The construction progress of the Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel and the opening of the Haiyi High-speed Railway, and the popularity of Pingtan wind power tourism is increasing

The Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel connects Nantong Haimen at one end and Taicang, Suzhou at the other end, with a total length of 11.185 kilometers, of which the shield section is 9.315 kilometers. It is also the longest underwater shield tunnel for highways in the world. How is the tunnel construction going during this National Day holiday? Let’s take a look at the report sent back by the main station reporter from the construction site.

Headquarters reporter Tang Gaolin: Where I am now is a construction site more than 30 meters deep under the Yangtze River. Behind me is the "Jianghai" shield machine that is digging. During the National Day holiday, more than 600 workers here were still working on the front line to ensure that the construction progressed as scheduled.

Let me briefly introduce the basic situation of this tunnel: it connects Nantong Haimen at one end and Taicang, Suzhou at the other end. It is currently the longest highway underwater shield tunnel in the world. The entire tunnel is a two-way six-lane design, divided into two independent tunnels on the left and right. The construction of the two lines was started four months apart. The first line to start work is the right line, which is the line I am standing on now. The working surface of the "Jianghai" shield machine has now reached a position of 8,000 meters; the "Cangyuan" on the left line has just successfully passed the lowest point of 75 meters deep under the water surface. This also marks that the two lines, one in front and one behind, one on the right and one on the left, have all passed through the key section of the entire tunnel with the highest water pressure, the greatest risk, and the most complex geology.

Why don't the two tunnels on the left and right start construction at the same time? Why do they have to be staggered one behind the other? The technicians on site told me that the construction conditions of the Haitai Tunnel are called "four supers" by industry insiders: ultra-long distance, ultra-large cross-section, ultra-high water pressure, and ultra-large burial depth. At the lowest point of 75 meters under the water, the water and soil pressure on the front of the shield machine can reach 7.5 bar. This pressure is equivalent to about 51 cars per square meter of ground.

With such great pressure, if two shield machines are operated at the same time, the strata at the bottom of the river will be repeatedly disturbed, and the construction risk will also increase. Therefore, the two lines must have sufficient time difference and space distance. Another advantage of this is that the difficulties encountered and accumulated experience of the previous shield machines during construction can be shared with the subsequent teams, so that the construction efficiency and safety factor are greatly improved.

If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. Let me tell you about the super equipment-shield boring machine. Take the "Jianghai" behind me as an example. It has a diameter of 16.64 meters and is almost as high as a five-story building. We are actually in its "belly" now.

The entire shield machine is divided into a cutterhead at the front, a shield in the middle, and supporting equipment at the back. Technicians told me that the shield machine is not only big, but also equipped with many first-of-its-kind technologies at home and abroad. When the front cutterhead rotates, it can easily break the soil, sand and gravel in front.

This is a model of a tearing knife. The real knife is made of alloy and weighs 400 pounds. Not only is it powerful, it is also extremely "smart". Look at the yellow part in the middle of the tool, which is a real-time monitoring sensor. During excavation, all data, such as the speed of the tool, the hardness of the soil layer, and the wear and tear, etc., will be transmitted back to the background in a timely manner. Engineers can grasp the excavation status by staring at the screen, thereby ensuring that the shield machine moves steadily and does not deviate.

After the tunnel was built, the entire tunnel was divided into three layers: the uppermost layer is the smoke exhaust flue layer, the middle is the traffic lane, and the bottom layer is divided into three parts, namely the pipeline corridor, the evacuation channel and the escape stairwell. In the event of an emergency in the tunnel in the future, personnel can go down the escape stairs to the ground floor and quickly evacuate in a rescue vehicle. This design is the first dedicated channel for rescue vehicles in China.

According to the plan, the Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel will be basically completed in 2028. In the entire Nantong area, there are 8 river-crossing passages along the 166-kilometer Yangtze River coastline, which are what the locals call the "Eight Dragons Crossing the River". In the future, it will only take 10 minutes to drive across the river, and it will take more than half an hour to reach downtown Shanghai from Haimen. The completion of the Haitai Tunnel is of great significance to promoting the integration of the Yangtze River Delta and cross-river integrated development.

New high-speed rail line opened, a "fast" and "slow" trip to the forest

The implementation of major projects will also reshape a place's tourism map. On the eve of this National Day holiday, the Haiyi High-speed Railway was officially opened. This new high-speed railway is also giving rise to a new cultural tourism craze in Yichun, from "fast" to "slow" travel.

Starting from Harbin, go all the way north and go straight to Xiaoxinganling. The black soil granary just passed by outside the car window, and in the blink of an eye, there was a vast sea of ​​pine trees and forests.

Passenger Song Baozhen: It’s open and rolling. It’s full of scenery along the way. It’s very happy.

As soon as many tourists arrive at the station, they rent a car first. Around Yichun West Station, several stores that were originally mainly engaged in second-hand car sales have also taken the initiative to transform and invest their vehicles and venues into tourism reception to seize new opportunities in cultural tourism.

