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Ya'an-Xichang Expressway

China

Architecture

This Highway in the Clouds Is an Engineering Marvel

The Ya'an-Xichang Expressway, also known as Yaxi Highway, is located in Sichuan, a mountainous province in southwestern China.

The "Skyroad" (as it's known) connects the cities of Ya'an and Xichang as part of the Beijing-Kunming Expressway. The only way out of the province is through mountains, so the expressway gradually increases its elevation at a rate of nearly 50 feet per mile. For 149 miles, the road goes through an area that rises from 1,970 feet to 10,500 feet above sea level — which means that, at certain points, you will indeed be living up to the highway's nickname and driving through the clouds. All told, the Skyroad cost 20.6 billion yuan (about $3.3 billion USD) to construct between 2007 and 2012 — it's been dubbed the "most difficult" motorway ever built.

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