GUIYANG, China – Dawn clung to the karst peaks of Guizhou as a deep rumble rolled across the Huajiang Grand Canyon. It was not the Beipan River far below, or the wind that locals call the breath of the Earth’s Crack.
It was the first convoy sounding its horns while crossing the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, now the highest bridge on the planet, a steel and concrete landmark that speaks to China’s drive for progress.
The ribbon was cut on 28 September 2025 beneath a sky washed in red and gold. Officials, engineers, and crowds from nearby towns gathered for a moment that many had imagined for decades.
The suspension bridge spans 1,420 metres between its main towers, stretches 2,890 metres in total, and rises 625 metres above the canyon floor. It overtakes the Duge Bridge by 60 metres, and would dwarf two Eiffel Towers placed one atop the other.
Twin towers, each 262 metres high, support the deck and carry the Guizhou S57 Liuzhi–Anlong Expressway. The route now links two once-remote districts with a fast and safe crossing.
For people in Guizhou, a rugged province in southwest China long marked by hard travel and lean incomes, the bridge is a lifeline. A trip that once took two hours along harsh mountain roads now takes about two minutes.
Highest Bridge in the World
Older residents spoke of the old iron-chain bridge from the Qing era, a crossing that swayed in the wind and memory, and smiled at the thought of grandchildren visiting without a race against dusk. Many called it proof that growth can reach every valley and village.
Work began on 18 January 2022. In three years and eight months, blueprints became cables, towers, and road decks, despite terrain that defeats the unprepared. Guizhou’s cliffs are sheer, its rivers vanish into rock, and storms hit with the force of typhoons.
A team from Guizhou led the effort, backed by local finance, design, materials, and labour. Many in the province call it a pure Guizhou project. The schedule came in ahead of plan. Prefabrication cut time on site, drones watched every stage, and smart planning kept supplies moving.
Project manager Wu Zhaoming of Guizhou Transportation Investment Group stood in the confetti, steady in voice and clear in pride. He called the bridge a study in strength and balance. The hybrid suspension and steel truss system carries nearly 22,000 tonnes of trusses across the span.
When Isolation Gives Way to Connection
The team faced winds up to 40 metres per second, hot days and cold nights that punished wet concrete, and slopes that pushed workers and machines to their limits. Wind deflectors and stabilizing plates calmed gusts. Main cables use strands with sensors inside them, feeding live data on movement and stress to control rooms.
Validation arrived in August with a five-day static load test. Ninety-six heavy lorries rolled onto the deck in planned groups, their loads equal to 3,300 metric tonnes of rush-hour weight. Instruments recorded stress, deflection, and sway across the length of the bridge.
Lead structural engineer Chen Li, born in Guizhou, said the results met and surpassed the design targets for strength, stiffness, and fatigue life. Thousands of devices across the structure now track its health, ready to flag a change in real time.
The team’s confidence reflects a wider record in the province. Half of the world’s top 100 highest bridges already rise over Guizhou’s gorges and rivers. As Zhang Yin from the provincial transport department said during a briefing, the Huajiang Bridge builds on that base and points to what people can achieve when isolation gives way to connection.
Bridge to Bring Tourism
Tourism planners see a surge ahead. A visitor centre at the canyon rim, inspired by the work of Zaha Hadid, is in the pipeline. Exhibits will set the bridge’s story beside the Red Army’s stand in the canyon during the Long March. Walkways with glass floors will invite brave visitors to look down into the chasm.
Platforms below will host bungee jumps, paragliding, and skydiving. Cafés on the cliffs will pour tea with the river as a silver thread below. Officials expect new jobs and steady income for villages around the canyon.
As night fell over the Beipan, the first stream of cars headed south, headlamps cutting bright paths through the dusk. For Wu and his colleagues, the next chapter begins with care and upkeep.
They speak of routine inspections, live monitoring, and fast action when conditions shift. A strong build is only the start. The measure of success lies in safer travel, fuller markets, richer culture, and a sense of pride shared across the province.
In a time of rapid change, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge stands firm, a bold line over stone and river. From Guizhou’s heights, China looks outward with quiet confidence and a simple message to the world: the sky is not a limit, it is a canvas.
