The world's longest glass-bottomed walkway has opened at Shiniuzhai Geopark in Hunan, central China. The transparent suspension bridge, the first of its kind in the world, measures 984ft long and hangs 590ft above the ground.
New Glass-Bottom Bridge
The bridge offers a spectacular view of the surrounding Geopark, but has already been nicknamed "Hero Bridge" due to the courage required to walk across it.
The first group of visitors to cross the bridge appeared terrified, as they struggled with vertigo and stared down at the canyon below. Many froze in fear, desperately clutching the handrails and each other, while one female tourist had to be dragged along by her friend, according to the Daily Mail.
The bridge, once a wooden overpass linking two peaks of Stone Buddha Mountain, has been transformed over the past few months by a group of 11 engineers. Planks have been replaced by glass panes that are reportedly 25 times stronger than ordinary window glass, but visitors will be issued special footwear as an added safety precaution.
Adventurous Chinese tourists have been increasingly drawn to glass-bottomed attractions in recent years, such as the glass elevator that recently opened in Hubei. An even more impressive bridge, 1,247ft long and suspended 984ft above the ground, is currently under construction in Zhangjiajie, Hunan.
See drone footage of the bridge here.
Tagged in China