Gaolanhe Bridge completed for Yichang-Xingshan railway

By Yan Wanqin.

The Gaolanhe Bridge, a key part of the Yichang-Xingshan High-speed Railway, was completed on April 19, marking major progress toward the railway’s planned opening in 2026.

Workers pour the final layer of concrete on the Gaolanhe Bridge. Photo by Li Bin.

Stretching 1,029.8 meters with 14 piers, the bridge’s tallest pier stands 124-meters high, which is equivalent to the height of a 41-story building.

Located in a typical karst landscape filled with underground caves, construction teams first had to fill the gaps in the caves before drilling. Due to these conditions, the project took four years to complete.

Aerial view of the Gaolanhe Bridge in Xingshan County. Photo by Li Bin.

The full railway spans 108 kilometers and is designed for speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. Bridges and tunnels make up about 95 percent of the route.

It will connect Yichang's downtown with Xingshan County, linking to the Wuhan-Yichang section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu High-Speed Railway and the Zhengzhou-Chongqing High-Speed Railway.

Once complete, the railway will reduce travel time from Yichang to Chongqing to around 3 hours, and from Yichang to Xingshan from 2 hours to just 20 minutes.

Wan Chunfeng, Li BIn and Wang Yuqi contributed to this story.