Jinshajiang Bridge, a 'rainbow' above the river

Jinshajiang Bridge

A large red suspension bridge spans the Jinshajiang River in Lijiang, Yunnan province, resembling a rainbow crossing a natural chasm. This is the Jin'an Jinshajiang Bridge, an important control project of the Huali (Huaping - Lijiang) Expressway.

The Jinshajiang Bridge connects Jin'an Town in Lijiang's old town area with Songping township in Yongsheng county. A structurally complex and technically challenging canyon suspension bridge, it was built at high altitude, with significant elevation differences and high seismic intensity.

The bridge has set four world records: the world's largest span suspension bridge in a mountainous canyon area, the world's longest span for cable-stayed bridges, the world's smallest width-to-span ratio for a mountainous canyon bridge, and the first in the world to use full penetration welding technology for the U-ribs of the entire bridge deck.

Jinshajiang Bridge

The Jin'an Jinshajiang Bridge is situated in a complex geographical environment with harsh climatic conditions. The foundations of the bridge's main towers are located on the cliffs of the mountains on each side of the river, where the rock is harder than ordinary steel pipes.

Facing the "steepest" slopes and the "hardest" rock, the builders of the China Communications Construction Company’s Second Harbor Engineering Company employed a combination of "manual blasting and rotary drilling" for the construction. They also developed and built a hoisting system with a span of 1,386 meters.

The Jinshajiang Bridge under construction

On December 31, 2020, with the operation of the Lijiang to Yongsheng section of the Huali Expressway, the Jin'an Jinshajiang Bridge also opened to traffic. Before completion of the bridge, people had to spend an hour of driving down into the valley, climbing back up, and navigating hundreds of winding turns to cross the Jinshajiang River. But now, it takes them just one minute to cross the river.

The opening of the Jinshajiang Bridge has benefited the local people along its route and spurred regional economic development. It has also injected new momentum into the tourism industry of Yunnan province, particularly in Lijiang.

At the end of 2023, the bridge won the China Construction Engineering Luban Award.