Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge

Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge

张家界大峡谷玻璃桥
Coordinates29°23′55″N 110°41′54″E / 29.3987°N 110.6982°E / 29.3987; 110.6982
CarriesPerson(s)
LocaleZhangjiajie, Hunan
Characteristics
DesignSuspension
MaterialSteel
Width14 m (46 ft)
Height360 m (1,180 ft)
Longest span430 m (1,410 ft)
Clearance below300 m (980 ft)
History
Opened20 August 2016
Statistics
Daily traffic8,000
Location
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
Simplified Chinese张家界峡谷玻璃
Traditional Chinese張家界峽谷玻璃
Literal meaningZhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāngjiājiè Dà Xiágǔ Bōlí Qiáo
Official Chinese stylized name
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Literal meaningCloud Sky Crossing
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYún Tiān Dū

Zhangjiajie Glass footpath is a skywalk bridge in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, above the Wulingyuan area. The bridge, built as an attraction for tourists, is glass-bottomed and is transparent. When it opened it was the longest and tallest glass bottomed bridge in the world. The bridge, opened to the public on 20 August 2016, measures 430 metres (1,410 ft) in total length and 6 metres (20 ft) in width, and is suspended about 300 metres (980 ft) above the ground. The bridge spans the canyon between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in the northwest of Hunan province. It is designed to carry up to 800 visitors at a time. The bridge was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan.

To build the bridge, engineers erected four support pillars on the edges of the walls of the canyon. The bridge is made of a metal frame with more than 120 glass panels. Each of these panels is three-layered and is a 5.1-centimetre-thick (2 in) slab of tempered glass. There are three long swings attached to the underside of the bridge. There is also a provision for making a 285-metre (935 ft) bungee jump, considered to be highest bungee jump in the world.

According to the Management Committee of the Bridge, the bridge has set ten world records spanning its design and construction. The record as longest glass bridge has since passed to a glass bridge in the Grand Canyon Scenic Area, Hebei.