CHANGSHA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A new bridge over central China's Dongting Lake opened to traffic Thursday, marking the completion of a major east-west trunk line.

The 3,404 km-long Hangrui Highway links Hangzhou City in east China's Zhejiang Province with Ruili City in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The bridge over Dongting Lake is a major part of the highway section in Hunan Province. The two-way six-lane bridge is 2,390 meters long, with a main span of 1,480 meters, making it the longest steel girder suspension bridge in China.

Dongting Lake, known as "the kidney of the Yangtze River," is the second-largest freshwater lake in China and one of the most important wetlands in China and the world.