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The pylon is one of the key force-bearing structures of a cable-bearing bridge. Combining the advantages of factory manufacturing and modular installation of steel pylons, and the higher rigidity and lower cost of reinforced concrete pylons, a steel shell–concrete composite pylon is proposed. In this article, the structural construction of a steel shell–concrete composite pylon is introduced in detail. The structural mechanical properties, action mechanism of the stiffened slab rib and both transverse and vertical tenon are probed. Also, design theories, principles and methods are established. The industrialized construction technology of steel shell–concrete composite pylons is studied. The test results show that the interface strain of the steel shell–concrete composite pylon satisfies the assumption of plane section. During the whole loading process, the steel shell and the concrete can work together to give full play to the role of steel and concrete. In practice, the construction of the Nanjing Jiangxinzhou Yangtze River Bridge has demonstrated that 80% of the construction workload of steel shell–concrete composite pylons can be factory completed, the construction speed can be increased significantly and the labor input for on-site construction operations can be reduced by 75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]