Fascinating Pakistan - Shimshal Pass

I just started writing a series of posts yesterday to introduce to the world the fascinating,beautiful and awe inspiring beauty and landscape of Pakistan. This post today is the second in the series of many more yet to come.

Shimshal Village

Now my readers ma ask why Shimshal Pass - a place rather unknown in the tourism annals of Pakistan. Well I picked up this place for four reasons:

• The photo above was the main motivating factor as the composition is so captivating that I was awe stricken for a while. It looked as if I saw something from another world. Just look above again - doesn't it instantly attracts you - specially the bunch of yaks running at the foothills of mighty mountain? Well it did for me and I instantly thought of writing about Shimshal Pass and the Shimshal Valley. 
• Secondly the motivation of the people of Shimshal village to come out of the obscurity from an otherwise obscured small village surrounded by rugged stony mountains, cutting them completely from the Hunza Valley just next to the Shimshal Valley, but inaccessible except for foot or mule mode of transportation. They thus started cutting the mountains and made a jeep able track to reach the Karakoram Highway (KKH) near the Passu - it took them Eighteen years (1985-2003) to build this track completely relying on their muscle power without any outside help.
• And lastly the trekking on the Shimshal Pass - from the Shimshal village located at 3,100 metres above sea level to Shimshal Pass at 4,735 metres. The invincibility of the trek at places almost vertical climbs, wading through gushing mountain gorges and fast flowing streams.
• And lastly, the entire Shimshal village has electricity - yes don't be surprised and thanks to the solar technology. All houses have solar panels to provide them uninterrupted power supply and watch TV through satellite receivers/dish antennas. This initiative on the part of locals should serve as any eye opener for many villages of northern areas to follow suit.

Now back to the Shimshal village, which is the jump off point for the Shimshal Pass. The village is part of the Gojal Tehsil of Hunza District, in the Gilgit–Baltistan province of Pakistan. At 3,100 m above sea level, it is the highest settlement in Hunza Valley. The village is closest to China. As are typical helmets of high altitude, it has just over 200 houses with a population of approximately two thousand.

With the development of the over 60 kilometers long jeep-able track from the Passu to Shimshal, due courtesy the Agha Khan foundation, the Government of Pakistan and the sheer hard work of the locals, it now takes 2-3 hours to reach this beautiful village perched in the  lush green Shimshal Valley with yaks and goats roaming freely and even racing. The track is one of the dangerous as described by the blog Dangerousroads:

The Shimshal Valley Road is a spectacular and terrific curvy mountainous road which rarely permit speeds over 10km/h. Located in Gojal, Hunza–Nagar District in the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan formerly known as Northern Areas of Pakistan, the journey is extremely dangerous.

Beside very healthy goats and sheep, the main attraction of Shimshal is the Yak, a fierce looking shaggy creature, also found in other higher planes of northern areas of Pakistan. These typically local animals are used as a source of milk, beef, wools and carrying the loads to the mountains in the high pastures and also for crossing through fast current streams and rivers.

Yak Safari - Photo Courtesy Travel Blog

Those who are not avid trekkers, yaks provide them a fantastic opportunity for yak safari to close by areas on the Shimshal Pass. The best time for yak safari is from  June to October but the best is in September to October. The yak safari commences from Shimshal village to  Zardgarben, 3,810 m taking 5-6 hours. You may continue to resume the safari next day to Purien-e-ben, 3,322 m taking hours. Still going higher, one may resume the safari next day to Shuijerab, 4,080 m for 6-7 hours and camping and returning to Shimshal the next day.  

The yak race is another attraction of the area, which is an annual feature when one can see the locals mounted on yaks wading through river streams and lush green fields. This annual feature is held in the last week of July or the first week of August.

As for Shimshal Pass, it lies on the watershed between the Indus River and Tarim River basins, and leads to the valley of the Shimshal Braldu River, a tributary of the Shaksgam River on the border with China. Francis Younghusband was probably the first Englishman to reach the pass (1889).

Trekking from Shimshal  village to the Shimshal  Pass trek is treacherous and deadly, yet adventurous. The trek becomes unsteady with falling rocks and lose stones under your feet. Sometimes one slides on the lose stones, which may become dangerous as the stones once set into motion continue to trigger down from behind too.

It is the sheer determination of the young men of Pakistan and even abroad who venture into this otherwise unspoiled area and take up trekking through Shimshal Pass. Amid howling winds cutting through one's body and loneliness of the mountain trek makes the trekking more difficult - and rather scary.

