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Don’t Look Down!

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Anyone who’s afraid of heights might want to avoid driving across a new bridge in China! The Huajiang (hwah-jyang) Grand Canyon Bridge soars about 2,050 feet above the Beipan River. It’s the highest bridge in the world. 

The record-setting structure opened to traffic last September, after more than three years of construction. The bridge is located in a mountainous province in southern China. The region is also home to about 32,000 other bridges, either completed or under construction.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge solves a big problem for the people who live in the area. Driving across the Beipan River used to take about two hours. But the bridge cuts that travel time down to as little as two minutes. 

Visitors Welcome

Chinese officials hope the bridge becomes a major tourist attraction. People can do more than just drive across it. A high-speed elevator takes visitors to a glass walkway 1,900 feet above the river. From there, they can look straight down to the Beipan River below. Visitors can also keep going all the way up to a café at the top of one of the bridge’s towers. Those who are brave enough can even bungee jump off the bridge!

The new bridge is more than twice as high as the tallest bridge in the U.S.—the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado. In fact, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is so tall that the Washington Monument stacked on top of the Empire State Building would easily fit underneath it. 

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