Incredibly Amazing: Sichuan’s 73-Story Highway Leads to the Heavens

Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Team
 

Mainland China has a vast and diverse terrain. To overcome geographical challenges, “sky roads” have emerged. When people talk about a “sky road” in China, many may refer to the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, but the most truly deserving of the name is the Ya’an-Xichang Expressway located in central and southern Sichuan. This highway stretches 240 kilometers, with a height difference between the bridge base and deck reaching up to 220 feet, earning it the nickname “the highway in the clouds.”

The Ya’an-Xichang Expressway is a section of the G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway within Sichuan Province. It is hailed as the most incredible engineering feat in the history of highway construction. The route climbs from the edge of the Sichuan Basin toward the mountain ranges, crossing water systems such as the Qingyi River, Dadu River, and Anning River, as well as 12 seismic fault zones. Stretching across continuous mountain ridges, the rugged terrain offers almost no flat land—only towering viaducts and a total of 25 tunnels spanning 41 kilometers. It is one of the world’s most challenging highways in terms of both natural environment and engineering difficulty.

One of the bridges built to adapt to the terrain is the “Ganhaizi” Bridge, located in Shimian County in central Sichuan. Its design resembles a roller coaster track, stretching 1,811 meters in length and 24.5 meters in width, with the tallest pier reaching 110 meters. Another bridge, the “Labajin Special” Bridge, is 1,106 meters long, with a height of 220 meters from the base to the deck—equivalent to a 73-story building. That’s why this Ya’an-Xichang Expressway is often referred to as the “highway in the clouds.”