Culture + Design Architecture + Design The World's Highest Bridge Will Open in China This Year The bridge spans 2,362 feet between mountains, 1,854 feet above the Beipan River. By Cailey Rizzo Cailey Rizzo Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. She specializes in reporting on travel, culture, and the arts. She is currently based in Brooklyn. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on September 13, 2016 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Getty Images China's never-ending quest for the most impressive bridges just reached new heights. The Beipanjiang Bridge in China—which hangs over 1,800 feet above a river—completed construction on Saturday, the Guizhou provincial transport department announced in a statement. The two edges of the impressive bridge were linked on Saturday, allowing the structure to become China's highest bridge. The bridge spans 2,362 feet between mountains, 1,854 feet above the Beipan River. Getty Images The previous record holder was the Si Du River bridge. It crossed a valley in the Hubei province and hung 1,627 feet above ground. Beipanjing Bridge is expected to open later this year and will be used mostly by automobiles. It is expected to make travel from the Guizhou to Yunnan provinces nearly twice as fast. Getty Images Getty Images When opened, the bridge will also gain the esoteric honors of second longest steel-trussed cable-stayed bridge and the 10th tallest bridge tower in the world. The World's Biggest Statue is in China—But Not For Long Of the 20 main hyper-long bridges in the world, China has 17. Guizhou province alone has seven of them. Last week, China's longest bridge, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon bridge, closed for repairs only two weeks after opening. Officials cited too much visitation as a main factor in the closure. Cailey Rizzo writes about travel, art and culture and is the founding editor of The Local Dive. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @misscaileyanne. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit