A newly opened bridge in south-west China collapsed on Tuesday, sending massive slabs of concrete crashing into the mountainside and the water below. No casualties have been reported so far, according to a report by The Guardian.
Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed part of the Hongqi Bridge, located in the mountainous Sichuan province, crumbling as dust clouds rose from the impact. The 758-metre-long bridge had been closed by local authorities a day earlier, after cracks were discovered on nearby roads. On Tuesday, a landslide triggered by unstable terrain caused a full section of the bridge to give way.
The Hongqi Bridge was part of a major national highway linking Sichuan and Tibet, running through one of China’s most seismically active zones. The area has a tragic history of natural disasters, most notably the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people and destroyed entire towns.
According to social media posts from the construction firm Sichuan Road and Bridge Group, the bridge had only been completed earlier this year. Its collapse raises new questions about construction safety in the region, particularly in light of China’s rapid infrastructure expansion in difficult mountainous environments.
Over the past few decades, China has invested heavily in connecting its remote and mountainous areas, building highways, tunnels, and record-breaking bridges to link previously isolated communities. These engineering feats have been celebrated as symbols of progress and modernization, cutting travel times that once took days into mere hours.
But this latest incident underscores the risks of large-scale construction in geologically unstable terrain. Landslides, heavy rainfall, and seismic tremors are common in Sichuan, putting constant stress on even the most advanced engineering projects.
In September, China unveiled the world’s tallest bridge in neighboring Guizhou province, further highlighting the country’s push to conquer challenging landscapes with ambitious infrastructure. Yet as the collapse of the Hongqi Bridge shows, those efforts can come at a cost when nature proves unpredictable.
Officials have begun an investigation into the cause of the collapse and the stability of surrounding infrastructure along the same route. Engineers and safety teams are assessing whether other sections of the national highway may face similar risks.
For now, the incident serves as a stark reminder that in regions where the earth itself is in motion, even the strongest-looking structures can be fragile.