Mangjiedu Bridge

Azhihe River Bridge
阿志河大桥
Panlong, Guizhou, China
810 feet high / 247 meters high
928 foot span / 283 meter span
2003

The Azhihe River bridge was one of 4 medium sized suspension bridges that were designed and built in the same time period by the Major Bridge Reconnaissance Design Institute in Wuhan, Hubei, China. The bridges all share common traits including an extremely thin 2 foot (.6 mtr) thick prestressed concrete slab deck and cable suspenders just 16 feet (5 mtrs) apart. Since all 4 bridges were of similar length and in similar gorge settings, it was economical and efficient to design them at the same time. The other 3 include the Beipanjiang 2003, Xixi and Luojiaohe bridges. All four are among the world’s 60 highest bridges.

Azhihe is most similar to Xixi with an elevated side span on the north side of the bridge that leaves the cable anchorages about 100 feet (30 mtrs) below the level of the road deck. The south side span of the bridge is less interesting but earns points for being at the entrance to a tunnel. Of course the real magic of Azhihe is the location of the bridge. Soaring 810 feet (247 mtrs) above the Azhi River, the bridge is 85 percent as high as Colorado’s Royal Gorge bridge and nearly as spectacular. The south side of the canyon is especially precipitous, dropping nearly straight down into a gorge with an unusually narrow “throat”. The bridge is just one of several spectacular bridges on the new two lane road that now connects Liupanshui with the Guiyang to Kunming highway. The region has one of the highest concentration of high bridges in the world with the Liuguanghe, Jiangjiehe, Balinghe and the 3 crossings of the Beipanjiang all within a radius of 100 miles (161 kms).

Azhihe River Bridge Elevation

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com