Guizhou's new Longlihe Bridge to be completed at end of year

The impressive new landmark, the Longlihe Bridge, is expected to boost the development of tourism in Longli county. [Photo/ddcpc website]

The Longlihe Bridge in Longli county – located in Southwest China's Guizhou province – has completed 95 percent of its construction and is expected to be completed at the end of this year.

Spanning the Longli River Canyon, the bridge is 1,260 meters long and 280 meters above the canyon's surface. When completed, the bridge will be the world's first grand bridge above a canyon that has both a roadway and a glass walkway for sightseeing.

The bridge has a 500-meter-long glass walkway and two roadways in both directions and will cost a total of 1.2 billion yuan ($169.41 million). As the only expressway that connects the Longli grassland scenic area with the outside world, it is expected to boost local tourism development and complete the traffic network.

When constructed, the travel time between Guizhou's provincial capital Guiyang and the Longli grassland will be shortened from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes.