亚马逊) with better merchandising skills while Alibaba-owned Chinese auction site Taobao (淘宝网) took the lead from eBay by giving sellers a free listing of their goods and charging only for premium accounts.

Taobao, eBay of China!

What helped was being on site to respond to China’s fast-moving marketplace rather than in a faraway office on the other side of the Pacific.

And Baidu is trying to extend its search dominance on mobile phones, an area where Google has done well in China, thanks to a search deal with China Mobile, the nation’s largest carrier. In October Baidu announced a deal to provide mobile search to customers of China Unicom‘s (CHU) 3G services, and it also is testing a mobile app that features Baidu’s some most popular online tools, including a message board service. China Unicom—the country’s second largest mobile carrier—signed a three-year deal with Apple this summer to bring the iPhone to China.

Baidu to Provide Wireless Search for China Unicom's 3G Subscribers

Tech analaysts in China have said Google has done a good job understanding the nuances of the Chinese language. (Google hasn’t fared as well in Russia, where rival Yandex dominates thanks, in part, to its ability to accommodate the peculiarities of the Russian language.) Some users also say Google delivers a better search experience: Baidu had been criticized for mixing ads and organic search results on the same confusing page.

Baidu benefits from incumbent status (it formed in 2000, while Google China didn’t get going until 2006 –after Google sold a modest share in Baidu) and, its executives say, a set of tools that help Chinese users get information – not just search results. A tool called Baidu Post Bar it a bit like a social-networking application that allows users to tap other folks online for advice or comments as they are searching for, say, the best appliance to buy.

But no one, least of all Baidu executives, assumes Google is content with its position in China today. “We don’t underestimate their technology or their ability,” says Baidu CFO Li.

And while Baidu, for now, seems content to focus on search (CEO Robin Li likes to point out that the company’s other services – maps, mail, Baidu Post – all help enhance the search experience) Google’s ambitions in China go well beyond traditional online advertising and search. The company is widely believed to be looking for multiple ways to introduce its Android mobile operating platform in China, and recent reports suggest it may look to open an Android application marketplace in China.

Google to Launch Chinese Android Market?

For now, though, Google must live with its second-banana status in China. According to various Chinese news outlets, Google China issued a news release listing the most popular searches in China in 2008. The most searched term among Google users in mainland China? Baidu.

“Baidu” tops most searched terms on Google China
Baidu tops the most searched terms on google in China, according to a report-”Hottest Words by Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan 2009″ -Google China released Wednesday. Among stocks, Vanke A share, China Unicom and Ping An of China were the most searched for. Shanghai Composite Index, fund, exchange rate Growth Enterprise Board, and paper gold were among the top economic search terms. Google users were also curious about the prices of gold, airplane flights, steel and petrol.

Internet expert Xiewen said the report reflected Google’s generosity as well as its own flaws in China.

The report also released the most searched “economic search terms”. Shanghai Composite Index, fund, exchange rate Growth Enterprise Board, and paper gold were on the list.

In addition, it is noteworthy that Internet companies occupy the top ten “hottest searched words by mainland users” and three of them are Chinese online video sites. The emerging social website “kaixin001.com“,”xiaonei.com (now renren.com)” are also on the list, according to the report.

China launches world’s fastest train

China Unveils 'Fastest Train' in World

The Harmony express raced 1,100km in less than three hours on Saturday, travelling from Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, to the central city of Wuhan. The journey previously took at least 11 hours.

The improvement illustrates how China’s huge investment in infrastructure is dramatically shrinking the country, yet the economics of the new service, which runs 56 times a day, remain unproven amid a build-it-and-they-will-come approach to transport.

“China has focused on building expressways but that is an American method,” said Zheng Tianxiang, a Guangzhou-based infrastructure expert and government adviser.

“Expressways are not suited for China, which has large numbers of people but little space to spare. China should learn from Japan and Europe.”

The Harmony express, which reached a top speed of 394km per hour in pre-launch trials, travelled at an average rate of 350km per hour on its debut. This compared with a maximum service speed of 300km per hour for Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains and France’s TGV service. In America, Amtrak’s Acela “Express” service takes 3½ hours to trundle between Boston and New York, a distance of only 300km.

According to state media reports, the government spent $17bn (€12bn, £11bn) on the Harmony express line’s construction over 4½ years. Wuhan invested $2.4bn in a new French-designed train station, which boasts 20 tracks and 11 platforms. Officials this weekend declined to confirm project costs.

