Megastructures

An educational look into the construction, operation, and staffing of various megastructures and construction projects around the world.

Man Made Marvels: China - The World's Highest Railway

For fifty years the Chinese dreamed of connecting the Tibetan city of Lhasa to the national rail network. But making this dream a reality would prove to be one of the most difficult engineering projects in history. The 1142 kilometre rail line is not the longest in the world but, contending with permafrost, earthquakes and the dangers of extreme altitude, makes the Qinghai-Tibet line certainly the most challenging to construct. Defying all odds, the Qinghai-Tibet railway is a true Man Made Marvel: a project that has taken on nature’s forces – and won.

Man Made Marvels: Ancient China

Giant Buddha Four times the size of Mount Rushmore and twice as high as Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Leshan’s Giant Buddha is one of the world’s ancient wonders. Crafted over a thousand years ago on an inaccessible site in a place where carving anything should be impossible, the mighty Buddha has survived war, fire, earthquakes and extreme weather. But can it survive the modern world? China's Forgotten City With a history defined by the rise and fall of powerful dynasties and immortalized by some of China’s greatest architectural and engineering innovations, predecessors of modern day Xian have provided a blueprint for many of the world’s great cities. Using the best technology and science available, today’s Xian’s residents are rediscovering and restoring a city laden with ancient man made marvels.