China opens world's highest bridge, breaking its own record

HONG KONG: The world’s highest bridge opened in China on Sunday, taking the crown from another bridge in the same province.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge soars about 2,050 feet above a river and gorge in the southern Chinese province of Guizhou. It is more than twice as high as the Royal Gorge Bridge, which is suspended 956 feet above the Arkansas River in Colorado and is the highest in the United States.

According to Chinese state media, the new Guizhou bridge also sets a record as the world’s longest bridge in a mountainous region, spanning 4,600 feet across.

Hailed as China’s latest “infrastructure miracle,” the bridge is designed to spur tourism and economic growth in one of the country’s least developed regions.

Huajiang Canyon Bridge
The Huajiang Canyon Bridge in the Chinese province of Guizhou is also the world’s longest bridge in a mountainous region.CFOTO / Getty Images
The mega project, constructed over three years and eight months, will cut travel time between the two sides of the canyon from two hours to two minutes and connect major tourist spots, officials said.

Tian Hongrui, a technician for the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, said he felt “proud to have left a mark.

“Leaving now is bittersweet, but this isn’t the end,” Tian told state-run broadcaster CCTV News. “It’s the start of a new chapter.”

The bridge has a high-speed glass elevator that can send visitors to a coffee spot 2,600 feet above the river. Visitors can also try bungee jumping or a 1,900-foot-high glass walkway.

Huajiang Canyon Bridge Tourism

Tourists snapping photos on a glass platform looking down from the bridge on Sunday.CFOTO / via Getty Images
The province of Guizhou, which is home to about 40 million people, has undergone an infrastructure campaign in recent decades as part of the Chinese government’s war on poverty.

It now has more than 32,000 bridges that are either completed or under construction, compared with about 2,900 in the 1980s.

Guizhou is also home to what is now the world’s second-highest bridge, Duge Bridge, which opened in 2016.

On Sunday, state media showed live drone footage. The bridge’s blue pillars were shrouded in clouds, and vehicles passed over them. The scene was like a scene from a movie. Engineers, local officials, and a large number of people were present at the opening ceremony. According to CNA News, many people expressed pride and joy in live interviews at the scene.

Water Curtain Test
A special test, the “Water Curtain Test,” was also conducted on the bridge. Streams of water and sunlight combined to create a rainbow-like glow over the canyon. This sight made the entire inauguration even more spectacular. Xinhua News Agency reports that Guizhou is famous for its bridges. Thousands of bridges are located here, and the province now boasts two of the world’s tallest bridges. Furthermore, nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges stand in Guizhou.

It surpasses all others in height, the record for “structural height” is still held by the Millau Viaduct in France, which stands at 343 meters. The difference is that the French bridge refers to the height of the pillars, while the Chinese bridge refers to the distance of the bridge from the river.