About the author：

Zeng Pingbiao

Member of the China Writers Association， member of the China Reportage Association， deputy director of the Reportage Creativity Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Writers Association. A total of 18 personal monographs" were published， including reportage， novels， and proses， etc. Honors were won in succession at both national and provincial levels， including National “Five One Project” Special Award for Books， “Best Books in China”， Guangdong Provincial “Five One Project” Award， the first place in the national competition of reportage essays in “Military Sword Cup”， and the gold medal in the essay competition of national newspaper supplements， etc.

Brief introduction：

This book describes the origin， project approval， demonstration， environmental impact assessment （EIA）， and construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge （HZMB）， a mega-size sea crossing linking Hong Kong， Zhuhai and Macao. From its inception in the early 1980s to its completion， transforming the dream into realization in 2018， the book has made an all-round record of the super project involving a Special Economic Zone （SEZ） and two Special Administrative Regions （SAR）. The author spent five years interviewing multiple key figures who had personally got involved in the bridge construction in Beijing， Guangdong， Hong Kong and Macau. They are either plan conceivers， project managers， or bridge builders， and helped the author recount the construction process in a true and delicate manner. People with the Chinese Dream overcame countless challenges from construction management， engineering technology， construction safety， and environmental protection， and ultimately achieved a milestone in the history of world bridges.

The Chinese Bridge：

A Road to Fulfill the Dream of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

Zeng Pingbiao

Guangdong Flower City Publishing House Co.， Ltd.

November 2018

58.00 （CNY）

The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin （locally known as the Chinese white dolphin）， often nicknamed the “giant panda of the sea”， is a first-class protected species in China and one of the world’s endangered marine mammals. Given its scarcity of wild population， it was included in the “Chinese Red List of Endangered Animal Species” in 1988.

The Pearl River Estuary is home to more than 1，200 Chinese white dolphins.

The Chinese White Dolphin Nature Reserve， a national-level reserve， covers a total area of 460 km2 with Nei Lingding Island to the north， Guishan Island to the south， Qi’ao Island to the west and Lantau， Hong Kong’s largest island to the east.

At that time， there were few studies on the Chinese white dolphins across the world， and engineers and technicians knew nothing about the species. What is the impact of bridge construction in the reserve on the Chinese white dolphins living there？ Can the Chinese white dolphins still be alive and kicking as usual while maintaining their population after the mega-project is completed？

The sea-crossing HZMB runs across the Chinese white dolphin nature reserve of Pearl River Estuary waters. The bridge construction had to give priority to preserving the natural habitat for white dolphins and this became the focus of attention from the very beginning.

How can we have it all？ How can we keep the dolphin population from decreasing and moving？

This was a topic that could not be circumvented in the preliminary stages of" HZMB construction.

Since the preliminary project evaluation in 2005， a long-running fight to protect the Chinese white dolphins was launched， with an array of specific studies on environmental protection slowly unveiled， including EIA， demonstration of sea area utilization， demonstration of dumping site selection， and soil amp; water conservation.

In July 2010， the technology research on the protection of Chinese white dolphins was included in the National Science and Technology Support Program. With the world’s largest Chinese white dolphin DNA bank， Sun Yat-sen University worked in unison with the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） to undertake research on the protection technology of Chinese white dolphins.

The Pearl River Estuary Chinese white dolphin nature reserve covers an area of 460 km2， as large as 6 Hong Kong Islands in area， in which it’s really difficult to spot and observe white dolphins.

Lin Wenzhi， with a Ph.D. from Sun Yat-Sen University， is known as the “dolphin chaser.”

“If counting by the number of times ships have been sent， then we have gone to sail through the Pearl River Estuary more than 80 times a year”， said Lin.

His research team spent more than 4 years in photographing and recording the individual behavior characteristics of about 2，000 white dolphins.

Among over 210，000 photos taken， a total of 18，000 were selected with an identification file for each established.

The Chinese white dolphins can emit whistling sounds， which are low-frequency communication signals that human ears can sense， as well as high-frequency echolocation signals. A good way to catch the whistling sounds was thereby thought of by the researchers.

They designed an array with a hydrophone deployed every 500-600 m， and then observations were carried out 200-300 meters away. The results were recorded and analyzed day and night in turns.

As long as the storm-scale at the sea surface was no more than Level 3， they would go observing at sea every two months， recording the whistling sounds continuously for one week. After a voyage of more than 13，100 nautical miles in total， the researchers perceived long-sequence whistling sounds of Chinese white dolphins for the first time in natural waters. This also marked the first time in the study of Chinese white dolphins across the world.

According to Prof. Wu Yuping of Sun Yat-Sen University， in May 2013， they completed an eight-typed ethogram， the first systematic ethogram targeting the species drawn both at home and abroad， and a six-typed whistling spectrogram of the Chinese white dolphins under different environments.

Chinese white dolphins are completely blind; instead， they judge whether there is an obstacle in front by emitting sounds to the opposite side and distinguishing the echoes as “sonar”， a sound navigation and ranging device. They are extremely sensitive to sounds thereby.

