China has officially opened the world’s tallest bridge, slashing travel time across a deep canyon from two hours to just two minutes, after three years of building.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge soars 625 metres above the Beipan River in mountainous terrain in south-west China’s Guizhou province.

It is 625 metres from the bridge deck down to the river – nearly nine times the height of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, or twice the heigh of the Eiffel Tower.

The bridge, which opened on Sunday, has a main span of 1420 metres and is 2890 metres long in total. Local authorities say it’s the world’s longest-span steel truss girder suspension bridge in mountainous terrain.

The bridge had its final test in late August, with a colourful flotilla of 96 trucks weighing almost 3000 tonnes rolling across it to test the structure’s strength.

Massive crowds gathered to mark Sunday’s opening, including project engineers and local officials. Drone footage broadcast by state media showed vehicles crossing the huge structure.

It spans the Huajiang Grand Canyon, dubbed “the Earth’s crack”, and is China’s latest addition to its rapidly expanding infrastructure network.

“The new bridge, which will greatly enhance regional connectivity, is a landmark project that showcases China’s innovation,” said Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transportation department.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge also offers a coffee shop at the midpoint for people to take in the views and a waterfall curtain tipped to become a major tourist drawcard. It will also offer bungy jumping.

It takes the title of world’s tallest bridge from one crossing the Beipan River about 100 kilometres away. Opened in 2016, the former world title-holder has a vertical clearance of 565.4 metres from bridge deck to the river below.

State news agency Xinhua said nearly half of the world’s highest 100 bridges were located in mountainous Guizhou.

The three-year construction period for the new record-holder is considered impressive, even by Chinese standards.

“In other parts of the world, a project of this scale would typically take five to 10 years from ground-breaking to completion, depending on environmental, political and logistical factors,” Calgary University professor Mamdouh El-Badry told Yahoo.com.