Cross-river bridge over Jinsha River opens, replaces last zipline

An aerial view of the cross-river bridge. (Photo: Xinhua)

The bridge connecting Fengjiaping Village in Butuo County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province and Yingge Village, Qiaojia County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province finally opened after two and a half years.

In the past 20 years, the zipline was the only way to visit relatives and friends, seek medical treatment and get to school.

The Sichuan Department of Transportation of Sichuan said the province is one of the most difficult provinces to replace ziplines with bridges. In the past five years, Sichuan has invested more than a billion yuan to replace 77 ziplines with bridges. More than 70 projects have been completed. More than 100,000 people in 500 villages in Sichuan province have already removed ziplines.

Vehicles and pedestrians pass the cross-river bridge on Tuesday.

Some villagers still use a zipline to cross the Jinsha River. The cableway is 480 meters long and 270 meters from the river below.