Photo: COWI

A long time for a "long nose" 

In China, Europeans are often uncharitably referred to as "long noses", and in those parts of the country where "long noses" are something of a novelty, you are the object of intense stares from curious but friendly locals.
That is one recollection of Ole Rud Hansen, COWI project manager, who has recently returned home to Denmark after four years in China working on the Sutong Bridge, which has the longest span of any cable-stayed bridge in the world.

Hansen moved to China in July 2003 to project manage COWI's role in the construction of the bridge crossing the Yangtze River near Nantong in the Jiangsu province, 100 km west of Shanghai.

Only European

"I was the only European when I first arrived, but was joined by two other Danes quite soon after. We were living in Nantong, and people were very interested in us because we were different. But they were extremely friendly and also very direct, not afraid to ask where we were from and what we were doing here."

Prior to this, he had worked almost exclusively in Denmark, except for 18 months in Iraq in the 1980s. "It was the adventure, really, I had never travelled to the east before," Hansen replies when asked what appealed about spending close to half a decade in a country and culture so vastly different from his own. "Oh, and of course, being involved in a project of the magnitude of the Sutong Bridge played a big part too."

Photo: COWI
This is what kept Ole Rud Hansen busy for four years: the Sutong Bridge close to completition in late 2007.
Image gallery 


Six hundred meetings

Much of his worktime was taken up with meetings - some 600 in four years, he estimates. Inevitably, the language barrier proved difficult. "Meetings often involved around 40 people and so our translator had to work very hard keeping us informed. Sometimes there were misunderstandings. Other times, someone would forget to invite you to a meeting and you would be called in after it had started not fully prepared. You had to be careful how you responded to things like this so as not to cause a Chinese colleague to lose face."

Ability to surprise

Such issues are part and parcel of consulting across borders, languages and cultures for an international company like COWI. But different working cultures still have the ability to surprise, as Hansen discovered. "The Chinese have a habit of napping after lunch, so lunch breaks were always two hours in order to allow time for a proper nap. I quickly adopted this habit, which is good for your health," he says wryly. 

Despite the cultural differences, Hansen and his wife found it quite easy to settle in Nantong. "Many people cycle in China, just as they do in Denmark, so that was familiar. I missed black bread, rugbrød, but bizarrely there was a branch of the German supermarket Metro in Nantong so that solved that problem. Also, we could watch and listen to Danish media via the internet so we did not feel so out of touch. Finally, I think, the Danes and the Chinese share a similar sense of humour. That helped too."

Perhaps that's why Ole Rud Hansen remembers with a smile and a chuckle being called a "long nose".

By Martyn Glanville
Published: 13.11.2007


The Sutong Bridge project 
  • COWI provided services including design assistance and design review, design of scour protection, aerodynamic investigations, construction control and construction management
  • Work began in 2003, with the last few finishing touches (crash barriers, pavements, etc.) currently being completed
  • The bridge is expected to open in 2008
  • The Client was the Jiangsu Province Sutong Bridge Construction Commanding Department