Another bridge, across Hangzhou Bay, opened on May 1 connecting Shanghai to Zhejiang province . At 36km, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge is the world's longest sea-crossing structure. It connects Ningbo to Jiaxing, just south of Shanghai.

'The cities of the Yangtze River Delta economic belt want to blend into this circle, so reducing time and distance is necessary,' Xinhua quoted a Ningbo official as saying.

The mainland is also pursuing greater economic integration in other regions. Beijing and Tianjin will be more closely linked with the opening of a new 'bullet train' line before the Olympics opens on August 8.

The mainland sees infrastructure as key to economic prosperity, in part reflecting the state-planning background of government officials and the old Maoist ideal of conquering nature.

Although parts of the country are in dire need of infrastructure, the urge to build has also resulted in some white-elephant projects and shoddy construction.

The new Suzhou-Nantong Bridge opened to traffic on a trial basis in late May and was now being used by about 26,000 vehicles a day, China News Service said. Jiangsu routed part of its Olympic torch relay over the bridge.

The bridge has already started to help the movement of people and goods across the Yangtze. Previously, vehicles had to travel by ferry or use the other Yangtze River bridge at Jiangyin , farther upstream.

Shanghai's long-distance bus companies also use the new bridge.

'Nantong is the place that will benefit most from the new bridge. No more time wasted waiting in the queue and taking the ferry,' said an official of Shanghai's long-distance bus terminal.

Other government officials see even greater benefits.

A Nantong official said the bridge would help Shanghai shift agricultural production and its textiles industry to Jiangsu.