Ticket prices have been set at Rmb780 ($115, €80, £72) for first class and Rmb490 for second. The country’s airlines, which like the railway are mostly state-owned, have responded by slashing fares to undercut those for the new train, with China Southern Airlines, based in Guangzhou, offering tickets for advance purchase starting at Rmb250 and introducing hourly flights.

Huang Xin, head of passenger services for Guangzhou Railway Group, said on the inaugural ride that pricing might have to be adjusted.

Even the second-class fares may prove too rich for the biggest pool of potential passengers for the line, the estimated 20m workers in the Pearl river delta manufacturing belt around Guangzhou who hail from inland provinces. About half of them usually return home during the Chinese new year holiday in the world’s biggest human migration. The round-trip express fare is priced at about two-thirds of an average factory worker’s monthly wage.

Most passengers on the sold-out debut run were middle-class joy-riders drawn by the journey’s novelty value. “We are not staying in Wuhan,” said Qiu Chaoyue, a Guangzhou resident who tried out the new rail link with a group of friends. “We’re going to take the next train back to Guangzhou.”

Another disadvantage of the new service is that the stations at each end of the line are at least an hour’s drive from their respective city centres.

In total, the railways ministry intends to complete 18,000km of high-speed rail lines by 2012, allowing passengers to travel between most Chinese provincial capitals in eight hours or less.

One reason for the enormous construction outlay for the Harmony express was difficult terrain, especially in the poor mountainous areas of Guangdong and Hunan provinces. The train travels along 713km of elevated tracks and tunnels, accounting for about 70 per cent of its length.

Police were posted along the route to guard potential sabotage points, while burly railway security personnel monitored each passenger car. The police outside were often joined by farmers, who stopped to watch the Harmony express rush by their rural homes.

In spring and summer, the train will travel through a lush agricultural breadbasket, especially in the rice-growing areas of southern Hunan province. But in the dead of winter, it traverses a bleak, monochrome landscape of fallow fields and dirt roads that turn to mud in the rain.

The technology for the new train link has been developed in co-operation with Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom.

武广高铁时速350公里 世界惊叹中国速度

号称全世界最长、最快的武广高速铁路昨日正式投入运营，平均350公里的时速比西方最为著名的高速火车“欧洲之星”的平均时速还快了50多公里。

中途停靠15个车站

开工于2005年6月，全长1068.6公里的武广高铁，是迄今为止世界上一次建成里程最长、运营速度最快的高速铁路，是世界上第一条时速350公里的长大客运专线。它纵贯湖北、湖南、广东三省，北起武汉站，途经咸宁、岳阳、长沙、株洲、衡阳、郴州、韶关、清远等市，南到广州南站，全线共15个车站，是建设中京广高铁的重要组成部分。

根据测试记录，列车从武汉开出，20分钟后抵咸宁，43分钟后抵岳阳，1小时零8分后抵长沙，1小时16分钟后抵株洲，1小时36分钟后抵衡阳，2小时后抵郴州，2小时24分钟后到达韶关，2小时47分钟后抵清远，3小时后到广州。

英国《每日邮报》今晨报道用“比欧洲之星更让你嫉妒”来描述武广高铁，称“中国速度”让世界惊叹。报道称，武广高铁期望最终通至香港。港府此前已经通过了造价537亿港元的港段高铁计划，目前尚待香港立法会批准。

无法在速度上跟中国较劲儿，不少外媒将焦点放到了票价和对高铁未来的发展上。媒体报道称，高铁的高价令普通老百姓 “心凉了半截儿”，甚至引发外媒对中国经济或将受高铁“绑架”的质疑。

民众质疑

高铁票价堪比机票价

英国广播公司BBC的报道说，武广高铁运行的同一天，武广铁路沿线停运13对普通列车，而武广高铁票价是普通硬座价格的3.5倍，这引起了不少民众的不满。

新加坡《联合早报》昨日文章分析称，打工者和学生是火车的主要乘客，对于他们来说，车票可能就是他们一个月的生活费。有网友称：“高铁再怎么说也是火车，凭什么比机票价钱还贵啊？”

媒体称，高速铁路网是中国一揽子刺激计划的象征，太注重对基础设施投资而忽略了提高人民生活水平。中国城市工人去年平均收入2.8898万元，是美国工人平均工资3.9653万美元的十分之一。

