Xilamulun Bridge is a crucial project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and a crucial control project of the Jingpeng -  Ulan Butung Expressway. It spans the Xilamulun River, the largest river in Chifeng City, with a length of 2064 meters. The main bridge is a variable cross-section prestressed concrete six-tower extradosed cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 240 meters. The approach bridge adopts 40-meter-span prestressed concrete continuous T-beams. The bridge span is composed of (4x40)+ (3x40)+ (128+ 5x240+128)+ 2x(4x40). The main bridge has 6 cable towers, each with a height of 38 meters, and the total height of the pier, beam, and tower is 210 meters. This is the world's first large-scale bridge built in the eolian sand canyon area, and it is also the PC beam multi-extradosed cable-stayed bridge with the highest pier and the largest span in the world.

This project passes through ecologically fragile areas such as the Hunshandake Sandy Land in the Hexigten World Geopark. The depth of the eolian sand cover layer on the surface of the bank slope is up to 60 meters, and the slope is between 30° and 40°, with a large height difference and poor self-stabilization ability. All the bridge piles are located in the extremely thick eolian sand stratum, so it is difficult to build the roads and the drilling platform, and the risk of concrete cracking is high due to the large temperature difference in the windy, low-temperature "U"-shaped canyon.

Due to the frequent windy weather, the project has high technical difficulties in construction and high safety risks.

How to overcome these numerous challenges?

Through the application of the high-pressure rotary jet cement slurry reinforcement method for constructing the steep eolian sand slope and the curtain-type drilled casing, the risks of slope collapse, instability, and equipment failure are avoided.

Through the new method of adaptive temperature regulation for bridge concrete with precise control of small gradients and slow cooling, the temperature control algorithm for mass concrete and the intelligent temperature control platform enable automatic and intelligent temperature regulation.

Through the "Sun"-shaped section pier body reinforcement modular fabrication and installation technology and the construction method of the middle diaphragm of the high pier, the risk of high-altitude operations on the pier is effectively reduced.

The project connects Inner Mongolia and the Bohai Rim Economic Zone. It is an important sea outlet channel and boutique tourist highway in the central region of Inner Mongolia. It is of great significance for improving the road network layout in the central region of Inner Mongolia, responding to the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, opening up to the north, and the western development strategy, creating a high-quality tourist highway featuring Hongshan culture and grassland scenery, driving the development of resources and the economic and social development along the line.