Words alone cannot explain the toughness of trekking  - Watch video of trekking up to the Shimshal Pass and commend the efforts of these trekkers who opt to reach the Shimshal top disregarding dangers and invincibility of the trek. En route one has to wade through fast mountainous streams with water so clod that cuts through one's skin.

The video above was made when the Atta-abad Lakes had to be crossed through ferries as the KKH was submerged underneath. Now an alternate route has been made to connect the two missing ends of KKH and one can move on the road. However, for adventure sake, one can still opt for a ferry ride in the lake.

I am sure this post will made you make an endeavour to go trekking in the Shimshal Pass and enjoy the experience for many years to come. And you would love to explore more of the fascinating Pakistan. I will help you explore more.

Read more about Yak Safari Photo Shimshal Pass/Village courtesy Mobeen Mazhar | References: Wikipedia |

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CPEC: The making of E35 - the Hazara Expressway

The development of Gwader port at Gwader, Balochistan Pakistan on the Arabian Sea and just short of the famous Strait of Hormuz has been a game changer in the trade between the oil rich countries of the Persian Gulf and the rest of the world far away from the sea waters, specially the People's Republic of China. Thus far, the Chinese shipping lines stretched from the Persian Gulf through the Malacca Strait and thence to the Chinese ports in its South East region. The 2500 kilometers long Gwader-China land link will shorten the existing 10,000 kilometers long sea route for Chinese shipping to almost 1/4th.

For the purpose of the land link between Gwader Port in the south to Chinese border up in the north, a 1,100 kilometer long motorway will be built between the cities of Karachi and Lahore while the Karakorum Highway, between Rawalpindi and the Chinese border will be completely reconstructed and overhauled. It may be added that the KKH or the Karakorum Highway or simply the N5 was built with the assistance of China from its border to Hassan Abdal near Islamabad in the 1960s through some of the treacherous mountain passes. The entire land link is named CPEC, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The 180 kilometers long E35 is being constructed into seven part that will pass through cities of Haripur, Havelian, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Shinkiari, Battagram, and Thakot in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

The expressway will take another two years from hence to its completion, the first three packages from Burhan Interchange on M1 motorway to Havalian interchange comprising 60 km is expected to be completed towards the end of 2017. The expressway all along passes through mountains and a look at the pace of its construction really shows the massivity of the task. 

While the first three packages pass through a rather friendly landscape and mountains, the Mansehra to Thakot section is likely to face difficulties as the terrain will turn difficult and rugged. However it still requires constructing many long bridges to cover the wide valley streams and rivers.

I came across a video about the making of the first three parts of E35 and was amazed at the work being undertaken to complete the section. The video is dated June 2017 and it seems difficult to keep the timetable requirements met as a lot is still to be done.

Watch the video yourself and see it as an update on the CPEC road link development.

Attributes:
Map | Photos: Screen Shots of video above | Video: Abid Hussain/YouTube
Reference: Wikipedia
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The Glass Bridge that would take your breath away

Do you suffer from Acrophobia? Well if you do not know what Acrophobia is, you may still be suffering from it. Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. So whether you know it or not, many people in the world do suffer from looking down from heights and have their legs trampling when looking down from a tall building or Eiffel Tower.

OK suppose, we take it that you do not suffer from  Acrophobia - but here is your acid test. Walk over this hanging glass bridge in China and you would know. Many people are simply resistant to walk over this glass bridge over a 590 feet crevice. At 948 feet, it is the longest bridge of its kind anywhere else in the world.

As they say, it is a Brave Man's bridge as people can barely make it across without freaking out. The glass is one inch thick and there is nothing below it - so if it cracks, God forbids, you are on your own to .......

Watch the video below, I came across on Facebook, and decide whether you would take a stroll over it to know if you suffer from Acrophobia - it will simply take your breath away!

Would you walk across this bridge???
Posted by DJ Reminise on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

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Khunjrab to Islamabad: A spectacular journey from top of the world on bicycle

Karakoram Highway is one of the unique highways in the world for it connects Pakistan's capital Islamabad to China at Khunjrab - the highest place in the world connected by a metalled road. 