对此铁道部回应称，目前的票价只属于“试运营价”，日后正式定价时将考虑高铁的运营情况。而在列车方面，被停运的班次可以在春运期间加开临客补充。

国产CRH3型和谐号高速列车正在驶进新武汉站

高度发展铁路可能拖累经济

美媒称，高铁的高价令百姓们望而生畏，然而民众“被高速”的呼声背后还有一种担心——高铁恐怕将成为中国未来经济发展的隐忧之一。“顾客的犹豫意味着高速铁路如果仍以现在的速度扩张，可能达不到足够多的载客量去还债。”《纽约时报》23日“中国经济是否会脱轨？”的报道援引北京交通大学经济学教授赵坚的话说，“铁道部发行了3830亿元债券，如果说美国有次贷危机，那么在中国我们也有铁路债务危机”。“这条正在建设的高速铁路线预计耗资2210亿元人民币，目前有雇员12.7万人，是中国历史上最昂贵的工程项目，耗资超过了世界最大的水力发电项目长江三峡大坝。”美媒称，高铁投资巨大，可能会阻碍中国经济增长。

还有美国媒体援引摩根士丹利亚洲区董事长斯蒂芬·罗奇的话说，诸如工厂和铁路系统这样的固定资产投资在中国2009年头三个季度7.7%的GDP增长中所占比例超过了95%，占GDP的45%。

他认为，如果消费开支不能大幅增长，出口增长又陷入停滞，那么投资必须进一步增长才能刺激经济。“对任何经济而言，这都是不可持续的数字。”罗奇此前在10月份的一份报告中还表示，随着明年投资主导的扩张逐渐消失，对美国这一传统增长来源的出口不能增长，中国明年或许遭遇增速延缓。

专家反驳

推动经济高铁一样有票房

对外经济贸易大学国际经济研究院国际投资研究室主任、中国资本运营研究中心主任冯鹏程今晨接受本报记者采访时表示，对中国经济的数量增长来说，高铁的建成肯定是有益的。“花一块钱建设高铁，GDP总量就多一块钱。”冯鹏程说，但对更为重要的经济质量增长来说，目前看来没有产生太多的有利影响，因为票价贵，没有给予老百姓实实在在的好处。

不过，冯鹏程补充说，从长远来看，高铁使中国的基础设施建设有了很大提高，未来能够吸引更多外资，如果政府将来的政策得当，中国经济同样能靠高铁在质量上实现增长，赢得票房。

武广数据

　　路线：北起武汉站，南到广州站

　　车型：和谐号高速列车

　　票价：一等票价780元、二等490元

　　距离：1069公里

　　时间：3小时

　　时速：350公里

　　世界速度

　　（单位:公里/小时）

　　西班牙高速铁道 约300

　　中国京津城际铁路 约350

　　法国高速火车 约349.2

　　日本新干线 约320

China Takes Lead in Green Technology

Workers walk on the roof, covered by solar panels, of the Theme Pavillion for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

China looms large over the global climate summit in Copenhagen, where Chinese officials are pressing the U.S. and other rich nations to accept new curbs on their emissions and to continue to subsidize poor nations’ efforts to adopt clean-energy technology. China is the world’s biggest source of carbon emissions. Less understood is the way China is now becoming a source of some of the solutions.

China’s vast market and economies of scale are bringing down the cost of solar and wind energy, as well as other environmentally friendly technologies such as electric car batteries. That could help address a major impediment to wide adoption of such technologies: They need heavy subsidies to be economical.

The so-called China price — the combination of cheap labor and capital that rewrote the rulebook on manufacturing — is spreading to green technology. “The China price will move into the renewable-energy space, specifically for energy that relies on capital-intensive projects,” says Jonathan Woetzel, a director in McKinsey & Co.’s China office.

Future renewable energy production

Regulators will announce several low carbon centers next year that will have preferential policies to promote low carbon manufacturing and exports.

China’s goals face big challenges. China could end up becoming simply a low-cost manufacturing base, not a source of innovation. Worse, its drive to cut costs could stifle innovation overseas.

And Beijing has a long way to go to reducing China’s carbon footprint. For each out-of-date power plant it shut down in a two-year cleanup campaign, it added the capacity of roughly two more. Even some of the better power plants are run poorly because company bosses don’t want to pay to clean up their emissions.

