Hang Canyon Bridge Summary
The Hang Canyon Bridge, standing at 625m tall, will be the highest bridge in the world, surpassing the Eiffel Tower’s height by nearly twice. Located in China’s Guizhou province, it will stretch 2,890m across the Bayon River, with a 1,420m main span.
The bridge’s construction has been a challenging task due to the region’s unforgiving landscape, with steep cliffs, deep gorges, and unpredictable weather. Engineers have had to use advanced technology, including a cable crane system and high-strength steel cables, to build the bridge.
The bridge will reduce travel time across the canyon from over an hour to just 1 minute, providing a crucial link for isolated communities and allowing for easier access to jobs, education, and healthcare. It is expected to become a major tourist attraction, with planned extreme sports and stargazing facilities on the bridge itself.
The project has required nearly 49,000 tons of steel, with 40,000 tons already in place. The bridge’s towering pylons have been anchored deep into the mountain side, and the foundation has been reinforced with high-strength steel bars to ensure stability.
Despite the challenges, the bridge is nearly complete and is set to open in late 2025, rewriting the future of Guizhou province and providing a new link between China’s booming coastal cities and its less developed southwestern provinces.
| Term | Definition | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Pylons | Tall, slender structures that support a bridge or other elevated structure | The bridge’s towering pylons have been anchored deep into the mountain side. |
| Cable Crane System | A system using cables and cranes to lift and move heavy loads during construction | Engineers have had to use advanced technology, including a cable crane system, to build the bridge. |
| High-Strength Steel | Steel with a high tensile strength, used for construction where high loads are expected | The bridge’s foundation has been reinforced with high-strength steel bars to ensure stability. |
| Unforgiving Landscape | A terrain that is difficult to work with or navigate due to its harsh conditions | The bridge’s construction has been a challenging task due to the region’s unforgiving landscape. |
| Isolated Communities | Groups of people living in areas that are difficult to access or far from urban centers | The bridge will provide a crucial link for isolated communities and allow for easier access to jobs, education, and healthcare. |
| Stargazing | The act of observing the stars and night sky for recreational or scientific purposes | The bridge is expected to become a major tourist attraction, with planned extreme sports and stargazing facilities on the bridge itself. |
| Tensile Strength | The maximum stress a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before failing | High-strength steel cables were used to build the bridge due to their high tensile strength. |
| Reinforced Foundation | A foundation that has been strengthened with additional materials, such as steel bars, to support a structure | The bridge’s foundation has been reinforced with high-strength steel bars to ensure stability. |
| Boom | A period of rapid economic growth or expansion | The bridge is set to open in late 2025, rewriting the future of Guizhou province and providing a new link between China’s booming coastal cities. |
| Southwestern Provinces | Provinces located in the southwest region of a country, often less developed than coastal areas | The bridge will provide a new link between China’s booming coastal cities and its less developed southwestern provinces. |
Hang Canyon Bridge Vocabulary Quiz
Test your understanding of the Hang Canyon Bridge with this 5-question multiple-choice quiz.
Answer Key:
- a) Harsh and difficult to work with
- b) To lift and move heavy materials into place
- c) It will reduce travel time to just 1 minute
- b) Pylons
- b) It will provide a crucial link for isolated communities
Using the Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Tenses
| The future perfect and future perfect continuous tenses are used to describe actions that will be completed at a specific point in the future. The future perfect tense is formed using ‘will have’ + the past participle of the verb, while the future perfect continuous tense is formed using ‘will have been’ + the present participle of the verb. These tenses are often used to show the duration of an action up to a specific point in the future or to emphasize the completion of an action before another action in the future. |
|---|
Choose the correct answer for each question:
- By the time the Hang Canyon Bridge opens, engineers ____________________ nearly 49,000 tons of steel.
A) will use
B) will have used
C) are using D) have used - By late 2025, the bridge ____________________ for several months, providing a crucial link for isolated communities.
A) will build
B) will have been built
C) is being built D) has been built - The bridge’s construction ____________________ a challenging task due to the region’s unforgiving landscape by the time it is completed.
A) will be
B) will have been
C) is D) has been - By the time the bridge opens, over 40,000 tons of steel ____________________ into place.
A) will be put
B) will have been put
C) are being put D) have been put - The Hang Canyon Bridge ____________________ a major tourist attraction by the time it is completed, with planned extreme sports and stargazing facilities.
A) will become
B) will have become
C) is becoming D) has become
Answer Key:
- B) will have used
- B) will have been built
- B) will have been
- B) will have been put
- A) will become
