China’s president Xi Jinping is expected to attend the opening of the world’s longest sea bridge tomorrow as part of a tour of the southern province of Guangdong. Almost a decade in the making, the 55km structure – which consist of bridges and an underwater tunnel – will connect Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai, a neighbouring city. Zhuhai has been chosen to host the opening ceremony and, though it’s the least well known, it’s not hard to guess why: it is the only city that is a fully fledged part of mainland China. With Zhuhai playing host, Xi can avoid visiting Hong Kong at a time when daily headlines about independence fill the front pages of newspapers.

Airline catering is big business, with companies investing heavily in celebrity chef collaborations, elaborate menus and ways to sustainably serve scrumptious fare onboard. Emirates Airline has taken a self-sufficient approach in perfecting cuisine at 35,000 feet: the UAE’s government-owned carrier has announced plans for a $40m (€34.7m) vertical farm near Al Maktoum International Airport, in Dubai, that will produce the equivalent amount of food as 900 acres of farmland (about the size of New York’s Central Park). The vegetables will head straight to the departure lounge and onboard menus. The airline is also aiming to make the farm water-efficient in response to the Emirates’ scarcity of water (an increasing problem). It’s an original initiative that pushes the idea of farm-to-table dining beyond the restaurant world.