In the fight against global warming, some of the biggest gains are to be made in scrubbing carbon from coal-burning power plants. China and the U.S. together have 44% of the world’s coal reserves, and aren’t about to give up on the cheap and reliable source of power. According to U.S. government projections, world coal use could increase nearly 50% by 2030.

“If emissions aren’t reduced from power plants, global warming cannot be avoided,” says Jonathan Lewis, a climate specialist at the U.S.-based Clean Air Task Force, which has sought to pair U.S. utilities with Chinese companies. “The solution can be led by the U.S. and China.”

Capture technology traps carbon dioxide gasses released by coal plants. The gas can be pumped deep underground, typically into salt caverns or aging oil fields. The carbon can be stripped either before or after the coal is burned. Post-combustion capture is simpler and can be retrofitted on existing power plants. Current versions cut energy output by a fifth or more.

Far more complicated is precombustion carbon capture, which involves completely redesigning plants. Coal is turned into a gas, the carbon is stripped out and the rest is burned. Called “integrated gasification combined cycle” plants, these cost billions of dollars and haven’t been developed on a commercial scale yet.

China has a technological lead in turning coal into gas. It has been using the technology widely to make petrochemicals and fertilizers as a substitute for pricier natural gas. Houston-based Future Fuels LLC has licensed gasification technology from China to use in a plant in Pennsylvania.

Critics say current carbon capture technologies are merely a Band-Aid for global warming. That’s because they’re so inefficient that even more coal has to be burned to produce the same amount of electricity. Also, the technology uses a lot of water and sequestering carbon underground isn’t proven.

Still, some analysts estimate carbon capture could account for between 15% to 55% of the world’s cumulative carbon emissions reduction by 2100.

Though carbon capture has moved into the mainstream, it is still at least five to 10 years away from becoming a widespread technology, analysts say.

China has doubled its wind power capacity in the last four years

In 2004, foreign firms owned 80% of China’s wind-turbine market, according to energy consulting firm IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Now, Chinese companies own three-quarters of the country’s market, thanks to companies which make turbines a third cheaper than European competitors.

Chinese wind-turbine makers are starting to export. In October, Shenyang Power Group struck a deal to supply 240 turbines to one of the largest wind-farm projects in the U.S., a 36,000-acre development in Texas.

Chinese factories, such as the Suntech Power Holdings plant in Wuxi, have pushed down prices of solar panels. China hopes it can reshape green technology as it has businesses such as cranes and computers.

Chinese competition is forcing rivals to shift production. U.S. Evergreen Solar Inc. said it will move its assembly line from Massachusetts to China. General Electric Co. said it will shut a facility in Delaware. BP PLC’s solar unit said this spring it would stop output in Maryland and rely on Chinese suppliers instead.

Yet, despite China’s armies of fresh engineering graduates, foreign companies still create and own most of the key technologies. “China lags about 10 years behind in technology,” says Bernice Lee, a research director at Chatham House, a London-based think tank that analyzed patent holders on renewable and low-carbon technology.

The Qinghe Wastewater Plant in Beijing. China’s water shortage, especially in the northern part of the country, is driving a need for wastewater recycling.

Others say China’s missteps could hurt the market for all. “China is making prices cheaper in renewables today, by lunging into oversupply, as it does in most industries,” says Daniel Rosen, principal of consulting firm Rhodium Group. “The question — and danger — is whether by oversupplying the market today China is damaging longer-term innovation and competition in the sector for the future.”

In green technology, China has figured out ways to turn excess capacity to its advantage. Until this year, China’s solar-panel makers exported nearly all their output to countries such as Germany and Spain, where government supported growth in the sector.

That changed this year when solar-panel prices fell as dozens of new Chinese polysilicon-makers started operating. The sudden glut in the raw material to make solar panels coincided with a drop in orders from European companies hit by the recession. The result: Polysilicon prices fell by half from January peaks. HSBC estimates they could drop 20% more by the end of 2010.

Softening prices created an opportunity for Chinese regulators. Officials are now talking about raising solar power capacity targets five- or tenfold, so that by 2020 China could have more than double current global solar-power capacity.

Demand for renewable energy is dwarfed by other sources of energy use in China

“The Chinese manufacturers can now make [solar panels] a lot cheaper than Europe, the United States and Japan because the whole supply chain is now available in China,” says Martin Green, who runs the photovoltaic center at the University of South Wales in Australia, a training ground for many scientists working in China’s solar industry. “The Chinese are making it more affordable, and they’re more adventurous in introducing new technology as well.”

