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CHINA’S love of nerve-rattling glass walkways is nothing new, but the latest addition to their collection comes with a little added thrill – “cracking” glass.
The glass panels at the bottom are 2.4 centimeters thick and present images of “cracks” when people tentatively make their way across, reported Chinese news site CCTV. And for added fun, the suspension bridge also shakes with each step.
This 268-meter bridge is strung between two cliff faces at a scenic location in Xuchang City. And at 158 meters above ground level, the structure makes for an impressive sight even without the faux fear of impending doom.
But this is far from the first such bridge in China, who seems to want to dominate the world when it comes to the fear-inducing footbridges.
Shijiazhuang in Hebei province is home to the world’s longest glass floor bridge, stretching an impressive 488 meters and measuring 2 meters wide. It hangs 218 meters above the valley floor, the equivalent of a 66-story building.
It is paved with 1,077 panes of transparent glass, each 4 centimeters thick, and weighs a total of 70 metric tons.
Perhaps the most famous thanks to the countless YouTube clips, is the one in the Grand Canyon Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province. The glass footbridge opened in 2016 and measures 430 meters long and 6 meters wide.
They haven’t all been without fault, however, when in 2015 the Yuntai glass pathway in Henan actually cracked and was closed after much panic.
Later that year, the owners of the famous Zhangjiajie bridge held numerous publicity rounds of “safety testing,” in order to assure the public of its structural soundness ahead of launch. The media stunts included driving huge SUVs over the bridge, and getting strongmen to smash the glass panels with mallets.
Even after all that testing, would you still dare?
The post Test your mettle on China’s newest ‘cracking’ glass bridge appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com