As everyone knows, there are three major straits in China, namely the Bohai Strait, Taiwan Strait, and Qiongzhou Strait. There are many rumors about when to build a cross sea bridge in these three straits every year

As everyone knows, there are three major straits in China, namely the Bohai Strait, Taiwan Strait, and Qiongzhou Strait. There are many rumors about when to build a cross sea bridge in these three straits every year. The impact of these three straits on national strategy and economy is different. In the short term, the Qiongzhou Strait is the most likely to be the first to build a cross sea bridge. Why do we say that? Let's analyze each one.

Firstly, from a political perspective, the Taiwan Strait is undoubtedly the largest. If Taiwan returns in the future, a cross sea bridge will be built as soon as possible. This bridge not only has significant economic benefits, but also symbolizes the reunification of the motherland, with significant strategic significance.

Taiwan Strait Cross Sea Bridge, paving the way home

Therefore, from a global perspective, the construction of the Taiwan Strait Channel is the most important among the three channels. So, the rest depends on the timing of Taiwan's return, as this time point is uncertain, so it may be preempted by the remaining two strait channels.

The Bohai Strait Channel and Qiongzhou Strait Channel are not as strong in strategic significance, but rather focus on economic benefits. So, which of these two strait channels has the higher economic benefits?

Let's first take a look at the Bohai Strait Passage, which connects Dalian and Yantai. In fact, it has opened up a convenient passage for Northeast China to travel south, which has certain significance for revitalizing Northeast China. However, how significant is this significance?

From the perspective of mileage savings, cities closer to the Liaodong Peninsula and Shandong Peninsula benefit more. For example, from Dalian to Yantai, it takes about 1300 kilometers to go through the customs, but if you go through the sea crossing bridge, it only takes more than 150 kilometers, saving a lot of mileage and time.

The Yanda Corridor can save a lot of time from Dalian to Yantai

But the further away cities are from these two peninsulas, the less obvious the benefits will be. For example, from Shenyang to Lianyungang, it takes about 1200 kilometers to travel through Shanhaiguan, but it also takes over 900 kilometers to travel through the Bohai Channel, saving only over 300 kilometers. If it is from Harbin to Shanghai, the distance saved will be even smaller.

From a large-scale perspective, the time saved by the Yanda channel is not as significant

That is to say, the Bohai Channel actually solves the problem of distance and proximity, with Liaoning and Shandong benefiting the most. From a broader distance scale, the impact on other provinces is not as significant, and its role in the overall situation is limitedThe existing Shanhaiguan passage itself is sufficient, and the role of an additional passage does not seem to be as strong.

From this perspective, can we revitalize Northeast China by opening up the Bohai Channel? Under the existing conditions, it is not possible, and an additional Bohai Sea passage may not be possible. It would be better to provide Northeast China with a sea outlet from the Sea of Japan. It would be even better if we could buy a port in Russia. Moreover, the estimated construction cost of the entire Bohai Strait channel will exceed 300 billion yuan, and it must be treated with caution.

Let's take a look at the Qiongzhou Strait Channel again.Compared to the Bohai Channel, the Qiongzhou Strait Channel solves the problem of presence and absence. There is no land channel connecting the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island. Once this channel is connected, it will first save about two to four hours in terms of time and cost, which undoubtedly has a significant driving effect on the development of Hainan.

So, what is the significance of developing Hainan?

Firstly, Hainan is the only province in China that is entirely located in tropical regions and has unique tropical tourism resourcesSunshine, beaches, coconut forests, and other tropical styles are rare across the country. In China, if you want to experience tropical styles, Hainan is a must go place, very similar to the Chinese version of "Florida". Hainan has already possessed the conditions for a true international tourism island,By opening up the Qiongzhou Strait Channel and solving thorny transportation problems, Hainan's tourism prospects will be even broader.

Hainan's scenery, sunshine, beaches, and coconut forests

Secondly, Hainan is China's special economic zone and island wide free trade port, and the country has high hopes for it. It will be fully closed and operated in 2025, which means that in the future, Hainan is likely to be a large Hong Kong.So, does Hainan have this condition? There really is.

Geographically, Hainan Island is located in the western part of the South China Sea, adjacent to various Southeast Asian countries, and has numerous excellent ports that facilitate overseas trade. Moreover, Hainan Island has a sufficient area of 33900 square kilometers, which is 30 times that of Hong Kong. In addition, Hainan Island is isolated from the mainland and has the natural conditions for independent customs operations. Once various resources are tilted to Hainan, its development is unlimited.