The ability to manufacture cheaply is attracting the notice of U.S. utilities. Huaneng says it can make gasification equipment cheaper than foreign rivals.

Duke Energy Corp., of Charlotte, N.C., signed a pact with Huaneng in August to share information on clean-coal technology. Duke says it would take eight years to build an IGCC plant in the U.S. — versus three in China.

中国绿色投资领先世界
据汇丰银行近期的一份报告显示，中国已经投资510亿美元用于“绿色刺激计划”，据汇丰的统计，这占各国政府总共590亿美元相关投资的86%，相比之下美国相关的投资只有50亿美元。

据《华尔街日报》消息，汇丰的报告采用广义的“绿色项目”概念，包括公共住房、农村基础设施、铁路和港口。

报告显示，中国建设了1500个大中型水资源保护工程，污水处理能力和废物处理能力每天分别增加518万吨和16亿吨。这只是中国“四万亿”经济刺激一揽子方案中的一小部分。刺激计划也为今年前8个月新开工的6万个基础设施项目提供资金支持。

近期，中国出台了一系列的“绿色经济”政策和节能减排措施。最新的消息是在哥本哈根气候大会召开前，中国国务院会议研究于11月26日宣布决定了中国控制温室气体排放行动的目标——到2020年中国单位国内生产总值二氧化碳排放比2005年下降40%-45%。

从“红色”到“绿色”：中国要成低碳经济领导者

中国能成为全球“绿色”冠军么？看起来似乎不可能。这个大国通常被描绘成地球的可怕威胁，人口众多又依赖污染最严重的能源——煤炭。

但所有这一切即将改变。

　　今年9月份《纽约时报》发表题为“新的人造卫星”的专栏文章，作者是多次普利策奖得主托马斯?弗里德曼，他认为这不仅仅是中国更绿色的问题，而是会在世界上特别是美国引发的变革，就像前苏联1957年决定发射人造卫星后引发太空竞赛那样。

　　文章写到，“中国领导人决心要发展绿色能源……，依赖煤炭和石油的制造业发展让多数人无法去呼吸、游泳、钓鱼，没田种，没水喝。除非中国用清洁能源和没有烟囱的知识密集型行业带动发展，否则中国将因自身发展而消亡。”

　　该文章引发一片愤怒的争论。英国卫报记者华衷（Jonathan Watts）指责他花费太多时间“去和大连的技术官僚喝茶聊天，而没有足够时间去呼吸下山西、河南和北京的空气。”

　　总的来说，除了绿色能源行业投资之大让人印象深刻，中国能源需求70%仍依靠煤炭，快速的工业化进程和增长的汽车保有量让许多城市笼罩于雾霾中，据美国能源情报署（U.S. Energy Information Administration）报告，中国的碳排放已超过美国而且必将继续增长。

　　但近期的一份报告使得争论复杂起来。

　　上个月国合会中国发展低碳经济工作组（CPTLCE）提交给中国政府一份报告，题为《中国通往低碳经济之路》展示了一个清楚的规划，表明中国该如何从“红色”转向“绿色”。

　　报告建议可以通过改进经济发展模式，调整经济结构，加强技术革新能力达到目的，以此加强经济可持续发展能力。

　　报告认为问题虽然很大，但前途是光明的。

　　但中国能成为世界所需要的领导者么？

　　“假如我们只是谈论绿色科技，那我想这个答案绝对是肯定的，”报告的联合作者比约?斯蒂格森（Bjorn Stigson）说，他是世界可持续发展工商理事会主席。

　　他和弗里德曼一样相信绿色变革在中国势不可挡。

　　他说，“和包括温家宝总理在内的中国领导人会谈时，我听到非常明确的信号，绿色科技革新有优先权。中国领导人决心致力于环保、水资源保护和发展领先世界的技术。”

　　“考虑到新兴经济体国家人口增长，城市化和减少贫困人口问题，我们可以预测将来的世界资源和碳排放量都很紧张。中国将受到气候变化和资源紧张的负面影响，除非包括中国在内的世界各国走上一条低碳发展之路。”

　　“过去中国优先发展经济，忽略了环境保护。这都导致空气、水和土壤的污染。然而领导层最近意识到了这点并采取严厉措施解决这种不平衡。”