“Serious vibrations during construction will disrupt their sonar， and white dolphins with their sonar disrupted are likely to crash into high-speed ships passing by and even die”， said Prof. Wu.

A quantity of field tracking observations has discovered the influence of ship navigation and construction activities on the vocalization， behavior， and population of Chinese white dolphins， whereby a technology was developed to acoustically drive Chinese white dolphins for protection.

That is， acoustic methods were employed at the construction site to make different sounds underwater that the white dolphins could recognize and know to avoid entering the waters with a construction presence.

Researchers know of and have identified nearly 1，200 white dolphins in the reserve， and even dug up their life habits after over 300 times of navigational tracking and 300，000 photos taken.

The blue sea and sky are unchanging， so is the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins.

On each construction vessel， either a commuter， a stone transporting ship or a positioning ship， in charge of the main project of the HZMB， there was a “dolphin watcher” arranged， who had obtained a “certificate for dolphin watching” after special training.

This was the most unique and weird “scenery”" during the HZMB construction.

As introduced by Cheng Changpeng， deputy manager of the HZMB project from MBEC， there were more than 50 dolphin watchers in their bid section， who would first call to stop construction work via intercoms whenever coming across the track of dolphins， and then insert a bamboo pole into the sea， hitting with a hammer to drive dolphins away; 15 minutes later with no traces observed， the construction work could be resumed. During the whole process， all construction vessels were required to slow down to avoid harm to white dolphins by propellers.

Moreover， they also formulated a set of “essentials”， focusing on observation first， then followed by guidence. The white dolphins hated sounds， so the watchers forced them away with sounds， and when their trace was invisible within 500 meters of observation， construction could be resumed on this site.

This is illustrated by an example shared by Mr. Cheng.

One day in 2011， sand pile construction was conducted for the East Artificial Island in the HZMB project， as watchers suddenly discovered two Chinese white dolphins several hundred meters away from the island. On the principle of “stopping to observe with dolphin traces within 500 meters， and decelerating construction with dolphin traces over 500 meters away”， the project department immediately notified on-site workers of suspending current operation; the two naughty white dolphins “frolicked” in the waters for more than four hours. Consequently， the workers had to stop construction and wait for more than four hours， idling away.

In the interview， the white dolphin watcher told me a story， stating all construction vessels “made way” for the dolphins.

At 8 a.m. on February 1， 2013， the cargo ship COSCO Shengshi 2 fully loaded with equipment in urgent need for drilling was heading towards the Pier No. 56 drilling platform of Qingzhou Channel Bridge at full speed. “Captain， captain. A white dolphin discovered dead ahead！”

With 2.9 nautical miles to pass the Qi’ao Bridge， 22°22’ N/113°38’ E， a dolphin watcher at the bow issued an alarm.

“Turn the rudder， stop， and drop the anchor.” The captain immediately issued instructions.

The cargo ship came to an emergency stop about 100 meters away from the dolphins. Wei Lixiang， the captain， and all the crew， who were on board for routine HSE inspection before the upcoming Spring Festival， soon gathered on the bow， seeing a group of dolphins chasing not far away， accompanied by hundreds of seagulls hovering at low altitude within an action radius of about 50 meters.

Counting carefully， Wei found that there were 10 dolphins in total， including 2 young， 6 sub-young， and 2 adult ones. Wei Lixiang said delightedly， “Captain， we have to wait for them to go far away， or else they may be scared or hurt.”

“Okay.” As arranged by the captain， all the crew onboard were divided into four groups to watch until the confirmed departure of all the dolphins.

Ten minutes passed. Thirty minutes passed. These waters seemed to be so attractive to the dolphins， where they kept lingering about 100 meters away from the cargo ship.

At this time， the person in charge of the drilling operation on the platform urged the captain by calling. The captain fell into a dilemma： he had to assure the construction progress of the century project while guaranteeing the safety of the first-class national protected animal. The captain had to explain the situation to the person in charge of the drilling on the platform. However， hearing the situation， the person in charge immediately expressed his understanding， saying： “Although the construction is urgent， we can work overtime to finish as scheduled. You don’t need to be in a hurry. Wait for the dolphins to leave first. All the workers agree on this point！”

Another 30 minutes passed. Not until 9 a.m. did the watchers patrolling around report that there were no dolphins around the cargo ship， and the captain breathed a sigh of relief.

“Unmoor！” Upon the order from the captain， the cargo ship hurried away towards its destination accompanied by a long whistle， seeming to tell proudly： protecting the white dolphins is our common responsibility！

In addition to" the numerous white dolphin watchers， what’s even more prominent was that the awareness of protecting the natural habitat for white dolphins was deeply rooted in the hearts of construction personnel during the HZMB construction.

Have the HZMB construction personnel realized the goal set to keep the dolphin population from decreasing and moving elsewhere？

Yes， they have， as demonstrated indirectly by data from multiple authorities –

A report from the Pearl River Estuary Administration of the Chinese White Dolphin Reserve suggested that about 2，060 dolphins had been identified in accumulation over seven consecutive years （Note： possible duplicate counts）.

