Wanjiazhai Dam Footbridge

Wanjiazhai Dam Footbridge
万家寨电站悬索桥
Wanjiazhaizhen, Shanxi, China
(328) feet high / (100) meters high
1,640 foot span / 500 meter span
1994

The gargantuan Wanjiazhai Dam Footbridge is still the longest span suspension footbridge in the world with a tower to tower length of 1,640 feet (500 meters) which would exceed both Japan's Kokonoe "Yume" Otsurihashi footbridge and several other large Chinese footbridge spans. The suspended section of the bridge is however only 1,532 feet (467 mtrs) - less then the 494 meter free span of the Charles Kuonen pedestrian footbridge in Switzerland. Open to the public for a nominal fee, the Wanjiazhai Dam bridge is located across China's great Yellow River in a remote and arid region of China near the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region.

The slender bridge was originally built for workers to get across the Yellow River gorge during the construction of the Wanjiazhai hydroelectric dam. Originally scheduled for removal in 2000 once the dam was completed, the dam personnel decided to keep it and so the span was rehabilitated and strengthened for long term use.

The bridge is reportedly only 115 feet (35 meters) above a full reservoir but based on a known dam height of 344 feet (105 meters) minus a foundation of approximately 35 meters and an extra 5 meters for the dam crest, I would estimate the bridge to be 328 feet (100 meters) above the old level of the Yellow River.

这座桥是由一位悬索桥爱好者帕特里克·S.·奥东内尔搜寻而来的，巨大的万家寨水库大桥可能是世界上跨度最大的一座悬索桥，主塔之间的距离有500米，这一跨度将超过日本九州大分的九重梦大吊桥和马拉西亚雪兰莪州的双威水上主题乐园里的悬链线形的吊桥。这座向公仅仅众象征性的收费的悬索桥，跨越了中国内蒙古自治区的偏远、干旱地区的黄河一段水域。据报道称，该桥仅仅高出水库满水位上35米高，而它所在的大坝高度，在扣除大约高35米的基础和额外的5米的大坝坝顶之后，还有105米高。所以，我估计这座桥相对于原来的黄河水位应该高出100米。

World's 20 Longest Footbridge Spans

1. 516 Arouca, Portugal - 516 meters

2. Wanjiazhai Dam, China - 500 meters

3. Charles Kunonen, Switzerland – 494 meters

4. Kushma Bungy, Nepal - (490) meters

5. Rappbode Dam, Germany - 458 meters

6. Hongyagu Glass, China - 445 meters

7. Sochi Skybridge, Russia – 439 meters

8. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass, China – 430 meters

9. Yinzuotianmeng, China – 420 meters

10. Highline 179, Austria – 402 meters

11. Mishima Grand, Japan – 400 meters

12. Kokonoe Otsurihashi, Japan - 390 meters

13. Ryujin, Japan - 375 meters

14. Skywalk Sattel, Switzerland - (374 meters)

15. Geierlay, Germany – 360 meters

16. Kushma-Mudhikuwa, Nepal - 359 meters

17. Bai Hefei, China - 358 meters

18. Triveni Garas, Nepal - 350 meters

19. Bunwajorghat, Nepal - 350 meters

20. Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia - (350 meters)

A construction view of the Wanjiazhai Dam with one of the bridge towers faintly visible at the edge of the river gorge plateau.

A view of the completed Wanjiazhai Dam with a blue suspension bridge tower visible in the upper left.