Lupu Bridge is a steel box tied arch bridge with a main span of 550m,which was the world’s record of arch span on its completion in 2003.This bridge has been put into controversy since its conceptual design,however,almost a decade has past,and this bridge has become a landmark of Shanghai city while served as the main traffic corridor connecting the two districts on north and south river banks,especially during the 2010 world expo.This paper presents the background of comparison and selection of original bridge type,the further structural optimization of the arch bridge conceptual design,and the challenges that have been brought forward during the design and construction along with their corresponding solutions.The successful design and construction of this bridge provides some valuable information and moreover,a very useful engineering practice for long span arch bridges constructed on soft soil foundations.