The government of Zhuhai liked this idea and they promoted it. Their name for the bridge was the Lingdingyang Bridge. In the 1990s, Zhuhai built a bridge that connected mainland China and Qi'ao Island. This bridge was supposed to be the first part of the system even though the Chinese and Hong Kong governments did not approve the plan yet. The Chinese government supported the bridge in 1997. The Hong Kong government did not say whether they supported it or not. This is because they were studying traffic between Hong Kong and China and were concerned about the effect this would have on the environment.