The bridge was planned so that it would be completed in time to mark the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution of 1947. It was the first long-span bridge of its kind to be designed in China. Foundation work began in 1994. Engineering, manufacture and construction of the bridge was completed in just less than three years. The concrete towers are 190 metres (623 ft) tall, roughly equivalent in height to a 60 story building. The main span, constructed by Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, is made of flat streamlined steel box girders. The steel deck was erected by raising pre-assembled units weighing up to 500 metric tons with jacks. (pictures) The total investment of the bridge adds up to 2.728 billion yuan. The bridge opened on September 28, 1999. Jiang Zemin entitled the bridge and cut the ribbon.Goodwin Steel Castings manufactured the cable bands for the bridge.
In 2002 the bridge received an award at the International Bridge Conference for "...outstanding achievement in bridge engineering that, through vision and innovation, provides an icon to the community for which it was designed.