Part of the old fairy tale Silk Route, which had long vanished,  Pakistan and China agreed to construct the Karakoram Highway, commonly called the KKH, in 1966. The area had never been visited by machines and automobile and it was the first time that people of region came to know about automation.  One of the workers narrates an interesting anecdote about the remoteness of the area: 

When after lot of difficulties, a Pakistan Army jeep managed to reach a so far inaccessible village, a villager ran and brought a vase full of water and placed under the front of the jeep. When asked what he was doing, the villager innocently replied, "Sahib, your animal must be thirsty."

The 1300 kilometres (800 miles) long KKH, or the N-35, originates from Hassan Abdal, a place some 45 kilometres from Islamabad on the Islamabad - Peshawar Highway, goes through Abbotabad, Manshera, crosses the River Indus at Thakot, on to Gilgit (through Besham, Pattan and Sazin) and then to Chilas, Hunza and Sost before crossing the Khunjerab Pass at the height of some 4800 metres (15,750ft) - the Zero Point between Pakistan and China.

It is a marvel of human endurance, ingenuity and determination. Both Pakistani and Chinese workers and engineers worked day and night over some of the most formidable and inaccessible mountain ranges of the world, with deep gorges and torrential Indus running along the track with its full might. 

The Indus River flows northwest, dividing the Himalaya from the Karakoram. The KKH runs along the Indus for 310 kilometres of its climb north, winding around the foot of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world.  Not far north of Jaglot the Gilgit river joins the Indus from the west. The highway then leaves the Indus for Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjrab rivers to take on the Karakoram Range - where 12 of the 30 highest mountains in the world overlook the KKH. 

At Khunjrab Pass, the KKH proudly stands as the highest metalled border crossing in the world. En route to Khunjrab, before Gilgit, there is a road sign inviting the attention of the tourists to stop and see the the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system (see the board above). 

The Karakoram (the 'crumbling rock' in Turkish language) Highway is an incredible feat of engineering and an enduring monuments to the 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese who died forcing it through  the world's most difficult and unstable terrain, making it possible to surface on earth the Eighth Wonder of the World.  Karakoram Highway has a strategic importance that overarches the whole region. It forms the Asian 'high road' loop that binds Pakistan and China and can also serve as a link between China and the Central Asian states. In 2003, the Silver Jubilee celebrations (1978-2003) of the construction of the road were held both in Pakistan and China.

Huawei Mobile Pakistan has recently covered and sponsored a solo bicycle adventure by on Moin Khan from the freezing cold Khunjrab at the Zero Pint of Pakistan-China border to Islamabad. This post covers the spectacular bicycle adventure that covers journey from The Pak-China border to Battagram on KKH.

The video below shows part of the journey through the border custom post Sost, Bay Bar, the famous Passu Cones, the Attabad Lake, Hunza and finally ends at Battagram. 

A massive landslide on 4 January 2010 blocked the Hunza River at Attabad, 9 miles (14 km) upstream (east) of Karimabad Hunza, and made a huge lake called Attabad Lake (above) or the Gojal Lake, for the lake lies in the Gojal Valley of northern Pakistan. The lake flooding has displaced 6,000 people from upstream villages, and inundated over 12 miles (19 km) of the Karakoram Highway - thus cutting the Pakistan-China road link. Although, ferry services promptly came in transporting people and goods across the lake, it badly hampered Pakistan-China trade.

With Chinese help, the part of the submerged KKH was realigned and 24 new road with five tunnels, totalling seven kilometres, was constructed and inaugurated on 14 September 2015. The realignment restored the road link between Pakistan and China and it is expected that significant amount of trade will be conducted between China and Pakistan through KKH. KKH is also a part of Pakistan China Economic Corridor, and is expected to significantly increase economic integration between China and Pakistan. 

Watch the video below:

My Huawei My Pakistan - Khunjerab to Islamabad
Posted by Huawei Mobile Pakistan on Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Related References:
The karakoram Highway (Pakistanpaedia)
Making of the KKH
Attabad Lake (Wikipedia)

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Friendship Tunnels over Attabad Lake, Hunza inaugurated to reconnect Pakistan and China

Since the fateful day when a huge mountain fell over the KKH and blocked the water of the Hunza River to become a lake at Attabad, Hunza Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan, the trade between China and Pakistan has virtually come to a standstill. 

But the Chinese came forward to help - the same way they came forward to build the mighty Karakoram Highway (KKH) decades ago in the treacherous mountain areas of Pakistan - connecting Pakistan with China - a road that also became one of the highest roads in the world.

