The Huajiang Bridge: China's new miracle at a height of 625 meters!

The Huajiang Bridge: China's new miracle at a height of 625 meters!

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in the province of Guizhou, China, is the highest bridge in the world with a height of 625 meters from the road to the river bed. This corresponds almost to the height of the Shanghai Tower, which is one of the most famous attractions in the country at 632 meters. The bridge, which has now been released for traffic, has an impressive main tension of 1,420 meters and significantly shortens the travel time by the Huajiang Gorge-from around two hours to just a few minutes. The construction of this monumental -looking suspension bridge lasted three years and cost more than two billion Renminbi, which corresponds to around 240 million euros. Kleine Zeitung reports of the high number of bridges in China, of which 18 of the 20 highest worldwide are found in this country, while Guizhou is one of the regions in the country most indebted.

The construction of such infrastructure projects is controversial in China, as these often lead to high costs and debts. In the Guizhou region, which is known for its economic challenges, the construction of new bridges and roads has a particularly strong impact, since many of these projects do not bring the necessary social or economic benefits. This asks the question of the sustainability of the investments in infrastructural developments.

Infrastructure and economic challenges

The focus on the expansion of the infrastructure in China has been followed for years, but now many of these construction projects are often not busy. For example, the fastest train, the fuxing, is operated by Shanghai to Beijing with up to 350 km/h, and the route is well booked. At the same time, however, new development areas are visible that are largely empty, and train stations that many platforms can show, but only a few passengers. According to the economic researcher Michael Pettis from Beijing University, China reaches the limits of his growth, which illustrates the lack of income level in poor regions such as Guizhou. This mismatch is problematic, especially since 70% of the world's high -speed trains run in China, but only 17% of global economic output come from this country. SPIEGEL shows the lying economic challenges that go hand in hand with over -investment in the infrastructure.

In the next five years, China is planning to build new high -speed trains, the number of which meets the number of those in Germany, Spain, France and Japan. However, this could coincide with the need to reduce new construction plans in order to promote private consumption. Pettis emphasizes that wages rise and at the same time jobs have to be secured, which is an enormous challenge. Political difficulties in implementing government aids could complicate the situation, especially since the government spending is already high. How China's economic growth will develop remains uncertain. Current data show an increase of around 4.5% in August compared to the previous year in terms of consumption and industrial production, but growth requires a sustainable basis. Tagesschau forecast that a falling economic growth can be expected, since China can no longer invest in the same extent as in the past.