在「世界最高橋樑排行榜」中,中國貴州的杭瑞高速北盤江大橋以565米的高度奪得榜首之位,前一百名的橋樑中,有超過80座來自中國,其中貴州佔左一半以上。連接貴州與雲南兩個省的北盤江大橋,跨越尼珠河,通車後利用高速公路及大橋,令往來六盤水市及宣威市的時間,由以前行山路的五小時縮減至一小時車程。
貴州的橋樑締造多項世界紀錄,除左北盤江大橋是世界第一高橋之外,當中貴黔高速鴨池河大橋為世界跨徑最大的鋼桁梁斜拉橋,全長1461米,橋面寬27.9米 ,主橋是主跨800米的雙塔雙索面鋼桁架斜拉橋,外型非常壯觀。貴州多橋原因是有公路有大橋,以及鐵路連接下,就可以打通對外聯繫的交通,可以改寫貴州與世隔離的窮局面。事實證明貴州人民的生活及經濟環境,因為近年投入大量的基建而得到極大改善。
經過多年的扶貧脫貧之戰,今日貴州已經打破「窮死一世」的命運,全國有5575萬農村貧困人口脫離了貧窮。而貴州最新數據,已經有900幾萬人脫貧。打通交通網絡之外,貴州協助貧窮戶脫貧的方法是「易地扶貧搬遷」,徹底改善他們的居住及生存條件,協助與世隔絕的貧窮戶,走出深山。過去五年搬遷總規模達到188萬人,相當於3個冰島全國總人口的「大遷徙」,當中貧困人口有149萬人。
Roads, bridges, and trains are a big part of the stories we tell on The China Current for the way they link people, and in many cases give them access to the world-at-large for the first time.
And because they open up basic services like health and education, to communities that were once isolated, infrastructure has been key to lifting millions of people from poverty.
China is the world’s second-largest economy, but like anywhere on the planet, it has pockets of poverty that holds people back, and prevents them from fulfilling their potential.
Ironically, the incredible landscape you see across the country, has often been the cause. Children cut off from schools, because they live on top of a mountain, now fixed by relocating entire communities to purpose built towns, or villages separated by raging rivers, now connected safely by bridges.
In fact, bridges, be they over water or through mountains, have in China given life and opportunities to families who through history have only known poverty.
Among the 100 tallest bridges in the world, over 80 are found in China, with Guizhou Province alone having more than half of these.
The Beipanjiang Bridge measures some 565 meters high, connecting Guizhou to Yunnan next door, and straddling the Nizhu River. After opening to traffic, this set of local highways and bridges have cut the travel time between two cities called Liupanshui and Xuanwei from five hours to one hour.
Other major bridges in Guizhou include Yachi River Bridge, a mouthful to say, but the world’s largest steel truss cable-stayed bridge with a length of 1,461 meters.¬
Growing public infrastructure projects have opened Guizhou up to the world. Indeed, these social investments have completely transformed the living and economic environment of a province that 38.5 million people call “home”.
After years of putting innovate ideas into practice, China has helped lift over 55 million rural poor people from poverty, among the 800 million Chinese who have climbed their way to a better life in the last 40 years.
These are not numbers, but real stories of real people who are impacting the planet, and making it a fairer place. Because, says the World Bank, those 800 million Chinese collapsed the number of people living in global poverty by 75%.
Transportation, access to resources, and connection to community are all pivot points. In the past five years alone, 1.88 million people in Guizhou, many of whom were poor, have been relocated to areas where they can benefit from the same or similar progress they are seeing around the country.
1.88 million is just a drop in a sea of humanity called China where there are 1.4 billion people. Nonetheless, this movement of people is still equivalent to the population of Iceland multiplied by three. And that is how change occurs, by planting an idea and a dream, and making it happen little by little.