In the midst of the towering mountains in southwest China, a crowd of spectators gathered to watch a young man preparing to jump with rubber ropes from the highest bridge in the world, according to the American CNN network.
The young man stood over a deep canyon, while the bridge's deck rose above the river's waters to a height approximately nine times greater than the height of the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Behind him, the mountain peaks of Guizhou Province stretched toward the horizon, while onlookers approached the edge, raising their cell phones to document the moment.
The process began with safety procedures; The workers fastened the seat belt around his body, then carefully inspected the equipment, while he stood on a platform suspended below the bridge deck.
Moments later, he threw himself into the void.
For seven seconds, he fell towards the bottom of the valley, hundreds of meters below, before the huge elastic rope pulled him up, to the applause of those present.
The scene was exceptional, not because of the jump alone, but also because of the place that hosted it: a towering suspension bridge in one of the most rugged mountainous regions in China, transformed from an engineering achievement into an open arena for tourists and adventure lovers.
The Huajiang Grand Bridge was opened in September 2025, and rises 625 meters (2,051 feet) over the Beiban River in southwest China, making it the highest bridge in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The aim of its construction was not only to showcase engineering capabilities, but also to address the difficulties of movement in a rugged mountainous area. The bridge is designed to cut a two-hour journey across the valley into just two minutes, providing faster connectivity between rural communities and China's national road network.
But the bridge went beyond its primary function, becoming a stand-alone tourist destination. According to figures provided by local officials to CNN, the bridge has attracted about 3.3 million visitors since its opening until August 2026.
For half a century, Arthur Edwards was not just a photojournalist tracking news of the British royal family, but rather a witness to the transformations of a royal institution that, despite the changing times, remained the focus of the world's attention. Behind his lens, he documented official and humanitarian moments, and accompanied princes, kings, and prominent political and religious figures, becoming one of the most prominent photographers whose names were associated with covering the news of the royal family in Britain.
His career, which lasted fifty years, reveals an aspect of the complex relationship between the press and the royal institution. A relationship based on getting close to public figures, while maintaining the professional distance imposed by the camera, in an environment where personal considerations overlap with the requirements of journalistic work.
Edwards carries in his professional record pictures and memories from various stations, which took him between princes, popes, and presidents, and allowed him to watch historical events from a nearby location. It is a site that gives the photographer privileged access to moments that are not available to the public, but it also exposes him to challenges related to trust, privacy, and the boundaries of the relationship with the characters he covers.
One of the most notable things about his experience is his talk about the sharp disagreements he had with King Charles III. The title about his career refers to strong quarrels between the two men, indicating that the relationship between the photographer and the royal figure is not necessarily devoid of tension, even when it continues for many years.
Lebanese artist Jamil Malaeb has been traveling for more than 5 decades, and returns carrying more than his bags can carry. He visited cities. He crossed the streets. He came across faces. His eyes kept the places after their owners left. As the trips accumulate, a biography parallel to his life is formed that can be read in the paintings collected by his exhibition “City Travels” (Itinéraire), which is on display at the “Jeanine Rabiz Gallery” in Beirut until October 30 of the current year.
He draws city playgrounds as he sees them at a moment in his life. In every scene there is something from the history of the place, and something from the eye of the man who passed through it. In his paintings, three times come together, each with its own story. The buildings carry the history of the city and its successive generations, and the streets preserve the rhythm of life that takes place in it today, while the artist adds a third time, which is the moment he meets the place and sees it.
His paintings reveal the difference in his view of each city and the details he chooses. In “Istanbul” (2004), blue water takes up most of the composition and the city retreats to the outskirts of the scene. It is as if the painter chose to see it through what separates and connects its two banks. In “Shanghai” (2016), buildings and characters are crowded within a dense pink fabric, so human life meets urban structure until it is difficult to separate the city from its residents.
Beirut remains the starting and returning point for these trips. But the return in drawing is different from the geographical return. The artist who travels the world returns with an eye that has recognized other possibilities for living, building, and looking.
