We begin in southern China, where President Xi Jinping has officially opened a mega-bridge connecting the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and the mainland city of Zhuhai.

Construction began on the bridge-tunnel structure in late 2009, while the first major milestone was achieved two years ago when the bridge's two main sections were linked. In May of last year, the final segment of the underwater tunnel was installed. It is expected to drive tourism and provide more economic opportunities in the heavily-populated Pearl River Delta. CGTN's He Weiwei has more from Zhuhai.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "I declare, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is now officially open."

Also attending the event were Vice Premier Han Zheng, and senior officials from Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao. The bridge is seen as a landmark in southern China's Pearl River Delta. It will shorten the driving time between the three cities, from the current three hours to just 30 minutes. The project consists of a main body, boundary-crossing facilities in each of the three cities, and three link roads. The main body consists of 23 kilometers of bridge, 7 kilometers of tunnel, and two artificial islands.

HE WEIWEI ZHUHAI "The long-awaited day is finally here for the bridge, after six years of design and eight years of construction. It makes China a world leader in building sea-based super projects like this."

It has broken several world records. It's the world's longest sea-based project, has the world's deepest underwater tunnel; and it took over 400 thousand tons of steel to build.

YU LIE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR HONG KONG-ZHUHAI-MACAO BRIDGE AUTHORITY "We have overcome many difficulties and proved our skills in construction management, technological innovation, large equipment development, as well as environmental protection and quality control."

People in Zhuhai are very much looking forward to using the bridge.

"It's exciting to know the bridge will officially open soon. I'm proud to see that our country has accomplished such engineering miracles over the past decades."

"Completion of the project will promote economic and cultural exchanges among Macao, Zhuhai and Hong Kong, and will unite us further as a family."

The mega-bridge will open to traffic starting from 9 am local time on Wednesday, October 24th. HWW, CGTN, Zhuhai.