Liang Yiwen/ Shanghai Daily news

A floating bridge made up of seven ships linked from bow to stern will span the Huangpu River to give visitors a close encounter with the waterway during the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the designer said on Friday.

Under a plan worked out by the Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, the ships will be moored separately along the riverbank but will be joined across the Huangpu during busy periods at the Expo. The assembly process will take about a half hour.

The 400-meter span will allow 13,000 people to cross every hour from Expo sites on one side of the river to the other.

The flexible design makes it possible for other ships to continue to pass on the river. The span will lie between the Nanpu and Lupu bridges.