By Alimat Aliyeva
Reducing a two-hour journey to just two minutes is reason enough to build the world’s tallest bridge — and that’s exactly what China has done with the record-breaking structure over the Huajiang Grand Canyon, Azernews reports.
Rising 625 meters above the canyon floor, the bridge spans the Beipan River and a deep crevice carved over millennia in the karst mountains of Guizhou Province, in southwest China. Commissioned in 2022, the bridge has already passed rigorous load testing and is expected to officially open to traffic by the end of September, according to Chinese media.
As part of its structural safety assessment, 96 heavy-duty trucks with a combined weight of 3,360 tons slowly crossed the bridge and then came to a stop on the suspended deck. More than 400 high-precision sensors monitored the slightest shifts in cables, towers, supports, and the roadbed — ensuring the integrity of the structure under extreme pressure.
In an interview with China Daily, project manager Wu Zhaoming called the bridge an “unprecedented feat of engineering.” Not only does it break the global record for height, it’s also the longest highland bridge in the world, stretching an impressive 2,890 meters from end to end.
This engineering marvel is more than just a record-setter — it’s a lifeline for the people of Guizhou, China’s only province without a single flat plain. The time savings it offers could dramatically improve local transportation, economic activity, and access to services in this mountainous region.
Guizhou has become something of a "kingdom of bridges" — the province is home to more than 30,000 bridges, including nearly half of the 100 tallest bridges in the world. Three of them hold the top spots globally.
