China’s bridge, from infrastructure link to tourist icon

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, spanning the Beipanjiang River, is the highest suspension bridge in the world. It is located in the Bouyei and Miao Autonomous County and forms part of a highway linking Liuzh District with Anlong County.

Construction began in January 2022, and the bridge opened to traffic on September 28, 2025. It is approximately 2.89 kilometers long, with a main span of 1.42 kilometers.

In April 2026, Guinness World Records officially certified it as the highest bridge in the world, with a verified height of 626.01 meters.

It should be said from the outset that the bridge is not merely an infrastructure project, but also a tourist destination. Its height, scale and spectacular surrounding landscape make it an attraction for domestic and international tourists.

Within this project, modern engineering and tourism are directly intertwined, demonstrating that a bridge built to improve transport and connectivity between areas can simultaneously become a symbol of the destination and a reason to visit it.

In addition to serving as a destination in its own right, the project will contribute to the area’s economic development, as it is clear that an increase in visitors will create opportunities for the development of hotels, restaurants, tourist guides, transport services and other local businesses, while also helping promote the image of the region.

Such a spectacular structure becomes part of the area’s identity and will serve as a powerful element in its tourism marketing.

It should be emphasized that modern infrastructure can always create tourist experiences. Visitors are not attracted only by traditional destinations, but increasingly by engineering monuments as well, where technology and architecture themselves become part of the travel experience.

Characteristics of the suspension bridge

The bridge was built using high-strength concrete and reinforced steel and is supported by two towers: the North Tower is 262 meters high, while the South Tower is 205 meters high.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the bridge’s designers wanted to give the structure a classic appearance that would remain attractive over the years. This is particularly evident in the connections between the towers, which recall the Art Deco style.

The multi-level connection at the top of the tower, with its spectacular curves and levels, may remind those interested of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

How the bridge works

As discussed above, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is a suspension bridge, meaning that the surface—the bridge deck, or roadway—on which vehicles travel is connected by steel cables.

The main cables initially bear the structural loads caused by the weight and traffic loads imposed on the roadway, while the secondary cables, also called vertical suspenders, are thinner than the main cables. They connect the main cables to the roadway and distribute the weight evenly along the span.

The cable system transfers the loads resulting from the weight of the roadway to the two supporting towers, which then transfer those loads to the ground.

As with all modern suspension bridges, the bridge deck structure was built with a lattice-shaped metal girder to ensure rigidity and resistance to wind. At the ends of the bridge, the main cables are firmly anchored in massive reinforced-concrete structures or in rock, as they must withstand the exceptional tensile force exerted by the cables.

Not just a bridge, but also a tourist attraction

What is distinctive, and I believe of interest to readers, is that the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge was not conceived solely as a major civil engineering project, but also as a fully fledged tourist attraction. It aims to draw visitors from around the world, enabling them to enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the untouched nature around it, “see” the achievements of modern engineering, and understand how this engineering is connected to the development of the region’s tourism industry, making the project multidimensional.

The first attraction is a glass elevator that rises to the top of the South Tower. There, visitors can spend time at the “Stargazing Bar and Café,” located directly between the two main cable sections at a height of more than 180 meters above the bridge deck.

Below the deck, the elevator will take visitors inside the metal structure, where an 800-meter-long walkway will pass through several sections with glass floors, giving visitors the sensation of “floating” in the air at heights of 224 and 404 meters above the ground.

Further on, there is another platform where the metal-grid walkway reaches a maximum height of 620 meters above the Beipan River.

From here, the world’s highest bungee jump will enable adventurous visitors to leap into the open space of the Huajiang Grand Canyon. For those who are less adventurous, the bridge’s final platform offers additional glass panels to walk across, as well as another venue where visitors can eat while taking in views of the river canyon.

A large Zaha Hadid-style tourist center will also be built in the area around the Huajiang Canyon Bridge. It will present the development of the “Suspension Bridge,” the ancient history of the canyon and the history of its inhabitants.

Those who wish to explore the area further can stay in private tourist lodges overlooking the bridge, giving themselves time for a more leisurely drive toward the end of the canyon, where an old chain bridge dating from 1898 will provide a historical backdrop to the last 125 years of bridge development in China.

In conclusion, the bridge rising 625 meters above the river in China represents far more than an extraordinary achievement of modern engineering.

It demonstrates that infrastructure can become an important factor in the tourism and economic development of an area. Its grandeur, height and surrounding landscape create an attraction that draws visitors and gives the region a distinctive identity on the tourism map.

In this way, engineering and tourism are intertwined: technology builds the bridge, while the landscape, the experience and visitors’ curiosity transform it into a destination and a tourism icon.

The project shows that when major infrastructure projects are combined with a territory’s natural and tourism potential, they can contribute not only to improving connectivity and transport, but also to the long-term promotion and development of the area./Monitor