STORY: Vlog: Discovering green efforts behind infrastructure milestone in S China's Guangxi
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 29, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:27
LOCATION: QINZHOU, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Longmen Bridge
2. STANDUP 1 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
3. various of traffic (file)
4. STANDUP 2 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
5. various of animation of the Longmen Bridge's initial design
6. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN LIANG, Constructor of Longmen Bridge Project
7. various of construction (file)
8. STANDUP 3 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
9. various of mangroves (file)
10. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): CHEN LIANG, Constructor of Longmen Bridge Project
11. various of construction (file)
13. various of mangrove conservation efforts (file)
14. various of migratory birds (file)
15. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): SU CHUNFA, Guangxi resident engaged in mangrove protection
16. various of the Longmen Bridge
17. STANDUP 4 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
18. shot of migratory birds

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
"The longest sea-crossing bridge in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region opened to traffic on Sunday. The driving time between Qinzhou and Fangchenggang (Ports) is now reduced from 1.5 hours to 25 minutes. Well, what grabbed my attention, is not only its sheer length or the travel connivence it brings, but also the green efforts behind this eco-friendly project."

Vlog: Discovering green efforts behind infrastructure milestone in S China's Guangxi

STANDUP 2 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
"If you look at the bridge from above, you will notice that it doesn't go straight. This doesn't seem cost-effective enough. So why did the constructors take a detour?"

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN LIANG, Constructor of Longmen Bridge Project
"In the initial design, the bridge's east-end interchange goes straight through the mangrove forest (in the Maowei Sea) before reaching the Qinzhou Port. In order to protect the mangrove forest, we adjusted the route to avoid the core protected area. We also optimized the design of the interchange's main body, significantly reducing the impact on the mangroves at the bridge site. This adjustment alone protected approximately 17,000 mangrove trees from being damaged."

STANDUP 3 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
"Mangrove wetlands are known as paradises for birds and granaries for fish and shrimp. To protect the biodiversity in the Maowei Sea, the engineers have come up with multiple innovative measures."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): CHEN LIANG, Constructor of Longmen Bridge Project
"The Longmen Bridge is the largest cross-sea passage project in Guangxi, and its route is relatively long. So we had to build some temporary trestle bridges and operation paths during construction. When we built the trestles, we inserted the steel pipes in the gaps between mangrove trees to keep the mangrove forest intact. However, there were mangrove trees that we could not completely avoid. In this case, we decided to transplant them to other places. We have transplanted about 1,000 mangrove trees along the route, and the survival rate reached over 70 percent. In addition, during the construction, we have also monitored the condition of the mangrove forest, sprinkled water to sink the dust, and installed more lights at the bottom of the bridge, providing the mangrove trees an environment closer to their natural habitat. We did our best to reduce any disturbance to them."

Guangxi, an important stopover for migratory birds globally, has been making solid efforts in protecting and restoring the mangrove ecosystem along its coastlines, and notable progress has been made.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): SU CHUNFA, Guangxi resident engaged in mangrove protection
"The number of migratory birds has increased, and the mangrove forests are very well protected. The mangrove trees grew higher and the forests became denser. Through learning and education, everyone's awareness of ecological protection is enhanced."

STANDUP 4 (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
"Now as we drive through the Longmen Bridge, we can see dense mangrove forests sway with the wind, while egrets circle above the sea."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Qinzhou, China.
(XHTV)