　　从世界工厂走向技术创新

　　斯蒂格森认为，中国世界工厂的地位使得中国在技术革新中处于有利位置。

　　他说，“中国能成为发展绿色能源的科技领袖，在太阳能、风能、生物能源和清洁煤炭方面。”

　　“更重要的，中国正在快速工业化，有机会在企业中应用目前最好的技术。”

　　那些热切把中国称为环境恶棍的西方人一定程度看起来更伪善，他们更该关注自己身边的问题。

　　“目前美国人均温室气体气体排放为20吨，中国是美国的五分之一，还有2.38亿人生活在贫困线下，”地球之友国际环境谈判员乔?扎库恩（Joe Zacune）说。

　　“同时，英国的个人碳排放量是中国的两倍，可中国比英国拥有更高份额的可再生电能。”

　　“中国的确有成为世界环境领袖的潜力。中国在本土投资发展可再生能源，还要继续这样做，在适当的社区扩大可再生能源投资，而不是煤炭和其他污染严重的不可再生能源。”

　　“中国看起来不像美国等其他发达国家，没有更多政治意愿，无论在国内还是国际上……，中国成为绿色领袖的首要障碍是，那些应该为环境保护负起历史责任的国家没有一个是好榜样。”

　　“中国促进洁净能源的行动实际上强调了美国相应行动的缺乏。中国应该最大程度不去效仿美国灾难性的碳排放额度与限制交易模式（cap and trade）。”

　　扎库恩还相信由于中国不在京都协议书认为的富裕国家名单，这使得中国有机会成为其他发展中国家的领袖，在目前进行的哥本哈根环境会议中促使美国和欧洲担负起责任。

　　但到最后，促进美国承担责任的可能是担心落后于东西方国家正在发生的革新。

　　“发展低碳经济的动力引发了各国间积极的竞争，”斯蒂格森说。“美国已经意识到中国和欧盟都采取了认真的政策来领导此事。”

　　“‘绿色竞赛’已经开始，希望最高效的国家赢得这场比赛。”

China starts building world’s longest sea bridge

The construction of the world's longest cross-sea Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge began in China on Tuesday

China has started construction of the world’s longest sea bridge, Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge (Pont Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao, 港珠澳大桥, 港珠澳大橋), as part of a 73 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) plan to rejuvenate the Pearl River Delta, the manufacturing hub hit by a slump in demand for Chinese exports this year due to global financial crisis.

The 50 km (31 miles) long bridge will link Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland Pearl River Delta city of Zhuhai and the gambling centre of Macau in a giant Y-shape, 35 km (22 miles) of which will span the sea.

Expected to be completed in 2015/2016, the 73bn yuan cost of the bridge will be shared by the authorities in the three territories.

The structure also includes a 5.5km underwater tunnel with artificial islands to join it to bridges on each side. According to the engineering group Arup – which has helped with the design – it is the first major marine bridge-and-tunnel project in China. But the engineering firm described the structure as 38km in length; the reason for the disparity was unclear.
Work is expected to begin with land reclamation to create an artificial island of around 216 hectares (540 acres) off Zhuhai. This will become the customs point for those making the crossing.

An artistic rendering of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

But much of the structure will be prefabricated offsite, so, for example, the concrete deck sections can be produced at the same time as the foundations are laid. The tunnel will be made of precast sections – each 100 meters long.

“It is designed with a service life of 120 years. It can withstand the impact of a strong wind with a speed of 51 meters a second, or equal to a maximum Beaufort scale 16 (184 to 201kmph),” said Zhu Yongling, an official in charge of the project construction. “It can also resist the impact of a magnitude-8 earthquake and a 300,000-tonne vessel.”

Six lanes of traffic will pass across the bridge at a maximum speed of 100kmph, cutting driving time from Hong Kong to Zhuhai from four hours to one.

According to projections more than 200 million vehicles a year will be using the bridge by 2020, carrying 170-220 million tons of freight.

The bridge was first proposed in 1983 as a way of fostering economic ties between China, Hong Kong and Macau. But it will be particularly welcome as the Pearl River Delta – for many years the hub of China’s manufacturing – is buffeted by economic problems. The area’s attempt to move up the value chain, combined with the rise of the yuan and the global economic crisis, has seen exports plummeting.

It is hoped the construction will help transform the Pearl River Delta into a modern export and services hub as it seeks to move away from its traditional low-tech industries snapping together cheap products for Western consumers.

