The Duge Bridge (), also called the Beipanjiang Bridge, is a 4-lane

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

on the border between the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. As of 2021, the bridge is the highest in the world, with the road deck sitting over 565 metres (1,850 feet) above the

Beipan River Beipan River () is a river in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, China, and part of the great Pearl River basin. Other names The upper reaches in Yunnan and Guizhou were once known as the Zangke River. Course The Beipan River passes through the mo ...

. The bridge is part of the

G56 Hangzhou–Ruili Expressway The Hangzhou–Ruili Expressway (), designated as G56 and commonly referred to as the Hangrui Expressway () is an expressway in China that connects the cities of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and Ruili, Yunnan, a city on the border with Burma. When complete, ...

between

Qujing Qujing () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southeast; thus, it was called "Key between Yunnan and Guizhou" () and "Throat of Yu ...

and

Liupanshui Liupanshui () is a city in western Guizhou province, People's Republic of China. The name Liupanshui combines the first character from the names of each of the city's three constituent counties: Liuzhi, Panzhou, Shuicheng. As a prefecture-level ...

. The eastern tower measures making it one of the tallest in the world. The bridge spans between

Xuanwei Xuanwei () is a county-level city in the northeast of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qujing. Administrative divisions Xuanwei City has 9 subdistricts ...

city, Yunnan and

Shuicheng County Shuicheng () is a district in the west of Guizhou province, China, bordering Yunnan province to the west. It is under the administration of Liupanshui city. Biodiversity Shuicheng is home to two amphibian species that are not known from anywhere ...

, Guizhou and shortens the journey between the two places from around five hours' drive to about an hour.

Construction

Construction of the bridge began in 2011. The bridge was completed on 10 September 2016, and was opened to the public on 29 December 2016. The bridge cost a total of ¥1.023 billion and took 3 years to build. It was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's highest bridge in 2018.

Gallery

File:BeipanjiangDugeByHighestBridges.jpg, Under construction

References

Bridges in Yunnan Bridges in Guizhou Suspension bridges in China Bridges completed in 2016 2016 establishments in China Transport in Qujing {{PRChina-bridge-struct-stub

Construction

Gallery

See also

References