Published : 2025-10-25

On 25 October 1994, China's Taihu Bridge (太湖大橋) was completed and opened to traffic.

The Taihu Bridge is the longest bridge over an inland lake in China, with a total length of 4,308 metres and a total investment of 115 million RMB.

Before the Taihu Bridge, Xishan Island, which is the largest island in Taihu Lake and also the largest island in an inland lake in China, had extremely inconvenient transport as it was surrounded by water.

Residents there could only communicate with the outside world via boat. Later, although a landing craft ferry service was introduced, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

At that time, for the residents of Xishan Island to go to Suzhou was truly a "long journey". They had to first cycle to the pier, take a ferry to Dongshan, then transfer to a vehicle to Mudu, and finally take another vehicle to reach the city centre.

Construction of the Taihu Bridge began on 27 December 1992, and it consists of three bridges.

The first bridge is the longest, running from Yuyang Mountain to Changsha Island; the second bridge is the highest, running from Changsha Island to Yeshan Island; and the third bridge is the most intricate, running from Yeshan Island to Datingshan on Xishan.

With the opening of the Taihu Bridge, Xishan Island was finally no longer an "isolated island". 

It also played a positive role in developing and utilising the natural resources of Taihu Lake, leveraging its geographical advantages, accelerating the construction of the Suzhou Taihu National Tourism and Holiday Zone, and establishing the Circum-Taihu Lake Tourism and Economic Zone.