Video Of Aizhai Bridge In China Going Viral As NH 44 Jammu & Kashmir.
A video of a road and bridge is going viral on social media claiming it to be the National Highway 44. The viral video shows a Highway passing through tunnels and connecting to a bridge. It's being claimed that the video shows the new NH 44 Jammu and Kashmir.
Facebook Link | Archived Link.
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The video doesn't show NH 44 Jammu and Kashmir. Here's the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by taking some screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a tweet on 24 August 2023. We found a similar video with the caption, "Aizhai Bridge in Hunan Province. The height of the bridge deck from the river is 355 meters. Increase the tourism income of RMB 50 million per year".
According to the tweet, the visual is from Hunan Province (China) and the bridge is Aizhai Bridge.
Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search on YouTube and found a video that showed a walking tour of the Aizhai Bridge.
Other videos can be seen here and here.
Moving forward, we found a news report on the Aizhai Bridge. The report states, "The Aizhai bridge is over 1100 feet from the ground and over 3800 feet long. The bridge is located in China's Hunan Province. It connects two mountain tunnels. Chadong Town is on one side. Jishou City is on the other. The bridge opened in 2012. Before that, it took 30 minutes to cross the valley. Now it takes only 52 seconds".
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According to a report published in The Guardian on 2 April 2012, "The world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge has opened to traffic in Hunan province, central China. The Aizhai suspension bridge links two tunnels 1,176 metres apart, carrying traffic 355 metres above the foot of Dehang Canyon. Construction of the bridge started in October 2007 and its main sections were completed at the end of last year. It is designed to help ease traffic in the mountainous region, where queues are common due to the narrow, steep and winding roads".
From this, it's clear that the viral video is not from Jammu and Kashmir; rather, the video shows the Aizhai Bridge in Hunan province of China.
It is worth mentioning that the NH44 is the longest highway in the country, which passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The viral video doesn't show the NH 44 of Jammu and Kashmir. The video shows the Aizhai Bridge in Hunan province of China.The video shows the beautiful NH 44 of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources
Trip In China Tweet
https://x.com/TripInChina/status/1694776082749329780
YouTube Channel Walk Fast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3XQBI-TqfQ
YouTube Shorts
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eZn1CxHKTRw
YouTube Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm4BC3K_Cxo
Business Insider Report
https://www.businessinsider.in/incredible-drone-footage-shows-a-bridge-in-china-that-is-literally-above-the-clouds/articleshow/61343867.cms
The Guardian Report
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2012/apr/02/aizhai-suspension-bridge-china-pictures
NHAI Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nhai_official/p/CuR4C21PWT_/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highway_44_(India)?variant=zh-cn