Hainan Island is adjacent to Southeast Asia and has superior location conditions

Although Hainan has good geographical conditions, its biggest weakness is land transportation. Although China has a vast inland area that can serve as the hinterland of Hainan, it is too troublesome to enter and exit Hainan IslandWhether by train or by car, taking ferries requires a lot of time, seriously affecting traffic efficiency and being very unfavorable for the distribution of goods and the entry and exit of people in Hainan. If Hainan truly wants to achieve great development, the land connection channel of the Strait will definitely need to be repaired.

So, what are the limiting factors for building the Strait Passage at present?

In fact, the construction of the strait passage is nothing but two of the most important influencing factors, one is the climate, and the other is the terrain.

From a climate perspective, the Qiongzhou Strait is one of the regions in China that experience the most frequent tropical storms and typhoons, with almost every year experiencing 6 to 10 typhoons. If a bridge is built in the Qiongzhou Strait, it will undoubtedly be a great challenge for the bridge.

The other is the terrain. Although the Qiongzhou Strait is only 20 to 40 kilometers narrow, there is a large groove in the middle, with the deepest point approaching 120 meters, which undoubtedly brings great difficulty to the construction of the project.

Terrain of Qiongzhou Strait

The Qiongzhou Strait Channel began systematic research as early as 1974, and began intensive research in the 1990s. It has been several decades since then, during which various plans were proposed, with up to 9 routes. Finally, after repeated argumentation, the most representative three were retained, namely the East Line, Middle Line, and West Line plans.

Three most representative solutions

The eastern route scheme covers a total length of about 20 kilometers from Paiwei Jiao in Xuwen to Baisha Jiao in Haikou. Although the distance is not long, the eastern route scheme can easily connect with the urban area of Haikou. However, the sea area this route passes through is complex in terrain, with a maximum depth of 90 meters, making construction the most difficult. Moreover, it is not far from the epicenter of the Qiongzhou earthquake in 1605 and belongs to a high-risk area for earthquakes, so it is excluded.

Eastern route plan

The remaining central and western lines have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The central line plan runs from the Fort Corner in Xuwen to the Tianwei Corner in Haikou, with a total length of about 20 kilometers. The distance between this line is also not long, and it can be connected to the existing railway line directly to the West Coast New Area in Haikou. The project quantity is small, and it has a direct driving effect on the development of Haikou. However, this line also has shortcomings, and the terrain is relatively complex, with a maximum water depth of about 88 meters, which is a significant challenge for construction.

Midline plan

The western route plan is from Dengloujiao in Xuwen to Daolunjiao in Chengmai, Hainan, with a straight distance of about 26 kilometers. The actual length of the passage may exceed 30 kilometers. The biggest advantage of this route is that it can avoid the deep groove area of the strait, with a relatively flat terrain and a water depth of about 40 meters. Whether it is shield tunneling or bridge repair technology, the difficulty is relatively small, but the disadvantages are also obvious. Firstly, the route is relatively long, and secondly, it is too remote. Daolunjiao is still 30 to 40 kilometers away from Haikou urban area, Not conducive to the development of Haikou urban area.

The western route plan has a shallow water depth, which is easy to construct, but the distance is long and the location is biased

Also, is it to build a bridge or a tunnel? The central line is more suitable for tunnel construction, while the western line is more suitable for bridge construction. If a bridge is built, how can the problem of ship passage in the strait be solved? How to ensure the ability of the bridge to withstand typhoons, whether to only build highway channels, railways, or dual purpose channels? These are all issues that need to be considered and repeatedly argued for.

The Qiongzhou Strait has a deep seabed, and there are already successful cases in the world, such as the Qinghan Underwater Railway Tunnel in Japan, which crosses the Tsugaru Strait and connects Honshu Island and Hokkaido in Japan, with a total length of 53 kilometers. The shallowest part of the Jinqing Strait is 133 meters, and the deepest part is 449 meters. The construction difficulty is unimaginable, and it took 16 years and a huge price to complete from 1971 to 1987. Fortunately, the construction difficulty of the Qiongzhou Strait Tunnel should not be greater than that of the Jinqing Strait Tunnel.

Schematic diagram of the Qinghan subsea tunnel in Japan

From a cost perspective, it is estimated that the conservative cost of the Qiongzhou Strait Channel is over 140 billion yuan, which is a significant expense and a heavy burden for Hainan. It requires joint financial support from Guangdong or the state.

Furthermore, once the Qiongzhou Strait Channel is opened, it will inevitably have an impact on the original ecological environment of Hainan Island. In short, the interweaving of various issues and factors has led to the continuous argumentation of the Qiongzhou Strait Channel. However, it is believed that with the further improvement of China's infrastructure engineering technology, there is a continuous accumulation of engineering experience in projects such as the Jiaozhou Bay Tunnel, Xiamen Xiang'an Submarine Tunnel, Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, and Hangzhou Bay Cross Sea Bridge, The construction of the Qiongzhou Strait Passage is not far away.

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