The world's highest bridge has opened to traffic in China, connecting two provinces in the mountainous south-west and reducing travel times by as much as three-quarters, the local authorities said yesterday.

The 1,341m-long Beipanjiang Bridge, which soars 565m over a river, connects Yunnan and Guizhou and cost over one billion yuan (S$208 million) to build, according to newspaper Guizhou Daily.

It has overtaken Si Du River Bridge in the central province of Hubei to become the world's highest bridge, said the Guizhou provincial transport department.

Several of the world's highest bridges are in China.