Huajiang grand canyon bridge: Engineering marvel meets tourism

Take a ride on the 207-meter-tall sightseeing elevator, reach the top in just one minute, and enjoy a coffee at a café perched 800 meters above the river. This thrilling experience awaits at the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the world's tallest bridge, which opened to traffic on Sunday.

In addition to the sky-high café, the bridge features a 1,000-square-meter glass observation hall, with a vertical drop of over 600 meters to the river below. People can also enjoy activities like the "sky balance beam," bungee jumping and low-altitude skydiving. It is China's first-ever bridge-tourism fusion complex, combining sightseeing, adventure sports and travel services into one exciting destination.

This bridge holds world records both vertically and horizontally. With a main span of 1,420 meters, it boasts the largest bridge span in mountainous regions and a height of 625 meters from the bridge deck to the river below, both of which set world-first records. This iconic structure will become a vital link in the Liuzhi-Anlong Expressway in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Stretching 2,890 meters across the "Earth's crack," the bridge dramatically reduces travel time across the canyon from two hours to just two minutes.

From its initial design, the bridge has focused on integrating tourism resources, creating a new model for bridge-tourism. Beyond transportation, the bridge is poised to become a key driver of economic growth for the region, helping lift local communities to new heights of prosperity.

The project used cutting-edge technology throughout its construction, from satellite-assisted operations to drone-guided high-altitude precision work. The builders achieved millimeter-level accuracy 600 meters above the ground in just three years. Notably, the bridge's "smart cables" – fiber-optic sensors embedded in the main cable – allow for continuous monitoring of stress, temperature and humidity, thereby ensuring the structure's long-term durability.

The engineering team also overcame challenges posed by the massive 1,420-meter span. By pioneering forged and welded saddle supports, they reduced the weight of each saddle to 41.3 tonnes, while simultaneously enhancing its compressive strength by 44 percent. This innovative approach also simplified transportation and installation.

In another stroke of ingenuity, the team used locally sourced dolomite, grinding it into powder to replace the scarce fly ash, thereby saving approximately 5 million yuan (about $700,000). This resourceful approach proved to be a modern-day example of "turning stone into gold."