A number of multipurpose bridges have injected vitality into the continued development of the tourism industry in mountainous area of southwest China's Guizhou Province.
There are more than 30,000 bridges which have been built or are under construction in Guizhou, known as the "Museum of Bridges".
At the Baling River Bridge in Anshun City's Guanling County, visitors can not only explore the interior of the bridge for tourism purposes, but also experience the thrill of bungee jumping.
The over 2,200-meter-long Baling River Bridge is about 370 meters above the water's surface. The bridge, a steel truss girder suspension one with the longest span in China when it was built, opened to the traffic in 2009.
At that time, the bridge helped cut the travel time across the gorge from one hour to merely a few minutes.
"I tried the bungee jumping, and I felt it was quite enjoyable, especially due to its novelty," said Lv Xun, a tourist from Zhejiang Province, east China.
A museum on bridge construction techniques and related technologies near the Baling River Bridge ha become a tourist hotspot in Guizhou.
Many tourists have visited the museum to gain knowledge about the types, structures, and designs of bridges.
"The Baling River Bridge has developed a significant sector dedicated to extreme sports. The bungee jumping at the Baling River Bridge is officially confirmed by the Guinness World Records as the world's highest commercial bungee jumping. In addition, a series of extreme sports activities such as high-altitude swings, skywalking, and low-altitude parachuting, have been introduced on the bridge. Since January 2024, we have received over 52,000 visitors and generated revenue of seven million yuan (about 0.96 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhao Xiong, director of Baling River Bridge Museum in Guizhou.
Transforming disadvantages into advantages, Guizhou is accelerating the unlocking of the potential inherent in its unique geographical resources.
Throughout this year, Guizhou has been persistently developing distinctive tourism products to cater to the diverse needs of visitors.
In the Wanfenglin geological park in Xingyi City of Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, a natural air corridor formed by the local climate has created a perfect paragliding site. Serving as the first paragliding base in Guizhou, it has become a must-visit destination for many enthusiasts seeking to experience the activity.
"After experiencing paragliding, I felt incredibly relieved. It was absolutely amazing as I took off here for the first time and my feet left the ground. By seeing these mountains from such a perspective for the first time, I realized how beautiful the scenery of Guizhou truly is," said Zhang Dong, a paragliding enthusiast.
Multipurpose bridges inject vitality into tourism industry in China's mountainous Guizhou
