The north-south axis of the highways network that runs through the Guizhou province in China is one of the most complex and spectacular in the world. This region is incredibly rugged, dotted with peaks and deep river gorges, so this grid of roads serves as a global showcase of extreme engineering: they have even cut a mountain in half in one stretch instead of building a tunnel. Yet the true stars are its colossal bridges, towering cable-stayed giants.
Around 32,000 bridges, built and planned, span Guizhou’s expressway network, earning it the title of the “world museum of bridges.” Of these, about 50 are among the highest ever erected. Three of these giants stand out above the rest, two with height records. They perfectly illustrate how far engineering can go to conquer a challenging terrain.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the Roof of the World
The main star of Guizhou’s expressway network is the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge which, with its height of 625 m above the canyon floor, is the highest bridge in the world. It is also the most recent, having opened to traffic just a few months ago. Its deck soars over the so-called “crack in the earth”, at a height comparable to a 200-story skyscraper. This is the Huajiang Canyon, with a drop of nearly 1,000 m and a length of 80 kilometers, which crosses the Beipan River. The solution, therefore, was not to circumvent it or cut through it, but to span it from above.
This immense bridge, nine times taller than San Francisco’s Golden Gate, carries a four-lane, two-way highway (four lanes in total), recording a total length of 2,890 meters and its main span of 1,420 meters. Its two towers rise 260 m and 200 m, respectively, at the canyon’s edge. Its staggering figures match the complexity of building it in record time (only four years) and its advanced monitoring technology. So much so that it has debuted 21 new patents for structural and control systems.
439,000 m³ of concrete and 49,000 tons of steel, with ingenious solutions: such as an intelligent system to control the temperature of the concrete as it is poured to prevent cracking
Among them stands out an intelligent cable system with fiber-optic sensors, which monitor in real time and without pause the tension, temperature, or humidity. They function as a kind of structural health monitoring system for the bridge: composed of tens of thousands of high-strength steel filaments (each main cable consists of 40,000 steel strands), designed to support extreme loads of its span of more than 1,400 m. Also present are advanced anchors for karst terrain, both rock-anchored and gravity-type. And, to lift it, the timelines were shortened thanks to a digitalized elevation and assembly system aided by satellite positioning (BeiDou), IoT technology, and real-time control.
This colossal work of engineering was inaugurated in September 2025, and has been key to shortening road trips between the Guanling counties (Bouyei and Miao) and Zhenfeng County. Previously, this connection involved nearly two hours of travel, on winding and tortuous mountain roads, and now it takes only about two minutes. It has also shortened times from Liuzhi Special District to Anlong County, going from three hours to half.
Its Companions: the Duge Bridge and the Yachi River Bridge
Before Huajiang stole the throne, the Duge Bridge was the tallest in the world. Also known as the Beipanjiang Bridge, this giant spans 565 m from its highest point to the canyon floor, marking the natural border between Guizhou and Yunnan. It is also one of the tallest cable-stayed bridges on the planet in terms of structure: its tallest tower measures 269 m. It extends 1.34 km in total, with a main span of up to 720 m, which crosses the aforementioned Beipan River canyon.
The construction of what was, until September 2025, the world’s tallest conceived bridge began in 2013, and was completed in just three years, opening to traffic in late December 2016. With a budget of 1,000 million yuan (about 130 million euros at current rates), a thousand engineers and technicians made this titan possible, its structure designed with virtual reality modeling tools before it was moved to the physical site in its steep location. Raising it proved an absolute challenge due to strong winds and other weather adversities typical of the area.
It connects the municipality of Duge with Pula, and changes forever the journey between the two: previously road travel took four to five hours, and since it opened to traffic it now takes only about an hour and a half.
The third contender is the Yachi River Bridge, the sixth-tallest bridge on the planet and the third among this trio. In total it rises 434 m, and it is the second tallest cable-stayed bridge in the world. It also holds the honor of being one of the longest designed, with a total length of 1,441 m, longer than the Duge Bridge. Its central span measures 800 m.
It comprises 192 steel cables and 800,000 bolts supporting its concrete and steel base, which weighs around 62,000 tons, anchored on two towers: the western one at 258 m and the eastern at 243 m. It spans the karst valley of the Yachi River and the reservoir of the Dongfeng Dam.
Construction began in 2013 as well, requiring a complex three-year engineering process. It employed advanced segmental assembly techniques, digital structural control, and precision lifting systems to assemble the deck at great height in this highly inaccessible setting. It was opened in July 2016, likewise conquering one of the most rugged areas of China, connecting the cities of Bijie and Guiyang. Crossing the valley went from a journey of one to two hours to about ten minutes.
Images | Wikimedia, Xinhua
