WORLD'S LARGEST SEA BRIDGE:
THE QINGDAO HAIWAN BRIDGE,CHINA

At 42.5 kilometers, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, connecting the city of Qingdao in Eastern China's Shandong province with the suburban Huangdao District across the waters of the northern part of Jiaozhou Bay, is the longest bridge over water. The six-lane road bridge is almost 5 kilometers longer than the previous record holder - the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the American state of Louisiana. When it opens to traffic later this year, the bridge is expected to carry over 30,000 cars a day and will cut the commute between the city of Qingdao and the sprawling suburb of Huangdao by between 20 and 30 minutes.

The bridge was built in just 4 years at a cost of US$ 8.6 billion. At least 10,000 workers toiled in two teams around the clock to build the bridge, which was constructed from opposite ends and connected in the middle in the last few days. The 450,000 ton structure of steel is supported by 5,200 columns and is strong enough to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons or the impact of a 300,000 ton vessel.

China is already home to seven of the world's 10 longest bridges, including the world's lengthiest, the 102 mile Danyang-Kunshan rail bridge, which runs over land and water near Shanghai.

Beijing pumping billions into boosting China's infrastructure, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge will not be the world's longest sea bridge for very long. In December 2009, work started on a 31 mile bridge that will link Zhuhai in southern Guangdong Province, China's manufacturing heartland, with the financial centre of Hong Kong. The £6.5 billion project is expected to be completed in 2016.

KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Community Bookshelf [Central Library Parking Garage] is a striking feature of Kansas City’s downtown. It runs along the south wall of the Central Library’s parking garage on 10th Street between Wyandotte Street and Baltimore Avenue. The book spines, which measure approximately 25 feet by 9 feet, are made of signboard mylar. The shelf showcases 22 titles reflecting a wide variety of reading interests as suggested by Kansas City readers and then selected by The Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees.

FLOATING TENNIS COURT - DOHA

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the two top seated tennis players in the world, kicked off the tournament in Doha with an exhibition match on a floating tennis court.

Nadal and Federer were brought in by boat, to a tennis court floating in a lagoon, on the coast of Doha, Qatar. The two exchanged a few friendly balls, but avoided sprints, as neither seemed to fancy a bath.

GREEN RAILWAYS IN EUROPE

THE NATURAL ROOT BRIDGES OF CHERRAPUNJI, INDIA

Deep within the southern Khasi and Jaintia hills (north eastern India), the humid and warm climate determines unusual natural shapes and rich vegetation. This is the place where bridges grow naturally instead of being built.

The Ficus elastica is a a species of Indian rubber tree with very strong roots which have the ability to extend and surpass any obstacle, whether we are talking about boulders or rivers. This is how these amazing root bridges of Cherrapunji were formed. Currently they serve as means of locomotion for the locals.

Some of these bridges are incredibly strong and can hold up to 55 people at a time. The root bridges have a medium length of a hundred feet (about 30 meters) and some of them are 500 years old.

DESERTED ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN-HASHIMA ISLAND

Hashima Island off the coast of Japan was once the most densely populated city on planet earth. From 1890 to 1974, the island was a coal mining facility. But when petroleum replaced coal in the 1960's, coal mines across Japan began shutting down and Hashima was abandoned, giving it a new nickname, “Ghost Island.”

Mitsubishi bought the island in 18901 and began using it as a coal mining facility. When space for the workers began to run out, they built Japan’s first large scale reinforced concrete apartment block on the island in 1916. More concrete tower blocks followed, and by 1959 the population of Hashima reached its peak of 5,259 – an astonishing 1,391 people per 10,000 square metres within the residential district – which is said to be the highest population density ever recorded in the world. The 15-acre island is one of 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. Sightseeing boat trips around the island are provided by two operators; Yamasa-Kaiun from Nagasaki Port, Kyodo Co. from Nomo Island.

As of April, 2009, the island is open again for public visits, with Yamasa Kaiun providing transportation to the island from Nagasaki. When petroleum began to replace coal here in the 1960s, coal production at Hashima began to decline, and Mitsubishi officially announced the closure of the mine in 1974. Today there is nobody left at all. Protected by a high sea wall, and completely off-limits to the public, the island is now an empty, rotting and collapsing ghost town, as clearly demonstrated.