Road Trip (long): Huajiang Canyon Bridge Tops the World

GUIYANG, China, Sept. 27, 2025 -- This is a report from Discover Guizhou:

Guizhou, the only province in China without a plain, has built more than 30,000 bridges across its rugged mountains, creating what many call an Expressway-Marked Flatland. From suspension bridges to cable-stayed bridges, the province has become a living "museum of bridges," pushing the limits of engineering.

Five years ago, U.S. content creator Jack first visited Guizhou and was struck by its diversity and innovation. Since then, he has returned almost every year. This time, he came to witness the rise of a new world record: the Huajiang Canyon Bridge, the highest bridge on Earth.

The Huajiang Canyon, also called the "Earth's Crack," has long divided local communities. For a century, villagers relied on an iron-chain bridge built in the Qing Dynasty. It endured floods and wars, even serving as a Red Army stronghold. Crossing it once took six hours on foot.

Construction of the new bridge began in 2022. Today, it soars 625 meters above the Beipan River with a main span of 1,420 meters—breaking both height and span records for mountain bridges. For locals like 67-year-old villager Liang Zudong, it is nothing short of life-changing: "This bridge makes life so much easier."

During construction, the fiercest challenge was the wind, with gales sweeping through the gorge at typhoon strength. Builders tackled it head-on, mastering airflow with wind deflectors and stabilizing plates that turned turbulence into balance. At the same time, they introduced other breakthroughs: a temperature control system to ensure the structural integrity of the concrete, a smart cable-hoisting system that enabled millimeter-precision steel truss installation, and twin main cables embedded with "smart strands" to monitor the bridge's health in real time. These innovations together made safety and stability possible at unprecedented heights.

In just over three years, Guizhou has transformed a natural chasm into a symbol of human ingenuity. Once open, the bridge will cut travel time across the canyon from two hours to just two minutes.

For locals, the bridge is far more than a transport link. In 2024, villager Lin Guoquan returned home, determined to build a career while caring for his family, and opened a hotel with panoramic views. His videos of the bridge have attracted thousands of visitors online, "Filming the 'birth' of this bridge makes me proud." Now, his rooms are booked weeks in advance.

That fascination is shared by visitors from across China. A 73-year-old backpacker from Sichuan waited three days just to see the bridge clearly. University students from Wuhan were filming a documentary titled "Sky-High Ambition", exploring how the bridge connects people as much as it overcomes natural challenges.

Beyond transport, the bridge is already becoming a world-class tourism landmark, with plans for glass viewing halls, night-time light shows, and extreme sports platforms for bungee jumping, skydiving, and paragliding.

Built entirely with Guizhou's investment, design, materials, and construction teams, the Huajiang Canyon Bridge is a "pure Guizhou creation." For Jack, the bridge represents more than world records; it embodies Guizhou's power to connect people, ideas, and the future.

SOURCE Discover Guizhou