“Through a more convenient and fast transport network, Hong Kong’s financial, tourism, trade and logistics and professional services can become better integrated with the Pearl River Delta and the surrounding areas,” said Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, at a ceremony launching the project.

In a sign of the importance Beijing has attached to the project, the Chinese vice-premier Li Keqiang, the man widely tipped to succeed the prime minister Wen Jiabao in 2012, was on hand to inaugurate construction.

The plan has faced objections from environmental groups, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, who say that it will further diminish the Delta’s already battered marine ecosystems, imperilling endangered species including the crested kingfisher, mangrove water snake and rough-skinned floating frog.

Of particular concern is the effect on the Chinese white dolphin whose breeding patterns could be disturbed by the noise of the construction and dredging needed to sink the bridge’s massive piles into the seabed.

Officials, however, have pledged to protect ocean ecology and fishery resources. “We will control the construction noises and turbidity of seawater, and prevent oil pollution,” Zhu Yongling, an official in charge of construction, told China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
It is only a year and a half since China opened a 36km span across Hangzhou Bay – in the eastern province of Zhejiang – which is currently the longest sea-bridge.

Wang Yong, the head of that project, said the design had led to more than 250 technological innovations and engineering breakthroughs, many of which will no doubt prove useful in building the new construction. He added that the Hangzhou bridge survived 19 severe challenges, including typhoons, tides, and geological problems during the three and a half years of construction.

The longest water-spanning bridge in the world is the Lake Pontchartrain causeway bridge in New Orleans, at 38.4km. But officials said that Hangzhou was a particularly difficult site to build because of its complex climate.

世界最长跨海大桥港珠澳大桥示意图

世界最长跨海大桥港珠澳大桥开建 投资700亿元

2009年12月15日, 港珠澳大桥在珠海举行动工仪式,首先开工的项目是珠澳口岸人工岛。大桥全长49.968公里，建成后将成为世界最长跨海大桥。大桥也是中国建设史上里程最长、投资最多、施工难度最大的跨海桥梁项目。港珠澳大桥工程包括：海中桥隧工程；香港、珠海、澳门三地口岸；香港、珠海、澳门三地连接线。口岸采用“三地三检”模式分别由各方建设、各自独立管辖。

海中桥隧工程起自香港大屿山，止于珠澳口岸人工岛，全长约35.6公里，隧道两端各设置一个海中人工岛，海底隧道最深处离海平面40米左右。大桥施工工期约6年，工程全部投资估算为729.4亿元，设计寿命120年，用钢量相当于建11个“鸟巢”，可以抗击8级地震、16级大风及30万吨巨轮撞击。

工程计划单列5000万元作为景观工程费，将专门设置海景观赏平台和白海豚观赏区。

大桥建成后将大大改善三地交通格局，促进三地经济圈的形成，开创粤港澳合作新格局。澳门经济学会会长刘本立说，港珠澳大桥是港澳之间第一条陆路快速通道，比以往减少2/3交通成本，意味着澳门进入整个港珠澳一小时经济圈。

港珠澳大桥三亮点

设立中华白海豚观赏区
大桥将穿越中华白海豚保护区，为保护中华白海豚，工程制定了严格的保护方案。比如在打桩和挖掘作业施工前，应在施工地点半径500米范围内连续监测5分钟以上，确保施工范围内没有中华白海豚活动后方可施工，尽量减少同时作业挖泥船的数量等。为了保护中华白海豚，广东省计划投入1.5亿-2亿元。
大桥建成后，有望在面向白海豚繁殖区域设白海豚雕塑，或将白海豚形象在大桥工程部分造型中得以体现，并设立白海豚观赏景区。

人工岛设平台观赏海景
根据大桥工程可行性报告要求，人工岛将成为集交通、管理、服务、救援和观光功能为一体的综合运营中心，除了岛上构筑物的造型美观外，还将重视岛区范围内的绿化工程，在海景较美的地方设置观景平台。
此外，珠海作为中国有名的蚝贝类产销基地，人工岛设计也可望采取蚝壳的特色造型。同时，大桥隧道出入口也将进行景观美化。

中转站也是艺术品
“大桥工程将分别在珠江口伶仃洋海域南北两侧，通过填海建造两个人工岛。”一名香港设计人员说，人工岛间将通过海底隧道相连，隧道、桥梁间通过人工岛完美结合，“同时，两者之间的转换采取了点、线、面相结合方式，既是中转站，又是艺术品”。

