China's Longli River Bridge: a marvel of engineering

The Longli River Bridge. [Photo by Song Xuexing / For chinadaily.com.cn]

The Longli River Bridge in Southwest China's Guizhou province opened to traffic on Saturday, shortening the travel time between Guiyang, the provincial capital, and the Longli Grassland from 1.5 hours to around 30 minutes. It is the world's first cable-stayed landscape bridge in a mountain and canyon area.

Crossing the Duohua Grand Canyon, the Longli River Bridge spans 1,260 meters, which is the world's longest span. The top of the tower and the bridge deck are about 400 meters and 280 meters, respectively, from the bottom of the canyon.

The bridge features vehicle lanes and glass walkways. On each side of the main span of the bridge, there are glass walkways spanning 528 meters.

The main tower is equipped with four three-sided sightseeing elevators, offering visitors a vertical sightseeing experience, while the bridge's the midway observation platform offers a panoramic view of Duohua Grand Canyon.

Luo Siyang contributed to this story.

The Longli River Bridge. [Photo by Song Xuexing / For chinadaily.com.cn]

The Longli River Bridge. [Photo by Yuan Sumei / For chinadaily.com.cn]

The Longli River Bridge. [Photo by Yuan Sumei / For chinadaily.com.cn]