Hunan’s new glass bridge is not for the faint of heart
Print Edition
WHATEVER you do, don’t look down!
The world’s highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge opened on Saturday in China’s spectacular Zhangjiajie mountains — the inspiration for the 2009 American blockbuster movie Avatar.
Some 430 meters long and suspended 300 meters above the earth, the bridge spans the canyon between two mountain cliffs in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in central Hunan province.
Six meters wide and made of some 99 panels of clear glass, the bridge can carry up to 800 people at the same time, an official in Zhangjiajie — a popular tourist destination — told the Xinhua news agency.
Tourists can walk across the bridge, designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, and the more adventurous will be able to bungee jump or ride a zip line.
“I wanted to feel awe-inspired by this bridge. But I’m not afraid — it seems safe!” Wang Min, who was visiting the new structure with her husband and children, told AFP.
Following an alarming glass bridge cracking incident at Yuntai mountain in northern Henan in 2015, authorities in Zhangjiajie were eager to demonstrate the safety of the structure.
They organised a string of media events, including one where people were encouraged to try and smash the bridge’s glass panels with a sledge hammer, and another where they drove a car across it.
“It’s crowded today and a bit of a mess. But to be suspended 300 meters in the air, it’s a unique experience,” said Lin Chenglu, who had come to see the bridge with his colleagues.
Only 8,000 people will be allowed to cross the bridge each day, Xinhua said, and tourists will have to book their tickets a day in advance, at a cost of 138 yuan (US$20).
Cameras and selfie sticks are banned, and people wearing stilettos will not be allowed to walk on the bridge, Xinhua said.
Local authorities have said that one of the summits in the park inspired the floating mountain that appears in Avatar. A Hollywood photographer visited the area in 2008, taking images that were used for the film.
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