By daisy-outram
Copyright metro
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The world’s tallest bridge has opened in China and it towers at 2,050ft over a river canyon.
It is nearly as tall as Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building, and stands at twice the height of The Shard.
China’s Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge breaks the world record and has reduced travel time between the sides from two hours to two minutes.
The bridge sits over the Beipan River in Guizhou province and took three years to build using satellite navigation and drones.
The project’s chief engineer said that seeing his vision come to life gives him ‘a profound sense of achievement and pride’.
The world’s tallest bridge opened to traffic yesterday (Picture: STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has a 4,659ft span and stands across the Beipan River (Picture: STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Could you stomach driving over a bridge twice as tall as The Shard? (Picture: Getty)
Alongside being the tallest bridge in the world, the structure also has the largest bridge span ever built in a mountainous area.
The 0.9-mile length has steel reinforcements to support heavy loads as they cross.
Some 96 trucks drove to specific spots on the bridge to test its structural integrity in August.
The previous record-holder for world’s tallest bridge was the Beipanjiang Bridge also in Guizhou province which stands 1,788 feet over the river.
An aerial photo of vehicles crossing the world’s tallest bridge (Picture: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
Newlyweds pose for photos at the newly opened bridge yesterday (Picture: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
Extreme sports participants are drawn to the Ghizhou province for the tall bridges standing over deep gorges.
Skydives and base jumps are popular for enthusiasts on the record-breaking bridges.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge was designed with sports and tourism in mind. It features observation decks and facilities for paragliding.
Building the record-breaking bridge cost £227million and officials said it is a vital economic development for the area.
Chen Jianlei, deputy director of Guizhou Transport Department, told China Daily: ‘The completion of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will strengthen economic ties between [neighbouring cities] Guiyang, Anshun and Qianxinan, fostering regional economic integration.’
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