港珠澳大桥“三最”

内地最长寿：内地大桥一般使用寿命都是五六十年，而港珠澳大桥设计使用寿命是120年，建成后可抗八级地震。

世界最长：根据近期批复的大桥工程可行性报告，港珠澳大桥全长约50公里，主体工程“海中桥隧”长35.578公里，超越现时世界上最长的跨海大桥――杭州湾跨海大桥，建成后成为世界最长的跨海大桥。

世界最难：港珠澳大桥主体工程包括6648米海底隧道。大桥初步设计单位“中交公路规划设计院公司”董事长兼总经理张喜刚曾表示，大桥主体工程中的海底隧道和人工岛部分，其施工技术难度在目前世界上是首屈一指的。

研究25年方案十几种　单“Y”方案终定案

港珠澳大桥最早在25年前由香港合和集团主席胡应湘提出，此后陆续出台设计方案不下十几种。其中，把港澳、深圳、珠海四地连通的双“Y”字方案和公路铁路桥“二合一”的方案曾广受支持，但最终被舍弃，最后单“Y”字方案被选定。

粤港澳同入一小时交通圈

李培祥分析，港珠澳大桥这样的基础建设投资对目前经济回暖有所帮助，从长远来看，将对区域经济和社会融合有重大意义。专家学者普遍认为，港珠澳大桥的建设将加速粤港澳经济一体化进程，提升大珠江三角洲的综合竞争力。

目前，粤港澳国民生产总值占全国近20%，三地紧密合作已有实力参与世界城市群的竞争。广东的发展离不开港澳，粤港澳的发展与三地互利合作密不可分。改革开放以来，广东承接港澳产业转移，通过加工贸易发展壮大，粤港澳合作发挥了重大作用。

港珠澳大桥建成后将促使粤港澳三地联系更紧密，形成城市圈，物流综合成本有所降低，配送时间更快，形成更大城市配送物流需求。

香港运输物流学会前会长梁刚锐分析，港珠澳大桥的兴建将拉近香港和珠三角的距离。业内人士指出，“长期以来，香港仅可借深圳进入内地，路径过于单一，辐射打折。”港珠澳大桥无疑给香港注射一剂“强心针”，不仅使其通往内地更加便捷，还扩大了香港的发展空间，港珠澳大桥彻底结束了香港与珠三角西翼的交通难题。

澳门经济学会会长、曾组建“民间关注港珠澳大桥小组”的立法会议员刘本立在接受有关媒体采访时表示，对于澳门而言，港珠澳大桥的建设使港澳之间出现了第一条陆路快速通道，这比以往减少2/3交通成本，意味着澳门进入整个港珠澳的一小时经济圈，“澳珠都市区”将与“港深都市区”媲美。

激活珠江西岸

有关珠江三角洲的物流业调查显示，珠三角东岸已经成为以电子产品加工、制造为主的国际性制造业基地，尤其以深圳、东莞最为突出，东岸是香港航空物流、港口货运的主要腹地，通往香港的陆路成为中国最繁忙的公路之一。与此相对，珠三角西岸的外向物流中心却尚未真正形成。

据悉，珠江三角洲东西岸之间的联系并不十分紧密，现在的珠三角运输网络被珠江给分割开来。主持《香港与珠江西岸交通运输研究》课题研究的陈元龙认为，港珠澳大桥可满足香港与珠三角西岸沟通和联系的需要，把香港在法律、物流、金融、国际贸易方面的优势和珠三角地区制造业的优势紧密联系互动起来，可为双方赢得广阔的发展空间。

据统计，深圳港的集装箱吞吐量中，深圳地区的货源占30%，东莞地区的货源占43%，珠江三角洲西岸地区占 10%，珠江三角洲以外的地区仅为17%。珠江口东西岸之间的过江通道严重不足，公路仅有虎门大桥，水路仅有虎门渡口。省交通运输厅负责人介绍，由于连接珠江两岸的虎门大桥一个昼夜的车流量达到7万—8万辆，已接近饱和，节假日时常拥堵。

珠三角西岸地区的崛起需要更紧密地与港澳融合，而港珠澳大桥建成后，将激活现有的西部沿海通道，带动西岸地区以至粤西经济发展。