Main structure of Jinsha River Bridge of Lijiang-Shangrila Railway completed

The main structure of Jinsha River Bridge on Lijiang-Shangrila Railway was completed on Oct. 13, 2020, laying a solid foundation for the railway’s opening to traffic next year.

Straddling the Jinsha River, the upper reach of the Yangtze River, the 882.5-meter-long bridge is the first long-span suspension bridge for railway service in the world. The vertical distance from the bridge deck to the surface of Jinsha River is 250 meters, which is equivalent to the height of an 80-stoery building.

With a designed speed of 120 km/h, the Lijiang-Shangrila railway will shorten the travel time from Lijiang and Kunming (capital of Yunnan Province) to Shangrila to one hour and four hours respectively after the whole project is completed.

By Li Hengqiang; Photo by Yang Chang