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Three bridges – a pipeline bridge, the Yellow Sea First Bridge, and the Yellow Sea Second Bridge in the making – link the artificial Yangguang Island with the bustling Yangkou Port in Rudong county, Nantong, Jiangsu province, transferring a continuous flow of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Yangtze River Delta and surrounding regions.

The 3-square-kilometer Yangguang Island was successfully filled at the end of 2007, and is now home to six colossal white LNG storage tanks owned by PetroChina Jiangsu. They can store up to 670 million cubic meters of natural gas at full capacity, making the island the largest clean energy hub in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Since 2020, Yangguang Island has seen the addition of three new LNG terminals with a total investment of around 20 billion yuan ($2.81 billion). The terminals are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025, with an annual LNG unloading capacity of 22 million tons.

The creation of the island necessitated a bridge, leading to the construction of the Yellow Sea First Bridge. In October 2008, the 12.6-kilometer-long bridge opened. A pipeline bridge was later built parallel to the west of the Yellow Sea Bridge, dedicated to the transportation of natural gas and chemical materials.

Currently, an average of about 900 vehicles cross the Yellow Sea Bridge daily, reaching up to 1,000 vehicles during peak hours, according to Tang Yadong, a Party official at the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone. The Yellow Sea Bridge has shortened the shipping distance by nearly 200 kilometers and reduced transportation costs, Tang added.

To accommodate the rapid growth in cargo throughput at Yangguang Island, expansion of the Yellow Sea Bridge has commenced. In 2020, construction began on the 10.035-km Yellow Sea Second Bridge. Running parallel to the first one, the new bridge includes interchange connections.

Yellow Sea First Bridge at Yangkou Port in Rudong, Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: rudongfb]