Baling River Bridge Sunset & Blue Hour

Why the Baling River Bridge is Guizhou's great modern frame

The Baling River Bridge carries the expressway across the Baling River canyon just east of Huangguoshu, and it does it in one enormous leap — a suspension span of well over a kilometre hung between two red towers, with the canyon floor falling away hundreds of metres below. From the viewpoints along the canyon rim the bridge does not look like infrastructure; it looks like a gate. The gorge is deep enough that mist often sits in it until mid-morning, and in the evening the whole valley goes dark while the deck and towers still hold the last light.

The best pictures happen in the short window around and just after sunset. As the sun drops, the western sky throws warm light onto the steel and the canyon walls turn from green to charcoal. Then, about fifteen minutes after sunset, the bridge illumination comes on — and for the next half hour you get the classic shot: glowing red towers against a deep indigo sky. Stay a little longer and the headlights of the crossing traffic draw long red and white lines through your frame.