Top 10 Highest Bridges in the World

The Beipanjiang Bridge in southwest China is the highest bridge in the world, with its deck soaring 565 meters above the Beipan River in a deep gorge between Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. Opened in December 2016, this cable-stayed bridge spans 1,341 meters and carries the G56 Hangzhou-Ruili Expressway across terrain that was previously accessible only by winding mountain roads.

Introduction

China dominates the list of the world's highest bridges, holding more than half of the top 100 spots. The country's massive infrastructure boom, particularly in the mountainous southwest provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan, has produced an extraordinary concentration of record-breaking bridges spanning gorges, valleys, and rivers at dizzying heights.

1. Beipanjiang Bridge (Duge), China — 565 m

• Height: 565 m above river
• Span: 1,341 m
• Type: Cable-stayed
• Location: Guizhou–Yunnan border, China
• Opened: 2016

The Beipanjiang Bridge connects two mountaintops across the Beipan River gorge, replacing a 4-hour mountain road detour with a 2-minute crossing. The bridge deck sits higher above the ground than any building in the world — more than 100 meters taller than the Shanghai Tower, China's tallest skyscraper.

Construction required workers to operate in extreme conditions, with high winds, fog, and the sheer depth of the gorge creating constant challenges. Cable stays anchored into the limestone cliffs on both sides support the deck, which carries four lanes of expressway traffic at speeds up to 80 km/h.

2. Pingtang Bridge, China — 332 m

• Height: 332 m above valley floor
• Span: 2,135 m
• Type: Cable-stayed
• Location: Pingtang County, Guizhou, China
• Opened: 2019

The Pingtang Bridge carries the Pingluo Expressway across a deep karst valley in Guizhou Province. With towers rising 332 meters above the valley floor and a main span of 550 meters, it is one of the most visually spectacular bridges in the world, threading through a landscape of limestone pinnacles and misty gorges.

The bridge is notable for its proximity to China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope. The bridge's design had to account for the telescope's need for radio silence, ensuring no electronic interference from the bridge's systems.

3. Husutong Yangtze River Bridge, China — 325 m

• Height: 325 m (tower height)
• Span: 1,092 m main span
• Type: Cable-stayed
• Location: Jiangsu Province, China
• Opened: 2020

The Husutong Yangtze River Bridge has the tallest bridge towers in the world, rising 325 meters above the water — taller than the Eiffel Tower. The bridge carries both a six-lane expressway on its upper deck and a four-track railway on its lower deck, spanning the Yangtze River between the cities of Nantong and Zhangjiagang.

At 11.07 kilometers in total length, including approach spans, it is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world. The dual-use design was essential to connect Nantong, previously accessible only by ferry or a lengthy detour, to Shanghai's economic zone.

4. Puli Bridge, China — 310 m

• Height: 310 m above valley
• Span: 1,040 m
• Type: Suspension
• Location: Yunnan Province, China
• Opened: 2015

The Puli Bridge spans the Pu River valley in Yunnan Province at a height of 310 meters. It is a suspension bridge with a main span of 628 meters, carrying the Puli-Xuanwei Expressway across deeply incised terrain in China's mountainous southwest. The bridge replaced a tortuous mountain road that previously took hours to navigate.

The valley's depth and the surrounding terrain's instability posed significant engineering challenges. The bridge's towers are founded on solid rock after extensive geological surveys, and the entire structure is designed to withstand the region's seismic activity.

5. Siduhe River Bridge, China — 496 m

• Height: 496 m above river
• Span: 1,222 m
• Type: Suspension
• Location: Hubei Province, China
• Opened: 2009

The Siduhe River Bridge spans the Sidu River valley in Hubei Province at a height of 496 meters — the second-highest bridge in the world. The initial step in construction involved firing a rocket trailing a pilot line across the 1.2-kilometer-wide gorge, as the terrain was too rugged and the valley too deep for conventional cable-stringing methods.

The bridge carries the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway and was a critical link in connecting China's eastern seaboard to the interior provinces of the southwest. Before the bridge, travelers had to descend into the gorge on steep switchbacks and cross the river by ferry, a journey of several hours.

Key Facts

• The Beipanjiang Bridge at 565 m is higher above the ground than any skyscraper in the world.
• China holds more than half of the top 100 highest bridges globally.
• Most of the world's highest bridges were built after 2005.
• Guizhou Province alone contains dozens of bridges over 200 meters high.
• The Siduhe Bridge's construction began by firing a rocket across the gorge to carry the first cable.

Fun Facts

• If you dropped a stone from the Beipanjiang Bridge, it would fall for nearly 11 seconds before hitting the water.
• China builds more high bridges in a single year than most countries have built in their entire history.
• The Husutong Bridge's towers are taller than the Eiffel Tower and carry both highway and railway traffic.
• Many of China's highest bridges replaced roads where drivers had to navigate 50 or more switchbacks to cross a single valley.

Final Thoughts

The world's highest bridges are triumphs of civil engineering, spanning chasms that once divided communities and regions. China's mountainous southwest has become the global epicenter of extreme bridge construction, producing structures that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.