Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge 花江峡谷大桥

What it is

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge carries an expressway across the Huajiang Grand Canyon — locally called the “Earth’s Crack” — a gorge so deep and sheer that the villages on either side used to need two hours to drive around it. The bridge does it in two minutes.

The numbers are the point here: 625 m from deck to water (world record), 1,420 m main span (world record for a mountain bridge), 2,890 m total length. It opened on 28 September 2025 and was named one of TIME’s World’s 100 Greatest Places for 2026. A 50+ km² tourism zone is being built around it under an official master plan.

What to do there

The bridge was designed for tourism from day one — not a viewpoint bolted on afterwards. Three zones:

Yundu service area （云渡服务区） — the gateway complex beside the bridge: restaurants, local specialty shops, and the main visitor facilities. Free to enter.

Bridge sightseeing zone — the bridge itself. A glass sightseeing hall in the bridge corridor, 625 m above the canyon. A cloud café on top of the bridge tower — coffee with canyon wind. A high-bridge post office where you can send a postcard with a bridge-exclusive postmark. (Yes, there is even a marriage registration point on the bridge.)

Adventure zone — for thrill-seekers. High-altitude bungee jumping into the canyon. Paragliding with a bird’s-eye view of the karst landscape. An aerial rope swing and a high-altitude racing track.

Getting there

• From Xingyi — the obvious way. About 140 km, roughly 1h45m each way by car. We run bridge day trips from Xingyi with a driver — see Local Help.
• By air. The nearest airport is Xingyi Wanfenglin Airport (ACX), in the same prefecture as the bridge. Direct flights from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, Zhuhai and others — see flights to Xingyi.
• By high-speed rail. The Panxing line (opened November 2025) connects Guiyang to Xingyi in about 2 hours; Xingyi South station sits near the airport.
• Self-driving. The bridge is on the Liuzhi–Anlong Expressway, well signposted from both the Guiyang–Anshun and Xingyi directions.

Base yourself in Xingyi

Xingyi is the natural base for a bridge visit: real hotels (branded mid-range plus characterful local guesthouses), restaurants, and — unlike anywhere else in the area — English-speaking on-the-ground support.

A practical plan:

• Day 1 — Wanfenglin karst cycling in the morning, drive to the bridge in the afternoon, back to Xingyi for dinner.
• Day 2 — Maling River Canyon, the “Earth’s Crack” gorge the bridge spans.

This is exactly the “Guiyang–Anshun–Qianxinan” golden loop the province is promoting — and Xingyi anchors the Qianxinan end of it. See how it fits in the 2–3 day itinerary.

Practical tips

• Language: essentially zero English at the bridge site itself — signs, ticketing and staff are Chinese-only. If that worries you, that’s what we’re here for (see below).
• What to bring: a windproof jacket (it gets windy at 625 m), sun protection, comfortable walking shoes.
• Best time: spring and autumn for clear canyon views; winter is mild here, summer escapes the lowland heat.
• Tickets: sightseeing and adventure activities are ticketed separately at the site; the Yundu service area itself is free to enter. Prices change — treat anything you read online as the shape of it rather than a guarantee.

The bridge is a popular domestic destination — go on a weekday morning if you can. Weekends and holidays bring the crowds, and the sightseeing areas feel them.

Visit with local support

We run airport transfers, private drivers and trip planning in English from right here in Xingyi — so the world’s highest bridge doesn’t have to be a pointing-and-guessing experience. Our local help page explains how arrangements work, or just email us.

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