China has now reconnected the portion of the submerged portion of the KKH in the Attabad Lake by constructing five tunnels, two bridges and 78 culverts to open the door to friendship between the two countries once again. The road is now open to all types of traffic between China and Pakistan.

The tunnels, named as the Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels now open the 24 kilometers stretch of the KKH damaged since the 2010 massive landslides.

The repair work and construction of tunnels has taken three years and two months. The high quality work of the Chinese and Pakistan joint venture is visible from the photos shared on the net.

Read 
Karakoram Highway KKH (Pakistanpaedia)
Making of the KKH (Pakistanpaedia)

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Guoliang Tunnel - a marvel of a dozen determined men

Miracles happen once in a while, but sometimes a handful of determined men make miracles happen that take the onlookers with an awe. And this is exactly a dozen of Chinese villagers did to connect their lonesome village at the top of a mountain to the outside world.

The village Guoliang is situated on top of the the Taihang Mountains which are situated in Huixian, Xinxiang, Henan Province of China. Until 1972, the village had no access to the outside world or the nearest road-head and the villagers had to brave their way to and from to the nearest 'civilization' through a treacherous mountain track.

So one day, a bunch of 13 determined villagers thought of a miracle to happen. Without any help from the local government or the outside world, the viullagers sold their belongings to buy tools and equipment to undertake one of the wonders of the world. Merely with the help of hand held tools and the human endurance and determination, the began carving a road - one meter in three days. 

This looked not only gigantic task but also seemingly impossible. But after five years and with the loss of one of their comrades, the remaining tweleve men vfinally connected to the nearest roadhead. The extremely treacherous Guoliang Tunnel which is 1.2 kilometers long and four meres wide with an overhead clearance of five meters was opened on 1 May 1977 - the Labor Day for the rest of the world, but a day of reckoning and jubilation for the villagers of Guoliang.

Today, the Guoliang Tunnel is a tourist attraction and daring tourists from around the world visiting China do venture out to visit the Guoliang Tunnel and the village at the top of the Taihang Mountains to pay tribute to those dozen men for their sheer determination to provide their future generations an access to the outside world.

Watch the video below, shared at YouTube by Goomey:

I haven't been to China yet - but if I ever do, I will make an endeavour to go to Guoliang village through Guoliang Tunnel to pay tribute to the men who carved out one of the most treacherous roads of the world - with their hands.

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Hanging Coffins of Sichuan, Southern China

Since our childhood we have heard about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and have been fascinated by a city with flowers everywhere. Those people were really men of highest aesthetics and taste.

But we have only heard and read about these since these existed somewhere in 290 BC in the ancient city of Babylon, near present day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq.

Hanging Coffins of Sichuan, Southern China

But what about if something is hanging and can be seen in our lives - no matter how eerie and awesome it may sound - what to talk of looking at? Well the 'Hanging Coffins' of Sichuan in Southern China is one such site that is also very aesthetic in nature, though eerie and awesome.

These hanging coffins are not very old - just 400 years attached to the mountain cliffs in Gongxian, Sichuan province of China. These are said to be left behind by the Bo people thought to have died out some 400 years ago. However, the earliest hanging coffin was one found in the Three Gorges area, dating back about 2,500 years to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC- 476 BC).

Seeing these hanging coffins, the very first question that comes to one's mind is why hang the coffins on sheer mountain cliffs? Well the simple answer could be that the Bo people wanted their dead to be near their gods. And another logic could be that they wanted to same their dead's bodies from the animals - though this is not very convincing as birds have access to these coffins once the wooden tops withered away.

Each coffin is made from a hollowed out single tree trunk and was originally protected by a bronze cover.'Some of the tombs are nearly 3,000 years old and the most recent date back to about 1500. Nobody really knows why they dealt with their dead in this way,' explained one local expert. The coffins hang at heights varying from as low as 10 metres above the ground to 130 metres above the ground.

In view of their dilapidated condition, the local government has taken up a renovation of these coffins to stabilize and restore them. During the past two months, more than 40 coffins were restored and a further 16 were uncovered.

So if you have any plans to visit China, do include this eerie site in your travel plans - this is something very unique and one of its kind in the world.

Source/Photos: Mail Online

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World's largest standalone structure opens in China

How big can a stand alone structure be - any guess?

Well think of Sydney Opera which we usually see on new year night under fireworks - if you think anything twice as big as Sydney Opera is big - you are mistaken.

China has opened its New Century Global Center to the public in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, June 28, 2013. And this world's largest standalone structure is 'big enough' to house TWENTY Sydney Opera Houses under its roof - that is really big and world's biggest.

