Wushan Yangtze River Bridge

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Wushan Yangtze River Bridge
巫山长江大桥
Wushan, Chongqing, China
590 feet high / 180 meters high
1,509 foot span / 460 meter span
2005

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One of the largest and most spectacular arch bridges ever built, the Wushan Yangtze River bridge is the second crossing of the 3 Gorges reservoir upstream of the massive dam. A gateway to the city of Wushan, millions of visitors a year pass under the bridge as they travel up through the famous 3 Gorges region of the Yangtze River.

A half through arch with a main span of 1,509 feet (460 meters), Wushan ranks 7th among the world’s longest span arch bridges. The main arch was constructed using the stayed cantilever method whereby a tower is erected on either side of the gorge and cables temporarily radiate out from it to support individual sections of the arch until the two halves can be joined in the middle. A cable high line between the tops of the two towers was used to move the steel sections into place high above the river. Once the arch was closed, concrete was pumped into the 8 main ribs of the arch span, stiffening and strengthening the entire structure.

If you are traveling through the 3 Gorges region, I highly recommend you visit the bridge by disembarking your boat at the dock in Wushan and hiring a taxi driver to take you to the bridge. Plan on a one hour round trip drive to the bridge plus another hour to photograph it and take a stroll across. Just be sure to get back to the dock in time for the last boat!

A beautiful scene of the bridge being lit up at night can be seen in the excellent 2005 Chinese movie Still Life which chronicles a man’s journey to find his wife. Photographed in and around the cities of Wushan and Fengjie when they were being rebuilt to accommodate the rising reservoir, the film has a slow, lingering pace that captures a world that is sometimes so real it seems almost surreal. It won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film festival. It is available for rental on Netflix.


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Wushan Yangtze River Bridge Elevation


现已建成的最大和最雄伟的拱桥之一,巫山长江大桥是巨大的三峡大坝库区上游的第二座长江大桥。作为巫山县城的门户,每年有数以百万计的游客,在他们游览长江三峡之时,从其下通过。

这座中承式拱桥主跨460米,巫山长江大桥位居世界最大跨径拱桥的第七位。这座拱桥采用了固定缆索平衡施工方法,该方法首先要在河谷两侧的山坡上建立龙门塔架,之后架设临时性的索道,用来吊装架设拱圈的拼装阶段,直至两半拱圈在中间部位合拢。在两座龙门塔架之间的高孔缆索,是用来将钢管节段运送到河流中间的高处的。一旦拱圈合拢,8个主钢管拱圈中就会泵送入混凝土,硬化并强化整个结构。

如果你去游览整个长江三峡的话,我强烈建议你现在巫山码头靠岸,然后乘一辆出租车去参观一座大桥。准备一个小时的时间乘车过去,再一个小时拍照以及在大桥上晃悠一圈。但是一定记住在最后一艘船到来之前回到码头去。

在2005年中国的一部电影《三峡好人》中,你可以看到这座桥美丽的灯光流明的夜景,这部电影是来讴歌一个男人寻找自己妻子历程的故事。在两座为了适应三峡库区水位上升而重建的巫山和奉节新城内外拍摄的这部电影,以缓慢、流连不舍的速度捕捉着一个时而亦真亦幻的世界。这部电影在威尼斯电影节上荣获了金狮奖。它可以在Netflix在线电影租赁网站上找的到。


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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A group of trucks floats down the Yangtze River "highway" below the Wushan Bridge. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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An abandoned house near the Wushan arch bridge. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Wushan Yangtze River Bridge construction plan.


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The 3 Gorges reservoir had already begun to fill up beneath the arch in this view.


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by nipic.com / moriwuyu


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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One of the massive arch pins is positioned into place. The foundation was then built over the pin connection.


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The full height of the old level of the Yangtze River can be seen in this construction view. The top of the arch is about 800 feet (244 meters) above the water.


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Wushan City adjustable level dock elevator. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Wushan Yangtze River Bridge satellite image.


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Wushan Yangtze River Bridge location map.