Mashable: Science If you’ve got a fear of heights, you might want to sit this one out. China just threw down the gauntlet in the world of engineering with a bridge so tall, it makes the Eiffel Tower look like a garden gnome.

Welcome to the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge—the new tallest bridge on Earth—standing a dizzying 2,050 feet above the Beipan River in Guizhou province. That’s nearly twice the height of Paris’s beloved tower and a full-on nine times taller than San Francisco’s Golden Gate. But this sky-high diva isn’t just about breaking records—it’s flipping travel on its head. What once was a gruelling two-hour drive through rugged canyon terrain is now a breezy two-minute zip across a sleek, four-lane masterpiece.

You read that right: two minutes. That’s faster than your microwave popcorn. The tallest bridge in the world, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in #Guizhou, China, opens today.  Rising 625 m above the Beipan River and stretching 2,890 m with a 1,420 m main span, it has cut the crossing time between the banks from two hours to about two minutes.… pic.twitter.com/NUlDF33FiK — Bridging News (@BridgingNews_) September 28, 2025 Built over three years with a jaw-dropping budget of £227 million (approximately AED 1.01 billion), this 0.9-mile-long beast is backed by some serious muscle.

Think 215 metric tons of steel reinforcements, satellite navigation, and drone tech keeping everything on track. Its backbone? A support structure made of 93 segments weighing a total of 22,000 tons—almost three Eiffel Towers stacked together. No wonder the chief engineer said finishing the project gave him “a deep sense of achievement and pride.” More than a record-setter, this bridge is a lifeline.

It’s now a major connector between Guiyang, Anshun, and Qianxinan—cities that, until now, were practically a world apart thanks to the daunting canyon. As Chen Jianlei, deputy director of the Guizhou Transport Department, put it, the bridge will “strengthen economic ties... fostering regional economic integration.” Meaning: Big money, big moves. The world's tallest bridge is set to open later this month China's Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge: • Height: 2,051 ft.

• Length: 9,480 ft. • Cost: ~$280 million • Construction: 3 1/2 years The height is equivalent to two Eiffel Towers or six Statues of Liberty pic.twitter.com/ENwCzGp1QA — Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) September 15, 2025 Guizhou has long been one of China’s less developed regions—but not anymore. With this new link, officials are banking on a boom in trade, tourism, and attention. From commuters to camera-wielding tourists, everyone’s about to get a much smoother—and much taller—ride.

So next time someone says bridges are boring, just show them this sky-slicing icon. Tall, fierce, and fabulously fast—the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is everything but ordinary.