Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China's Hunan province will soon boast the longest glass walkway in the world - quite an attraction for somewhere that already claims to have inspired the mythical paradisiacal land of 'Pandora' from James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar.
The bridge will measure 1,410 feet in length with a 984-foot sheer drop below, leaving visitors free to wander out over its glass panels into the void. The bridge will also use the enormous canyon to hold the world's highest bungee jump.
Glass walkways are the latest new craze to hit China, though not all have stood up to the test of strength. A 68m walkway, built in the same province early last year, cracked under the weight of tourists two weeks after opening, causing a mass panic. Experts have assured that the latest bridge is the strongest it can be and will hold up to 800 people at any time.
Multi-million pound constructions in rural China such as this are said to be a plan by the government to draw tourists to the abundant national parks and away from the overcrowded cities. So far, the bait seems to be working with various publicity stunts taking place on their glass surfaces.
Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, park authorities are hoping that the bridge will host catwalks when complete. Having already missed the planned finish date of January 2016, the Chinese construction company have been given a new deadline of May in order to catch the summer crowds. Let's hope they don't crack under the pressure...
Source by: http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/china-this-terrifying-glass-bridge-will-be-the-longest-in-the-world/ar-BBp1WEo
© Provided by Webedia SAS
The bridge will measure 1,410 feet in length with a 984-foot sheer drop below, leaving visitors free to wander out over its glass panels into the void. The bridge will also use the enormous canyon to hold the world's highest bungee jump.
Glass walkways are the latest new craze to hit China, though not all have stood up to the test of strength. A 68m walkway, built in the same province early last year, cracked under the weight of tourists two weeks after opening, causing a mass panic. Experts have assured that the latest bridge is the strongest it can be and will hold up to 800 people at any time.
Multi-million pound constructions in rural China such as this are said to be a plan by the government to draw tourists to the abundant national parks and away from the overcrowded cities. So far, the bait seems to be working with various publicity stunts taking place on their glass surfaces.
Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, park authorities are hoping that the bridge will host catwalks when complete. Having already missed the planned finish date of January 2016, the Chinese construction company have been given a new deadline of May in order to catch the summer crowds. Let's hope they don't crack under the pressure...
Source by: http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/china-this-terrifying-glass-bridge-will-be-the-longest-in-the-world/ar-BBp1WEo
0 comments:
Post a Comment