Hundreds of painters wearing safety equipment have begun painting the Yangpu Bridge red and gray to spruce up the structure, which opened eight years ago, in preparation for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference that Shanghai will be hosting in seven months.
Work started on Tuesday and is expected to be finished in late August. The city government is spending 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million) to paint red the bridge's two 216-meter-high pillars on both sides of the Huangpu River and the bridge's 602-meter-long arch. The 256 cables supporting the bridge will get a coat of gray.
Also in preparation for the APEC summit, work was finished last week in painting the 10-year-old Nanpu Bridge white. Work began four months ago and cost nearly 8 million yuan. The Xupu Bridge, the newest across the Huangpu River which opened in 1997, is not being painted, official said.
Other face-lifting projects for the APEC gathering include:
--A fresh coat of paint on roadside walls along as many as 150 streets that APEC delegates and guests will likely use.
--A fresh coat of paint on walls near the 12 hotels where APEC delegates, guests and journalists will be staying.
(Eastday.com.cn 03/23/2001)
