World’s New Largest Glass Bridge Opens in China

The newly opened glass-bottomed bridge in China has won over the world record for the longest and highest glass bridge, spanning over a valley and connecting two mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, independent.co.uk reported.

The structure measures six meters wide and 430 meters long, suspended 300 meters above the ground, costing about £2.6million (22 million yuan). Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, the glass bridge immediately drew the attention of thousands of tourists from all over the world.

Made of 99 panels of clear glass, it can carry up to 800 individuals at the same time. Anyone who has the guts to see this newest tourist attraction in China can do so for only 138 yuan per head.

Plans to set up a zip line and a bungee jumping area have also been in the works in order to entice even more tourists; albeit the access to the bridge is restricted to only 8,000 people a day.

The location of the glass bridge is surrounded by a lush, green scenery of high mountains, caves, and waterfalls. The setting of the highly-acclaimed science fiction movie, Avatar, was said to have taken inspiration from the area.

China is known for having a number of glass bridges and walkways. In an interview with BBC, Architect Keith Brownlie attempted to answer why people are fascinated by these, he said, "It is the relationship between emotionally driven fear and the logical understanding of safety. These structures tread the boundary between those two contrasting senses and people like to challenge their rational mind in relation to their irrational fear."

In 2015, there was a glass bridge cracking incident at the Yuntai mountain in northern Henan, causing panic and fear to the tourists. With this, the authorities in Zhangjiajie eagerly promised the public their safety while traversing the new glass bridge. Several demonstrations have been organized, where people were invited to smash the bridge with sledge hammer; a car was also driven across the bridge.