The city proper of Shanghai originally meant the west bank of the Huangpu River (Puxi), and cross-river communication was confined to the slow ferries. In the 1970s, Songpu Bridge, connecting Songjiang and Minhang, was built over the river, but the structure was very simple. On December 1, 1991, Nanpu Bridge was completed as a real cross-river bridge. Afterwards, Yangpu Bridge (November 1993) and Fengpu Bridge (1995, linking Minhang and Fengxian) were constructed successively. Later, the 6017-meter-long Xupu Bridge was built in 1996, and Lupu in June 2002.

Nanpu is situated in the south wharf of downtown Shanghai while Yangpu in the northeast of the city and lower reaches section of the river. The distance between the two cross-river sister bridges is 11 kilometers. Both are modern floating type oblique-suspended bridges. Among the bridges of the same type, the 8,346-meter-long Nanpu was the longest span cable-stayed bridge in China (No.3 in the world) when built, modeled on the Alex Fraser Bridge. Nanpu spans the river like a flying dragon and made the dream of "a bridge over the Huangpu River" come true.

High up in the air and flying swiftly upward, the two bridges' bodies are just like two cross-river rainbows, the stiff and high tower columns the sharp swords piercing into the sky and the sturdy and forceful oblique-suspended steel cables the robust eagle soaring to great heights. The two bridges combined with the Oriental Pearl Tower form the magnificent view of "two dragons playing with the pearl".

Lupu Bridge, like a big bow bent over the great river, is world's longest steel arch bridge and a great contribution to World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It is the fourth span over the river in downtown Shanghai following the Nanpu, Yangpu and Xupu bridges built in the 1990s. The 3,900-metre-long bridge breaks the record for the type with its 550-metre-long main arch, 32 meters longer than that of the New Virginia Bridge in the United States. Yao Ming, the NBA star of our pride, led the first group to run across the bridge on the opening ceremony.

Jiajin (Jiading-Jinshan) Expressway Bridge, the city's seventh bridge crossing the Huangpu River, will be open to traffic in June. Located in Yexie area of Songjiang District, it will have a span of 400 meters and six lanes capable of a 100-kilometer per hour speed limit. Unlike the six previous spans across the Huangpu, the new facility is designed especially for expressway use. The Jiajin Expressway will link Shanghai's four districts of Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang and Jinshan.