Tourist Li Yijun: If we rent a car locally in Yichun, we can visit the core attractions of Yichun in four or five days.

During the National Day holiday, it is the time when the autumn colors of Xiaoxing'an Mountains are at their peak: the Tangwang River's strange rocks and colorful forests complement each other, the sun rises on Jinzu Peak and the sea of ​​clouds shine brightly, and the Maolangou Pond reflects the colorful autumn colors. Yichun Xishui National Forest Park newly planted Dutch chrysanthemums and other ornamental flowers this year, blending the sea of ​​flowers with the colors of the Wuhua Mountain.

Merchant Zhang Lei: After seeing Wuhua Mountain, many tourists stopped by to buy local products, and the sales suddenly opened up.

A high-speed railway shortens the time and space distance, the layout of the high-speed railway network in the northeastern border is accelerated, and the routes along the line are also continuously activated.

Wu Wenli, the person in charge of Yangshun Farmhouse of Xishui Forest Farm in Yichun City: I have been busy until night. After the high-speed rail was opened, it felt like there were suddenly more people.

At the same time, new accommodation formats such as homestay clusters, health and wellness residences, and forest courtyards are also rapidly emerging in the local area.

Wang Xiaowei, deputy director of the Yichun Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau: The Haiyi High-speed Railway has opened up the transportation bottleneck of Yichun's external connections. We have strengthened the "high-speed rail + eco-tourism" model and continued to improve the entire chain of food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment.

While the newly opened high-speed railway lines bring the distance and the mountains and rivers closer, they are also constantly stimulating new consumption vitality: data shows that on the eve of the National Day, four new lines, namely the Xiongshang High-speed Railway, Xikang High-speed Railway, Yixing High-speed Railway and Haiyi High-speed Railway, were opened, passing through North China, Northwest China, Central China and Northeast China, driving hotel bookings along the lines. Orders have increased by more than 20% year-on-year, and a number of small towns along the route are trying to catch the new traffic brought by high-speed rail: Ankang, Shaanxi Province, has launched economic gift packages based on high-speed rail tickets for tourists;

High-speed rail speeds through mountains and ridges, opening up new development space.

Island Chasing the Wind Green Energy Base Turns into a Tourist Check-in Place

During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the construction of offshore wind power bases in the East China Sea and other sea areas is accelerating. Located in Pingtan, Fujian, on the coast of the East China Sea, the "big windmill" on this island not only delivers green electricity, but also attracts many tourists during the National Day holiday. The green energy base has now become a popular tourist destination during the holidays.

CCTV reporter Liu Baixuan: In the afternoon, the temperature dropped slightly, and traffic and people slowly gathered on the highway around the island in Pingtan. During this year's National Day holiday, a tidal lane was opened here for the first time. One lane in one direction became two lanes during peak hours, making it more convenient for tourists to travel and sightsee.

Tourist Li Yanzhen: I saw this photo online and thought it was very beautiful, so I came here right away.

Tourist Hua Haoran: I feel very proud of the combination of manufacturing in a big country and tourist attractions.

Tourist Cao Dadong: The rows of wind turbines look very spectacular and cool.

Li Shanxuan, operation and maintenance technician of State Grid Pingtan Power Supply Company: We have more than 200 windy days in Pingtan throughout the year. We now have more than 200 offshore and onshore wind turbines. Every few hundred meters, you can see our rotating "big windmills."

CCTV reporter Liu Baixuan: On the Ring Road, this corner is actually the most popular spot. The moment I turned the corner, my view suddenly opened up, and the entire sea and windmills came directly towards my face.

In addition to the "Sea of ​​Windmills" near the coast, Pingtan also has a "Windmill Forest" on land. Onshore wind turbines are scattered among the arbor forests. This is another way to play: tourists can hike and climb here, and they can get up close and personal under the "big windmills".

Tourist Zhao Yu: Especially after a closer look, the shock is more obvious. The powerful weapon of a great power gives us a sense of power.

As the "windmill" tourist route extends deep into the forest, a series of consumer spaces facing the mountains and the sea have also been "growing" along the way since this year.

Pingtan, Fujian Province, once had difficulty retaining tourists due to strong winds; but now, this island has ushered in a new "windmill" because of its "windmill" landscape.

Sun Zhonghao, staff member of Pingtan Offshore Wind Farm: Our two rows of wind turbines are basically distributed along the coastline, some are large and some are small, some are sparse and some are dense. Taking into account economy and safety, we also create a three-dimensional and hierarchical "windmill" layout.

Ouyang Zhen, deputy director of the Tourism, Culture and Sports Bureau of Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone: We are continuing to enrich the "Windmill" series of cultural tourism products, launching coastal wind chasing, windmill-themed travel photography, planning special "Wind Museum", etc., turning "Windmill" into a cultural tourism route product that can be seen, played and learned.