Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Will Worley

China opens world's 'highest and longest glass bottomed bridge'

The world’s “highest and longest” glass bottomed bridge has opened to the public in central China. 

The 430 metre long, six metre wide structure connects two mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province. 

It cost 22.5 million yuan (£2.5million) to build, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. 

A view of the bridge from underneath (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A woman takes a selfie on the bridge (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
The world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge is seen above a valley in Zhangjiajie in China's Hunan Province (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, visitors are able to peer down 300 metres to the ground through the transparent floor. Ninety nine panes make up the three layers of glass, which were smashed by men with sledgehammers in a publicity stunt to demonstrate their strength prior to the opening. 

In a similar spectacle, an SUV was also driven across the bridge. 

However, the structure's capacity will be limited to 800 visitors per day. 

Glass-bottomed bridges have been erected across China as a way to attract tourists. Architect Keith Brownlie told the BBC why they have such appeal: "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."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.