Liaoning Special: Center for growth in the region and all of northeast Asia

Editor's note: The mayor of Dandong Zhao Liansheng, in Liaoning province, spoke with China Daily reporter Zhu Chengpei during the 2011 National People's Congress session in Beijing, on his city's remarkable development and its new initiatives.

Q: The Yalujiang New Bridge has caught a lot of attention recently. Could you enlighten us a bit on how it's going and its implications for the city's future?

A: The agreement on building that bridge across the Yalujiang was reached during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), in October 2009.