The world’s tallest bridge is more than 500 metres high and cost over £111m to build. Beipanjiang Bridge, also known as Duge Bridge, sits over the Beipan River between the Guizhou and Yunnan provinces of China.
It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s highest bridge in 2018. It is 565m high and 720 metres wide.
Sometimes bathed in clouds and mist, the bridge offers breathtaking views due to its height, the turbulent river beneath and deep mountains beyond. It is a hotspot for sightseers
Planning began in 2011, construction in 2013 and after three and a half years it was completed in November 2016. It was opened to traffic a month later.
The bridge is cable-stayed, also known as a suspension bridge. The primary components are made up of steel and concrete.
It was one of the most ambitious engineering projects in China’s recent history, being constructed in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable: the rugged and isolated location of the Beipanjiang River valley.
However, Beipanjiang Bridge will not keep its record long as it will be overtaken as the tallest bridge in the world in 2025, when construction ends on the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge.
The bridge in Guizhou will be over 624m high. The 10 tallest bridges in the world are all in this one province in China. It is a poor area with many residents living in rural villages and settlements with minimal industrial development and poor road connectivity.
Guizhou is mountainous with rich natural resources within the mountains. To tap into these, the area needs better road connections to the rest of China, hence the bridge developments.
The bridges intend to stimulate economic growth, enhance living conditions, and connect distant areas to the rest of the country by providing a dependable transit link over the river.