Standing 626.01 meters above the river below, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou, China, was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s highest bridge in April 2026.
Engineering the World’s Highest Span
Spanning 2,890 meters across the Dalongjiang River, the structure connects the Guanling Buyi and Miao Autonomous County with Zhenfeng County. Vietnam.vn reported that the river cuts across the Lu Zhi-An Long highway, creating a deep canyon that historically forced travelers into a grueling two-hour journey around the gorge. The new bridge reduces that transit time to just two minutes.
Chief engineer Yang Jian noted that extreme height was not the primary goal of the design. Building a lower bridge would have required significantly longer tunnels and drastically higher construction costs. Instead, planners integrated tourism infrastructure directly into the bridge’s framework from the earliest stages of development, turning a 50-square-kilometer zone into an adventure destination.
Tourism Infrastructure and Visitor Experiences
Visitors to the Guizhou landmark can traverse a 796-meter viewing corridor built from former maintenance pathways inside the steel structure. Vietnam.vn noted that engineers modified structural wind-stability components to accommodate a 1,411-meter elevated running track. The site also features glass-observation rooms, bungee jumping, and narrow plank walks suspended over the canyon.
Travelers arriving from Zhenfeng use dedicated shuttle buses to reach the bridge towers, before taking high-speed elevators to the upper viewing platforms. Nighttime arrivals experience synchronized water-screen projections and light shows. Operator data cited by detikTravel show the complex has drawn millions of visits since opening.
Tourists have integrated the destination into broader itineraries. Cheng Guojian, a visitor from Chongqing, spent a full day exploring the area with his family. If there is no bridge, maybe we still pass this area, but we will not stop and spend so much time,
he told detikTravel. International visitors have also made the journey. Iseult Alice Fitzpatrick, an Irish student at Harvard University, visited the site in May to test the suspended plank walkways. This is a very fun way to see the scenery because we are alone, very high, and close to nature, the scenery is amazing, something I have never seen before,
she said.
Economic Ripple Effects for Local Communities
| Metric | Recorded Figure |
|---|---|
| Bridge Length | 2,890 meters |
| Bridge Height | 626.01 meters |
| Total Regional Visitors | Over 1,48 million |
| New Food & Beverage Businesses | 124 establishments |
| New Hotels and Inns | 15 properties |
| Local Jobs Created | More than 2,000 positions |
The influx of travelers has reshaped the local economy in Huajiang and surrounding townships. Official figures indicate the area has received more than 1,48 million visitors since the transport route opened to traffic. Small-business owners note immediate operational changes. Huo Zhenggui, a local fruit merchant, explained that the faster transit times prevent cargo spoilage while drawing higher foot traffic.
Hospitality providers report similar gains. Wu Fuying, a regional guesthouse operator, confirmed that weekend and holiday bookings consistently reach full capacity. Beyond hospitality, tourism-related operations have generated employment for more than 2,000 local residents, shifting the economic baseline of communities previously isolated by the rugged terrain of southwestern China.
