Featured Image Credit: Liu Chaofu/VCG via Getty Images
Topics: Restaurants and bars
Niamh Spence
Some people often need a bit of encouragement for big heights, but for this cafe you may need more than a few encouraging words. In fact, when you get to it, you might want to ditch the flat white for a stiff shot of whisky.
As someone who doesn't even like going up a few floors in a lift, I'll be sitting this one out, but if you love a bit of vertigo with a snack and a drink, this could be for you.
The world’s tallest bridge has now officially opened in China, and sitting right on top is a glass walled café that’s being described as both breathtaking and utterly terrifying.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, located in China’s Guizhou province, opened on 28 September, and along with it came something truly sky-high with a two-storey café suspended 2,624 feet (800 meters) in the air. Yes, you read that right, this isn’t your average coffee stop.
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The café, aptly named Interstellar Coffee, is perched atop one of the bridge’s soaring towers, giving visitors a 360-degree panoramic view of the clouds, canyon and sprawling green valleys below. The space is entirely made of glass, including the walls, floors and even the elevator that takes you up, making it the ultimate coffee spot for thrillseekers with steady nerves (and maybe a strong stomach).
According to Guizhou Daily Tianyan News, the glass elevator can reach the café in under a minute, giving guests just enough time to question their life choices before stepping into what looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie.
The café currently serves Captain George Coffee, with plans to expand its offerings in the coming months. There’s no word yet on whether they’ll serve decaf, but considering the altitude, most people probably won’t need the extra buzz.
Visitors can also take a stroll along a 1,900ft-high glass walkway, or if that’s not enough adrenaline, bungee jump straight off the bridge itself. Because apparently sipping a latte while floating above the earth just isn’t thrilling enough.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is now officially the tallest bridge in the world, towering over the Beipan River and connecting two major tourist areas in the Guizhou province. At 4,600ft long, it also holds the title for the longest bridge ever built in a mountainous region.
Yet beyond its jaw-dropping height, the bridge is also a huge achievement in infrastructure. What once took locals two hours to cross now takes just two minutes, according to local officials.
The bridge took three years and eight months to complete and stands as a symbol of China’s ambitious expansion of its bridge network, particularly in Guizhou, where more than 32,000 bridges have been completed or are under construction. Back in the 1980s, that number was under 3,000.
The new addition isn’t just about function, though. It’s quickly becoming a hotspot for influencers, travellers and anyone chasing that 'coffee with a view' moment. Drone footage of the bridge and café has already gone viral, with viewers calling it everything from 'beautifully surreal' to 'my actual nightmare'.
On social media one user wrote: "Imagine spilling your drink and watching it fall for like five minutes."
Another added: "Stunning view… but I’ll enjoy it from ground level, thanks."
For those brave enough to visit, Interstellar Coffee offers what might just be the most elevated brew on Earth, quite literally. Half a mile above the ground, surrounded by clouds, it’s the definition of next-level dining.