The Zhoushan Cross-sea Bridge, China's largest bridge connecting an island to the mainland, connects Zhoushan with Ningbo, two neighboring cities in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/thehour.cn]

Zhoushan Cross-sea Bridge, currently China's largest bridge connecting an island to the mainland, recently underwent its first "body check" since it began operating a decade ago.

The bridge stretches 46.29 kilometers from Zhenhai district of Ningbo to Zhoushan, and consists of five bridges connecting four islands of Zhoushan in between.

It marks an end to the days when Zhoushan was an isolated archipelago, as the bridge enables local residents to reach Ningbo within an hour, and Hangzhou or Shanghai within two hours, contributing significantly to the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region. 

The inspection, undertaken by the provincial communications group of Zhejiang, will last until the end of August. 

"A bridge is like a human body. Its structure will weaken gradually with time. Since the bridge has been operating for 10 years, it is important for us to strengthen its structure and capacity," said Yu Qunli, general manager of the group in charge of expressways.

So far there have only been minor problems such as rusty screws found in the bridge, which have already been taken care of.

Over its decade of operation, the bridge has handled around 103.84 million vehicles, with daily traffic flow increasing from 7,225 vehicles in 2010 to 20,751 vehicles in 2018, up 187.21 percent year on year. In particular, Xihoumen Bridge, a part of it, saw annual traffic flow increased from around 2.85 million vehicles in 2010 to 7.77 million vehicles in 2018.