Aizhai Bridge 矮寨大桥

About Aizhai Bridge

The scenic visitor experience is separate from driving across the motorway: designated bridge viewing and cliff-walk areas reveal the engineering in its landscape. The winding older road below provides a striking contrast in scale and alignment. Choose the bridge visit, cliff walkway or a broader Dehang combination according to the product you book, and check the eligibility and access rules for any adventure activity separately.

Construction on the bridge began in October 2007 as a key project of the Jishou–Chadong section of the Baotou–Maoming Expressway. The steel truss girder was closed on 20 August 2011, completing the main structure, and the bridge opened to traffic on 31 March 2012. It was built with the assistance of a $208 million loan from the Asian Development Bank, as part of a project that also included 64 kilometres of expressway and upgrades to 129 kilometres of local roads, and was projected to cut travel time between Jishou and Chadong from four hours to under one hour.

The bridge's main span measures 1,176 metres, said to be the longest span of any steel-truss suspension bridge crossing a canyon. Its deck is 24.5 metres wide, carrying four traffic lanes, and stands 355 metres above the floor of Dehang Canyon (德夯峡谷). The bridge also contains 1,888 lights to increase visibility at night.

What to look for

• The suspension span crossing the valley between mountain tunnels.
• The contrast between the modern bridge, older winding road and cliff landscape.

Location & getting there

Getting to Aizhai Bridge

Navigate to the Aizhai Wonders scenic visitor entrance near Aizhai Town, Jishou. Do not use the motorway carriageway as a pedestrian destination; bridge viewing and cliff-walk access follow the scenic operator’s route.