According to a communiqué from the Administration of Ocean and Fisheries of Guangdong Province， in 2016， the Pearl River Estuary Administration of the Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve had witnessed 1，890 dolphins in 258 schools， and another 73 dolphins in the reserve were identified with relevant data input in the database.

A report from the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences （CAFS） showed that a total of 10 voyages were carried out for the Chinese white dolphin monitoring and fishery resources survey and found the number and distribution of dolphins were the same compared with pre-construction statistics.

Based on the above-mentioned data， some media believed that the Chinese white dolphins at the Pearl River Estuary have not moved due to the mega-bridge project. This is another remarkable record and benchmark set by the HZMB project.

During the seven-year construction of the main project of the HZMB， no construction-caused accidents were found directly leading to white dolphin casualties， neither was there any severe marine pollution or marine pollution-associated dolphin deaths seen， according to Yu Lie， deputy director of HZMB Authority. Thanks to the strict requirements for environmental protection and strict conservation measures， a perfect integration of craftsmanship and environmental protection was achieved in the mega project.

Chinese white dolphins， how are you managing today in the Pearl River？

On the morning of June 30， 2016， we were blessed with fine weather， blue skies and crystal clear water.

Dr. Lin Wenzhi， a dolphin observer， and I， together with his assistant， Mr. Mo， went offshore from the pier of the Qi’ao base of the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve， to “visit” the Chinese white dolphins.

Dr. Lin， an observer of the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve， graduated from Sun Yat-sen University， majoring in marine biology. He has begun field monitoring of white dolphins since 2010. During this voyage， he aimed to monitor for “individual identification”.

Dr. Lin took out a pen to clearly outline the waters and small islands under observation on white paper. “The route we are taking today goes through the East-West Artificial Islands， Qingzhou， and the delta of the HZMB.” while introducing， he untied the boat rope， jumped into the boat， skillfully changed into a protective suit， covering his entire face with a hat and outdoor turban except for his eyes， and started to identify latitude and longitude with a GPS locator in hand.

The narrow boat strived to push forward through the bumpy， surging sea. Such conditions made one tend to feel dizzy after sitting on board for a long time. The scorching sun at sea could make your skin pain even with long-sleeved shirts on， too.

“Can we see any white dolphins today？” I asked impatiently.

“Don’t be in such a hurry，” Dr. Lin replied leaning sideways while observing the waters. “Because of the bad weather a few days ago， it’s really windy at sea. It’s hard to assure you that this will be a rewarding trip.”

The Pearl River Estuary is indeed a major habitat for Chinese white dolphins. Shortly after the boat left the pier， Dr. Lin burst into a yell， “Look， dolphins！”

He picked up his digital SLR camera while rushing to the bow; meanwhile， the captain turned off the motor. All the crew onboard tensed up.

While looking around， I could spot nothing， except for the wild waves of the sea.

The captain told me that locating the dolphins coming and going， we refer to the bow as 12 o’clock.

“Attention at 11 o’clock！ Baby dolphins！” Assistant Mo keenly caught and confirmed the location. The whole crew stood up holding their breath， gripping the hot railing of the boat.

“9 o’clock， dolphins surfacing！” The crew’s eyes fixed on the surface of the sea upon hearing Mr. Mo’s indication： two little gray dolphins jumped out of the water playing with each other amid a gentle breeze at sea， their little tails flapping against the waves lightly and drawing tiny curves in the light of the sun. They kept breaching from time to time， making a variety of amazing movements. After dozens of seconds went by， the dorsal fin of an adult white dolphin with a slender and spindle-shaped body emerged. Diving into the sea， occasionally rising up into the air， standing upright， jumping into the water aslant， leaping， backstroking， and so on; under its shelter， the little dolphins leaped and danced amidst the waves， joyfully splashing against the water.

Seeing this， everyone cheered and picked up their phones to take pictures.

Originally， I thought that the white dolphins were all white in color. However， their true colors were completely beyond my expectation： pink， white， gray， black， and spotted.

As introduced by Dr. Lin， the life of Chinese white dolphins has a lot to do with their color changes. They are born gray-black and gradually turn to light gray. When they are two or three years old， they begin to turn pink or white with gray spots. By the age of 10 years old， when they have matured， they become pink or white with their spots disappearing.

As a saying goes： seeing is believing. The Pearl River Estuary is such a beautiful home to the Chinese white dolphins.

The statistical data I obtained are as follows. In the past seven years， a total of 80 million yuan was invested in the ecological compensation for white dolphins during the main project of the HZMB; a total of 41.37 million yuan was spent on dolphin monitoring throughout the construction; 9 million yuan on consultants for environmental protection; about 188 million yuan on compensating the ecological loss of fishery resources; about 10 million yuan on environmental protection research; and the other expenditures totaled about 8 million yuan.

In sum， 340 million yuan！

Did they get their money’s worth？

Of course！

The eight-year construction project of the mega HZMB has brought “zero pollution” to the marine environment！ As well as no known casualties to the Chinese white dolphins！