The world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge has opened to traffic in Hunan province, central China. The Aizhai suspension bridge links two tunnels 1,176 metres apart, carrying traffic 355 metres above the foot of Dehang Canyon. Construction of the bridge started in October 2007 and its main sections were completed at the end of last year. It is designed to help ease traffic in the mountainous region, where queues are common due to the narrow, steep and winding roads.
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The long-span Aizhai suspension bridge is seen in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hunan Province, March 31, 2012. Aizhai suspension bridge, with a main span of 1,176 meters and a maximum height of 330 meters, was open to traffic on Saturday. Spanning over the Dehang canyon, the bridge was built as part of the expressway from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Changsha city in Hunan. Its completion would greatly improve the transportation between the two cities, according to authorities. (Xinhua/Zhao Zhongzhi)
Aizhai is the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge
It spans 1,176 metres and is the 12th longest suspension bridge in the world
Photographers line up to capture pictures of the bridge at dusk
Visitors take a look at the bridge
Vehicles and pedestrians cross the bridge during the spring festival
The bridge forms a key section of the Jishou-Chadong Expressway,
which has 18 tunnels in total comprising about half of its length.
The bridge has 1,888 lights to increase visibility at night.
A section of the Aizhai suspension bridge during its construction.
A worker paints part of the bridge.
The bridge is 355 metres above the ground.
Previously, a drive from one tunnel to the other took about half an hour.
The Aizhai suspension bridge at night
