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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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
