The only two 1,000-ton level bridge girder erection machines in the world have added momentum to the rapid development of China's high-speed rail construction and have made railways across the sea a reality, according to Hanjiang Heavy Industry Co, a unit of State-owned China Railway 11 Bureau Group Co that is based in Wuhan, Hubei province.

The world's first 1,000-ton level bridge girder erection machine, Kunlun, was developed by the company and used in building the Meizhou bridge, China's first cross-sea high-speed railway bridge, which connects the cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou in Fujian province in June 2020.

The 116-meter-long, 9.3-meter-tall machine weighs 967 metric tons and has more than 15,000 parts of different shapes.

It integrates several functions with a high degree of intelligence. It is also the first equipment that can be applied to the construction of a double-line box girder for high-speed rail in China.

"During the development and design stage, we took into consideration the safety precautions for operation in extreme seasonal conditions, such as strong wind," said Zhang Guangming, chief engineer at the company. "The main girder of the machine uses an open ventilation design to reduce the influence of wind."

Equipped with a radar detection laser matrix sensor system, the machine can accurately work in a dark tunnel and automatically correct deviations in huge karst caves.

In January, the upgraded Kunlun was put into operation in the construction of the Chizhou-Huangshan high-speed railway in Anhui province.

The new machine is lighter and more energy-efficient and has become a signature element of China's infrastructure, together with the previous Kunlun.