World’s Highest Bridge Opens in China’s Guizhou Province

China has reached a remarkable milestone in engineering with the completion and opening of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which now holds the title of the world’s highest bridge.

Suspended 2,050 feet above a river and gorge in Guizhou province, it stands more than twice as high as the United States’ Royal Gorge Bridge, which hangs 956 feet above the Arkansas River in Colorado.

According to Chinese state media, the bridge also sets a new benchmark as the longest in a mountainous region, stretching 4,600 feet.

Beijing officials have hailed the project as “China’s latest infrastructure miracle,” aimed at boosting tourism and economic development in one of the nation’s least developed areas.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge was built by China Railway Hi-Tech Industry, operating under China Railway Engineering Group, with the Guizhou Bridge Group leading the project.

The bridge, which is part of the Liuzhi–Anlong Expressway—a 152 km highway in China’s Guizhou province—has been under construction since January 2022. 

Its completion and inauguration have reduced travel time across the canyon from two hours to just two minutes, connecting several major tourist destinations.

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Guizhou Highway Engineering Group Company’s chief engineer, Zhang Shenglin, said the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge spans “earth’s crack.” 

The bridge, he added, “will showcase China’s engineering capabilities and boost Guizhou’s goal of becoming a world-class tourist destination,” the China Daily reported.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge lets tourists take a high-speed glass elevator to a coffee spot 2,600 feet above the river or enjoy bungee jumping and a 1,900-foot-high glass walkway with panoramic canyon views.

Guizhou, a province of roughly 40 million people, has seen a dramatic expansion in infrastructure over the past decades as part of the government’s anti-poverty campaign. 

The region now boasts more than 32,000 bridges either completed or under construction, a significant leap from just 2,900 in the 1980s.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has surpassed Guizhou’s Duge Bridge, also known as the Beipanjiang Bridge, which is now the world’s second-highest bridge. 

The cable-stayed bridge that opened in 2016 has been the highest in the world.

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