The Chaotianmen Bridge consists of 72 steel arch boxes, and the span will be fully joined on January 22, 2008. [Photos: China Foto Press]

Construction workers began installing the last steel arch box on the Chaotianmen Bridge on Wednesday. They will join the two sections of the bridge on January 22.

The Chaotianmen Bridge will be 1,741 meters long, and has only two major piers in the Yangtze River. The main arch is shaped like a semicircle with a span of 552 meters and is the longest in the world.

This portal into the Chongqing municipality will be painted China red.

(CRI January 18, 2008)