China has some of the most spectacular highways in the world, including the world's longest trans-oceanic bridge, highways built into steep mountainsides, and roads with breathtaking turns. Three highways of note are the Tianmen Mountain Winding Highway in Hunan Province, which has 99 turns over 11km ranging from 200m to 1,300m in elevation; the Aizhai Highway also in Hunan, considered the most beautiful mountain road; and the Tarim Desert Highway in Xinjiang, the longest highway crossing a desert at 552km. China also has impressive bridges and elevators, like the Bailong Elevator in Hunan, the world's tallest outdoor elevator.
6. China has 6 such hanging highways
one of then is Quabi Highway in
Taihang Mountain as shown.
7. A photo shows view
along the Guoliang
guabi road, a special
road built into the
wall of a steep
mountain, in Huixian
county, Xinxiang
city, Central China's
Henan province.
This Guoliang guabi
road is one of the six
such roads in China
built on the wall of
mountains.
22. A twisted mountain road along the Aizhai Highway in
central China's Hunan province is considered the most
beautiful of its kind in the country.(Photo / IC)
23. Aizhai Bridge in Hunan Province, height
330m, span 1,176m. World No. 3, Asia No. 1.
32. Tianmen Mountain Winding Highway Zhangjiajie
Hunan Province, Length 11km, height from 200m
to 1300m sea level, total 99 bends. On top of the
mountain there is Tianmen Temple.
34. If the Aizhai Highway is the most
beautiful, the mountain road
reaching the top of the Tianmen
Mountain in Northwestern Hunan
province must be breathtaking.
The 11 km road lifts visitors from
an altitude of 200 meters to 1,300
in 99 turns.(Photo / IC)
35. The 24-zig is in Guizhou Province, it has 24 sharp bends on a high
mountain. The Burma Road was largely built by Chinese during World
War II to bring supplies to beleagured China, to help Chinese resist the
Japanese invasion.
38. Tarim Desert Highway, also known as the Cross-
Desert Highway (CDH) or Taklamakan Desert Highway,
crosses the Taklamakan Desert from north to south, 552
km long. It take about 5hrs by car to travel the whole
length.
39. This highway links the cities of Luntai ( ̨ ) on National Highway 314 and Minfeng (
) on National Highway 315, on the northern and southern edges of the Tarim Basin.
The total length of the highway is 552 km; approximately 446 km of the highway cross
uninhabited areas covered by shifting sand dunes, making it the longest such highway in
the world.
43. 4 Highways enter into Tibet namely Chuanzang
(Sichuan-Tibet Highway), Qingzang (Qinghai-Tibet
Highway), Dianzang (Yunnan-Tibet Highway) and
Xinzang (Xinjiang-Tibet highway) Highways.
44. Chuanzang Highway
The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is a high-elevation road that
begins in Chengdu of Sichuan on the east and ends at
Lhasa in Tibet on the west. The road has a length of
2,142km. Make sure you get your vehicle and yourself well-
prepared before driving this road. The construction of the
highway began in April 1950, and on 25 December 1954 it
was open.
51. Qingzang Highway
Qing Zang Highway ( ع· ) - The 1,160 Km long Qing Zang
Highway is paralleled with the renowned Qinghai-Tibet Railway (
· ). It runs from Golmud ( ľ ) of Qinghai ( ຣ ), crosses the
Kunlun Mountains ( ɽ ), vast grasslands and ends at the city of
Tibet ( ) - Lhasa ( ). Being the world's highest elevated road
(averaging 4,000 m ASL) hence travellers need to carry supplies of
oxygen and altitude sickness medicine. The Highway was completed in
the early 1970s and just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
55. Dianzang Highway
Dian-Zang (Dian is the abbreviation for Yunnan Province, Zang is
the abbreviation for Tibet) Highway was built and opened to
traffic in 1974. It starts from Xiaguan of Yunnan in the south,
traverses Jianchuan, Zhongdian and Dechen to Zhikang of Tibet
in the north and covers a distance of 714 km. It joins the south
part of Sichuan-Tibet Road in the north. It is the fourth trunk line
from hinterland to Tibet. People all consider it the most beautiful
highway in China and all over the world.
59. Xinzang Highway
Xinjiang -Tibet Highway, the No 219 National
Trunk Highway, starts from Yecheng county of
Xinjiang and ends at Lhaze county of Shigatse
Prefecture in Tibet. It runs 1,455 kilometers,
winding its way among mountains and rivers.
61. Taiwan Suhua Highway is a 118-kilometre section of the
Provincial Highway No. 9 in Taiwan, starting at Su-ao
Township, Yilan and ending at Hualien City, Hualien. it is
a dangerous yet scenic drive. Famous tourist stops
include the Chingshui Cliffs.
64. In a photo taken on April 29, 2014, two young men on bicycles stopping to take
in a sea view from the costal Suhua Highway, which starts in Ilan county in
Northeastern Taiwan and ends at Hulian county in eastern Taiwan. Local people
love to cycle the road for the sea breeze and relaxing views.(Photo / IC)
71. If you suffer from a fear of heights, perhaps this one's not for you.
The Bailong Elevator, also known as the Hundred Dragons Elevator, carries tourists
1,070ft (330m) up the side of a massive sandstone column in a mountain range in
China's Hunan Province.
Riding the glass lift, which carries up to 50 people at a time or 1,380 an hour, offers jaw-
dropping, not to say vertiginous, views down to the bottom of the rocky mountain range
in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangijiajie, Hunan Province.
Work began on the lift, which cost 120m yuan, or around ?12m, in 1999 and finished in
2002.
The project met with fierce criticism from environmentalists who were angry that it was
sited in the middle of a World Heritage Site.
Lift shafts and tunnels had to be dug into the quartz sandstone column chosen from
thousands in the area, and earthquake detectors installed so that the lifts (there are
three of them) could be evacuated quickly in case of disaster.
Those in favour of the project said that the elevators, which are said to boast the biggest
passenger capacity in the world, saved the mountain trails from excess traffic.
But protestors said the area, which attracts 5m visitors each year, was already saturated
with tourists and did not need another attraction to boost that number further.
After it was built, the lift was said to be the world's tallest full-exposure outdoor lift,
tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator, and the fastest passenger elevator with the
biggest capacity, according to Industrytap.com.
74. Pictures and captions: Internet
PPS by: Oei Hui Kiat, Singapore
Date completed: Thu. 28 Aug. 2014
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