This huge structure has 1.7 million square meters of floor space to house business offices, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, a faux Mediterranean village, and attractions including a water park called "Paradise Island."

Beside, it will feature a mix of retail outlets, a 14-screen movie theater, a university complex, offices, hotels, a water park called Paradise Island, a skating rink that's big enough to host international competitions, a pirate ship, 15,000 parking spots, and even a fake Mediterranean village.

The  New Century Global Center is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide.

So the New Century Global Center to the public in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, should be on the list of your next travel destination if you are planning a visit to China. Shouldn't it be?

Read more about it at: C|net

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The Amazing Natural Feature: The Elephant Trunk Hill

Travelers are always seeking for new, unique and extra ordinary place around the globe to visit and add their memories to their travel nostalgia. While it is easy to count places like Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls or Taj Mahal, there are many hidden places, structures or natural features that are either not known or are located in such remote areas that only a handful travelers reach there.

And one of such natural features is the Elephant Trunk Hill. As the name denotes, this natural feature looks like an elephant.

Located in the city of Guilin in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, this rocky hill, which looks like an elephant with its trunk submerged into the Li River, is said to be 3.6 hundred million years old. 

The feature is formed from the seabed limestone of the river. The hill feature, 200 meters elevation, 55 meters in height, 108 meters in length and 100 meters in width, is covered on top with lush green trees and foliage and has become a symbol of tourist attraction of the Guilin city.

There is a pagoda located atop the 'back of the elephant' which resembles like the hilt of a sword. 

As a local legend goes, Emperor of Heaven decided to conquer the Earth riding on the back of his elephant. Kind-hearted and dedicated to the poor, the elephant came down to Earth to help the humans in their labor but finally got sick. With the Emperor so angry at seeing his elephant helping the humans, he deserted him, letting the poor sick elephant's fate at its own course.

Grateful for its help, humans nursed the sick elephant back to health, making the elephant wishes to stay definitely on Earth along with the humans, helping them plow their fields and forget about its master. Infuriated by the scene that was occurring on Earth, the Emperor of Heaven threw his sword on the elephant drinking at the river's edge, finally turned it into stone. Passed away in the world of humans, the elephant is still near to the friendly people that helped him, guarding the city forever and ever.

It is a cool scenic spot near to the city center, recalling locals and visitors about the beauty and power of Mother Nature. The green water of Li River in front of it and the clear spring at the foot make Elephant Trunk Hill one of the most famous hills in Guilin City.

As the sun sets, the Elephant Trunk Hill gives the final stunning view of its presence on the Li River, which fascinates the onlookers and travelers who cherish its memory for the rest of their lives. If you happen to be visiting China, beside climbing the Great Wall of China, do plan a visit to the Guilin city to pay a visit to this stony features that really resembles like an elephant drinking water from the Li River.

All Photos above are courtesy Funzug
[via Hobby Shobbys]

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Crescent Lake and the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang

Nature has created many wonder around the world. But there are places in the world that are not only astounding but one is awe stricken to find these in desolateness of deserts. One of these many strange wonders is the Crescent Lake in the treacherous and inaccessible Gobi Desert of China.

The Crescent Lake with the huge dunes of Echoing Mountain in the background [ Photo: qantsi / Flickr ]

I first came to know of this strange natural wonder recently when a friend sent me the photo of the place and wondered if I knew it where it was. And I have been looking for it since then and then another friend told me about and then I looked for more resource/references to build up this post.

This Crescent shaped lake is unique in the world in a sense that it is surrounded by huge sand dunes and a place where rain fall is almost non existant, availabaility of clear blue water is certainly a rarity.

Location of  Dunhuang city  in the Gobi Desert, China 

The lake called Yueyaquan, pronounced 'Pinyin' is located in a unique desert oasis about 6 kilometers south of the historic Silk Days Dunhuang city in the treacherous Gobi Desert in Gansu Province, China. Dunhuang was for more than two thousand years a crucial entrance in to China, located on the famous Silk Route.  Travelers followed a string of oases, skirting around the unforgiving sands of the Gobi and Taklamakan Desert.

One may wonder how this water has been here when it is stark desert all around. Many are of the view, that the water erupts from the desert surface because of the under surface springs that in itself is a unique natural phenomenon.

