Cross-river rail bridge takes China-Russia trade to new heights

The first cross-river railway bridge connecting China with Russia has connected from both sides on Wednesday, further paving the way for the bridge to be operational within this year.

The bridge, across the Heilongjiang River, known as the Amur River in Russia, will connect the city of Tongjiang, in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, with Nizhneleninskoye in Russia.

The main bridge spans 2,215 meters, with 1,886 meters of that standing in China. Construction of the bridge, which has a designed annual throughput capacity of 21 million metric tons, began in February 2014.