A view of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge Photo: VCG

Many tourists choose to travel to Anshun, a city in Southwest China's Guizhou Province, for the picturesque Huangguoshu Waterfall. But the first thing that greets some visitors has nothing to do with the waterfall.

The breathtaking structure that catches their attention is the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which stretches across the canyon, suspended high above the Huajiang River.

The numbers are impressive enough. The bridge deck sits 625 meters above the water, making it the world's highest bridge by deck height. It stretches 2,890 meters in length, with a main span of 1,420 meters, and has been open to traffic since September 2025.

But numbers do not quite convey what it feels like to see the bridge from the Keli village viewing platform. From there, the full structure can be seen stretching across the mountains covered with trees, with the canyon falling away far below.

The bridge was obviously built to get people from one side of the canyon to the other, but its presence has also created a new way of experiencing the landscape.

A view of the Anshun Ancient Town Photo: Lu Wenao/GT

From the Yundu service area on the other side of the canyon, the bridge can be seen from a different angle. Visitors can also pay to walk onto the bridge, although the experience is less appealing to those with a fear of heights.

Seeing the bridge from different viewpoints makes its scale easier to appreciate. From Keli, it seems to blend into the vast landscape; up close, its engineering and sheer height become more apparent.

Exploring the bridge and its surroundings offers a new way to experience Anshun beyond the Huangguoshu Waterfall.

After seeing the bridge, Anshun feels less like a destination centered around a single scenic spot and more like a place where very different landscapes can be experienced within a relatively short journey.

For example, along the way from the canyon bridge back toward Anshun's urban area, tourists can visit the Longgong scenic area, or Dragon Palace.

Longgong is a classic example of Guizhou's largely karst landscape, combining caves, underground rivers, waterfalls, canyons, peaks and cliffs. 

The scenic area has been described as a "museum of karst landscape," and its most distinctive feature is its network of water-filled caves. 

The water cave extends for about 15 kilometers, making it one of the province's most distinctive subterranean attractions. Longgong is also part of a wider karst landscape that has made Guizhou famous for its caves and underground rivers. 

Visitors can travel by boat through parts of the cave system, following an underground river beneath the mountains. Inside, the surroundings change dramatically from the open landscape outside: daylight gives way to darkness, while the water and limestone formations create a quieter and more enclosed world.

The contrast is part of the attraction. Within a single journey, visitors can move from a bridge hundreds of meters above a river to an underground waterway hidden inside the mountains.

A bridge on the Guancheng River in Anshun, Southwest China's Guizhou Province Photo: Lu Wenao/GT

City tour

Back in Anshun downtown, the atmosphere changes completely.

After the enormous bridge and dramatic mountain scenery, the Anshun Ancient City and the small food streets around it offer a more modest and welcoming environment where thousands of visitors can stroll among shops and food stalls without a fixed itinerary.

The historic district retains old streets, alleys and traditional residential buildings, while newer businesses have brought together intangible cultural heritage workshops, bookstores, restaurants and leisure spaces. 

The area has become particularly popular in summer, when Anshun's relatively cool weather adds another attraction for visitors seeking a respite from the heat.

And, food is an important part of the experience. Anshun's local snacks are varied enough that eating can become an activity in itself. 

Along the Gufu Street, visitors can find everything from guojuan, a thin rice wrapper filled with many ingredients such as bean sprouts, kelp and preserved vegetables, to crispy tofu balls, rice noodles and other local snacks.

Tofu balls, meanwhile, are made mainly from tofu and fried until their exterior is crisp while the inside remains soft.

Grilled small pig intestines are another local specialty and have become a popular choice among visitors exploring the city's food streets. 

Relaxing walks

Thanks to its relatively cool summer climate and refreshing mountain air, Anshun also lends itself to slower forms of travel.

The city's Hongshan Lake is a place where locals and visitors can walk, sit and enjoy the scenery. 

Rather than moving from one major attraction to another, travelers can simply spend an afternoon wandering around the lake, exploring old streets or stopping for a snack.

Anshun's most famous attractions are certainly spectacular. 

But between these big sights are quieter experiences: an old street, a bowl of local food, a walk beside a lake, or a few hours spent simply enjoying the weather.

Visitors may come to see a stunning waterfall and the majestic man-made structure of the Grand Canyon Bridge, but what they can take away from Anshun is the feeling of a city where spectacular scenery and everyday life exist side by side.

For a summer trip, sometimes that is enough: something impressive to see, somewhere interesting to wander, something local to eat, and a climate that makes visitors want to stay outside a little longer.