The Crescent Lake Satellite view with the background slopes of the Echoing Mountain [ Photo: Google Earth ]

As per Wikipedia, the lake had a depth of 4-5 metres with a maximum depth of 7.5 meters in 1960. However, to help the people of the area, a dam was built on the Dang River which skirted the city of Dunhuang in the 1970s. Due to the stoppage of the water in the dam, which otherwise facilitated the irrigation and the resultant increase in population from 100,000 to almost 180,000, the water table in the area started to sink. This had an adverse effect on the this tiny lake, which also started to shrink and by early 1990s, the total area of the lake had shrunk to 1.37 acres with an average depth of 0.9 meters.

The Crescent Lake and the Ancient Han Dynasty style Pagoda [ Photo: Wikipedia ]

However since 2006, with the efforts of the local government and help of the central government, the lake has been filled artificially to restore its depth - and the results have been encouraging and the lake is showing signs of growth.

Crescent Lake surrounded by the Echoing Mountain [Photo Credit: sdelahoyde ]

Due to the huge dunes of the Echoing Mountain on both sides of the lake, the blowing sands do not pollute the water of the lake and it remains as fresh and green as any fresh water lake elsewhere. And the lake water has never been buried under the sand, which in itself is a geological wonder.

Now a word about the Echoing Sand Mountains or the Mingsha Shan in local language - these huge sand dunes are famous for the sounds the wind makes when blowing over the dunes. The dunes with their rolling ridges reach up to height of 250 meters are relatively stable despite the fact that the dunes beyond the mountains shift frequently. Which is why the Oaisis and the Crescent Lake is preserved for the last 2000 years or even more.

The Crescent Lake is now part of the World Heritage under the auspices of the UN and has become a tourist attraction for those who dare to go to the extremely hot and treacherous Gobi Desert of China to witness this unique natural wonder.

Mogao Caves [ Photo credit: Brett Davenport's Travel Blog ]

Those who finally make up to Dunhuang would be amazed to find the Mogao Caves, located some 25 kilometres from Dunhuang city on the eastern slopes of the Echoing Mountains. Mogao means high up in the desert.

The cliffs rise above the Dachuan River, which is 25 km south-east of the Dunhuang oasis. Within the cliffs are the 492 natural cells and rock sanctuaries extending over 1,600 metres.

One of the countless Mogao cave carvings [ Photo Credit: Travel China Guide ]

According to Tang Dynasty records, a monk had witnessed onsite a vision of thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. Thus inspired, he started the caves construction work that spanned ten dynasties. Mogao Caves are, therefore, commonly known as the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas.

Watch the video below of the interior of the Mogao caves and sculptures therein:

The Mogao Cave Sculptures / Interior [ Video Credit: Daibusshi / YouTube ]

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Aizhai Bridge China - World's Longest Suspension Bridge

China, though largely obscured from the world for its unique achievements in every field, has come up with some of the greatest marvels of architecture, making new records the world over.

The Aizhai Bridge, China: The world's largest suspension bridge

One such marvel is Aizhai Bridge in Hunan province is 336 m (1,102 ft.) high and has a 1,176 m (3,858 ft.) span - making it the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel suspension bridge. The structure is supported by a base 78ft wide.

The bridge connects two traffic tunnels in the mountains, cutting the time needed to traverse the canyon beyond it from 30 minutes to 1.

It has taken five years to construct this suspension bridge to ease traffic in the area mainly caused by its numerous narrow, steep roads. Pedestrians can walk along it on a special walkway and take in views of the Dehang Canyon.

The 336 metres high bridge is simply awesome and hair-raising

Drivers can take in the views of the Dehang Canyon as they steer their way across all 3,858ft of the new sky-high road which links two tunnels.

People and traffic stream across the Anzhaite Long-span Suspension Bridge during the opening ceremony.

Once on the bridge cars and lorries can motor along a two-way, four-lane motorway at about 50mph. Pedestrians can also walk along it on a special walkway under the road.

The bridge is a key part of the Jishou-Chadong Expressway, a 64-kilometre road which has 18 different tunnels which cover about half of its length. It is hoped the bridge will help ease traffic jams which are common in the mountainous area which has narrow, steep and winding roads.

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China also has the longest bridge in the world, the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge which is just over 100miles long and was built two years ago to carry the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway.

If you are visiting China, do visit these architectural marvels - besides going to see the Great Wall of China, which in itself is a great marvel of architectural wisdom of the ancient Chinese.

Photographs/references: Funzug

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