Railway bridge in Yunnan remains reliable after century of service

Wujiazhai Bridge on the Yunnan-Vietnam railway has proved reliable over its 100 years of service. Not a single bolt has had to be replaced since its construction.

Construction of the Yunnan-Vietnam railway, which covers a distance of 855 kilometers, began in 1907. It is the first railway in Yunnan, and also China’s first transnational rail. During the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Wujiazhai Bridge was bombarded more than 700 times by dozens of aircraft. Nevertheless, the bridge remained miraculously unscathed.

Hundreds of thousands of trains have run across the bridge over the past century, transporting hundreds of millions of passengers. Its construction plan is identical to that of the Eiffel Tower, and it has been recognized as one of the most famous bridges in the world. The bridge contains more than 20,000 rivets fabricated in France. More than 800 workers died during the construction of the bridge due to dangerous and difficult terrain.