Guizhou: The world's tallest bridge opened to traffic Sunday morning in southwest China's Guizhou Province, significantly reducing travel time across a deep canyon from two hours to just two minutes after three years of construction. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, at an elevation of 625 meters above the Beipan River, dwarfs San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge by nearly nine times in height.According to Namibia Press Agency, the bridge, with a main span of 1,420 meters, has become the world's longest-span steel truss girder suspension bridge in mountainous terrain, as noted by Guizhou provincial authorities. Stretching across the Huajiang Grand Canyon, known as "the Earth's crack," the 2,890-meter-long structure is a new milestone in China's rapidly expanding infrastructure network.The previous record-holder for the world's tallest bridge is located approximately 100 kilometers from the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge and was inaugurated in 2016. It had a vertical clearance of 565.4 meters from the bridge d eck to the river surface. The new bridge is expected to significantly enhance regional connectivity and showcase China's innovative capabilities, according to Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transportation department.The bridge's construction brought about multiple technological advancements in wind-resistance design and high-altitude bridge construction, earning 21 authorized patents. Several innovations have been integrated into national bridge construction standards. The construction team overcame significant challenges presented by the canyon by employing new technologies such as satellite navigation, drones, smart monitoring systems, and ultra-high-strength materials to achieve millimeter-level precision in high-altitude construction.Guizhou, one of China's least developed provinces, has built over 30,000 bridges in its mountainous terrain, including three of the world's tallest. The province hosts nearly half of the world's 100 tallest bridges. The total length of Guizhou's existing and in-progres s bridges surpasses 5,400 kilometers, a distance comparable to the span of China from north to south.