A four billion yuan (480 million US dollars) bridge project will be built to connect old, new urban areas in Qingdao, a well-known port city in east China's Shandong Province.

The construction of the project, which has been approved by theState Council, or the central government, will begin in 2001. Huangdao, the new urban area of Qingdao, also a world-renowned tourist mecca, is separated from the city's old urban area by the Jiaozhou Gulf. It takes passengers about half an hour to cross the gulf by ferry and has greatly restricted and hindered the city's industrial development.

Bridge experts are still discussing the design of the bridge, and pre-stage preparations will begin shortly. And the most sophisticated technology in the world is to be introduced in building the bridge.