Beipanjiang Bridge
The taste for mega-constructions in China is well known, especially from a time to this part. The objective is not only to show the power of Chinese engineering but to create structures worthy of becoming mass tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Parthenon in Athens.
The last mega-construction born in the Asian country is the Beipanjiang bridge nicknamed "the highest in the world." With its 565 meters high, this building exceeds the 500 meter high barrier that another bridge called Sidu, also in China, had marked in 2009.
Until then, Sidu represented the greatest triumph of mega-constructions in the country within the category of bridges and it is that since 2003 they had proposed to snatch the record that the Royal George of Colorado in the United States held until the beginning of the XNUMXst century.
If there is something abundant in China, it is mega-constructions, that's why we do a brief review of some of the most striking several meters from the ground.
Baipanjiang Bridge
The Beipanjiang Bridge is not suitable for those with a phobia of heights. It is located 565 meters high above the Nizhu river canyon, in the south of the country, and connects Yunnam and Guizhou provinces. It is 1.341 meters long and will connect cities that were once five hours away by car in two hours.
The photographs that can be taken from around the Beipanjiang Bridge are impressive. The fog between the mountains spreads across the landscape as if it wanted to engulf the bridge that has just emerged between the rocks.
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
Image via Cnbc
This mega-construction is located at a lower height than the previous one, but the result is just as impressive as its glass floor allows one to believe that one is walking on air.
Zhangjiajie is the longest glass bridge on the planet as it is 430 meters long and 300 meters high. It is located within the Zhangjiajie Natural Park, in the province of Hunan, which has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1992, being one of the most visited in China.
This glass bridge cost 3.400 billion dollars, a figure as dizzying as the height at which it is located. Once the vertigo problems have been overcome, it is best to take a photograph lying on one of the glass plates that make it up. The result is super shocking.
Qingdao Water Bridge
There is no element that resists Chinese engineering. Nor the water since over Jiaozhou Bay, the longest bridge over water on the planet was built in 2011. This mega-construction has a length of 42,5 kilometers and has six lanes through which traffic circulates in both directions. It has more than 5.200 pylons and its manufacture required millions of tons of steel and concrete.
Its construction took the record away from another Chinese bridge, the one located in Hangzhou Bay that until now was considered the longest in the world over the waters of the sea, with 36 kilometers in length.
Currently, a small artificial island is being built next to the Qingdao Bridge to serve as a resting area for travelers., so that they can refuel their cars, have a snack or do some shopping.
Beipanjiang Railway Bridge
Image via Rail Travel
This bridge holds the title of the highest railway bridge in the world. It is located in Liupanshui and was inaugurated in 2001. In 2009 it lost its title of the highest arch bridge in the world but still retains the aforementioned.
Special mention should be made of the method followed for its construction, which has been described as very ingenious. The reason is that instead of using two temporary towers in each abutment to build the arch, it was made in two halves on falsework, each one on one side of the ravine. The first pile at each end served as a tie rod.
Once the halves of the arches were finished, the piles were rotated 180º until they faced the arches. Then the halves of the arches were put together and the rest of the piles and the deck were built.
Karakorum, the highest highway
It is not a bridge but to finish in the heights we will talk about Karakorum. A 5.000 meter high highway linking western China and northern Pakistan through one of the most rugged and dangerous areas in the world as it runs through three great mountain ranges such as the Pamir range, the Himalayas and the Karakorum range.
As a curiosity, the route along the Karakorum highway was once part of the Silk Road and today it is regarded as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between China and Pakistan.