Superlatives China Opens the World's Highest Bridge

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China has opened the world's highest bridge: The "Huajiang Grand Canyon" bridge was recently opened to traffic. The bridge stands 2,050 feet tall, making it almost nine times as high as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

It should actually be said, "China has opened the tallest bridge in the world—again," as the previous record holder, the Duge Bridge, is located just over 62 miles away. It has a height of 1,855 feet and was inaugurated in 2016. In both cases, the "clearance height" is meant, that is, the distance between the water surface of the river it spans and the underside of the bridge.

32,000 Bridges Aim to Improve Regional Connectivity

Both bridges span the Beipan River in China's Guizhou Province. Located south of Sichuan Province, this region is rich in karst mountains, deep gorges, and mountain villages, but otherwise is China's poorest province. There is not a single plateau in the entire province, only mountains and remote valleys.

The Chinese government is trying to better connect Guizhou to the rest of the country through the construction of many bridges and gradually increase the income of its residents. This project has been systematically pursued since 2012 with significant resource investment. In the meantime, 32,000 bridges in the province have already been opened or are under construction, including nearly half of the world's hundred tallest bridges.

The construction of the world's highest bridge was driven by engineering necessities rather than the desire to set records.

Yang Jian

Records, however, are not what drives Chinese engineers or planners. "The construction of the world's highest bridge was driven by engineering necessities rather than the desire to set records," quotes the news agency Yang Jian, the chief engineer responsible for the design of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge.

"Since the canyon is surrounded by steep mountains, both bridges and tunnels were necessary. A lower bridge height would have meant longer tunnels, which would have increased the overall costs," Yang explained. "It was only after completing the design that we were astonished to realize that the bridge would be over 1,970 feet high."

Now, not only has a new world record for height been achieved, but also the title of the "world's largest suspension bridge in a mountainous region."

Bridge Construction Leads to 21 New Patents

The construction of the megabridge was not technically simple. Chinese engineers employed a range of high-tech solutions to complete it in just over three years. Among other innovations, they used an "intelligent cable-lifting system" and "2,000-megapascal high-performance steel wires." The suspension cables are equipped with sensors for real-time monitoring. Additionally, "Doppler LiDAR scanning," positioning during assembly using China's Beidou satellite system, "digital assembly," and "intelligent transport" were utilized during construction, according to the Chinese science newspaper Keji Ribao.

During the construction of this bridge, 21 new patents were registered in China. The overall planning of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge was carried out by "Guizhou Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd." For many employees of this company, this bridge construction was more than just a technical challenge. For example, the project manager Wu Chaoming himself grew up in one of the poverty-stricken mountain villages in Guizhou.

From my hometown to the county seat, only one bus ran per day, just like from the county seat to the provincial capital Guiyang.

Wu Chaoming

"From my hometown to the county seat, only one bus ran a day, just like from the county seat to the provincial capital Guiyang," he recalled. The bus was always "packed to the brim." Some passengers always had to climb onto the luggage rack on the roof, the manager remembers. During the construction of the bridge, he now walked 9.3 miles daily for inspections. It is probably fair to say that, in addition to modern high technology, the dedication of highly motivated employees also explains the construction time of only about three years.

Two Minutes Instead of Two Hours: Connectivity Against Poverty

The bridge now reduces the time needed to cross the river at this point from two hours to two minutes. It also completes the new "Liu-An Highway," which winds through the mountains of Guizhou Province. This highway is part of a new west-east corridor connecting China's relatively underdeveloped western provinces with the densely populated eastern coast and its container ports. The improved transportation connectivity is expected to aid poverty alleviation in Guizhou Province, officials in Beijing hope.

Additionally, the planners are also relying on tourism for this purpose. The bridge itself is being marketed as a tourist attraction. In a few days, the "Cloud Summit Café" will open at the top. Visitors will then ascend more than 2,300 feet in a glass elevator to reach it.

There is also a platform for bungee jumping. A few days ago, for the bridge's opening, the world's best base jumpers were invited to leap from the bridge with just a parachute. Among them was Julian Astor Asdurian Bidogia from Italy, the world record holder for jumping from high bridges, who dove into the valley in his wingsuit. "I’m here to defend my title," he said. "China keeps building higher bridges."

Thanks to such events and similar activities in the fields of extreme sports and educational tourism, the government hopes to provide new opportunities for the local population on both sides of the canyon, such as growing agricultural products, selling souvenirs, or offering services in hotels and restaurants.

Tunnel construction

China is building a highway— under glacier ice

That such projects still involve risks today became clear again just this June. After a rockfall triggered by heavy rainfall, the 980 feet-high Houzihe Bridge, also in Guizhou, collapsed. A truck was already hanging over the edge with its cab, but the driver managed to climb out just in time and was rescued. China's media dubbed him the "Luckiest Person of the Year." No one else was harmed.

Henrik Bork, a long-time China correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Rundschau, is Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a consulting agency specializing in China, based in Beijing.