Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 13: The newly constructed Hongqi Bridge at the Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Station in Barkham (Ch. Ma’erkang), Aba (Ngaba) Tibetan Prefecture, in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo suddenly collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. The construction of the 758-metre-long bridge had just been completed in January and opened to traffic just months ago.
A widely circulated video on social media platforms shows the bridge partially collapsing, releasing a huge dust plume. Officials said the bridge had been closed to traffic on Monday after detecting cracks on nearby slopes and roads. There were no reports of casualties.
According to the Tibetan American Network, an exile-based news outlet, the geological disturbances occurred shortly after a ceremony on November 9 marking the completion of the Shuangjiangkou Dam, the world’s tallest hydroelectric power dam. The 315-metre-tall dam, designed to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity annually, reportedly submerged the old crossing along National Highway G317 when water impoundment began on May 1.
The original bridge was part of National Highway G317, one of China’s strategic arterial routes linking Sichuan Province with Tibet, intended to boost connectivity, tourism, and the transport of resources. Promotional videos from the state-owned Sichuan Road & Bridge Group celebrated the project for cutting travel times and symbolizing “modern development” in the mountainous Tibetan region.
However, the recent collapse has prompted widespread criticism from environmental and geological observers, who say it emphasises the dangers of building massive engineering projects on the Tibetan Plateau’s fragile and geologically unstable terrain. Experts have long warned that the region is prone to earthquakes, landslides, and permafrost melting, all of which can compromise large-scale infrastructure.
“This collapse is not an isolated incident—it’s a symptom of reckless development on one of the most unstable terrains on Earth,” one observer wrote on X. “The Tibetan Plateau is not designed to bear the weight of such projects. The consequences could be catastrophic.”
