Archinect - News

Dozens of Chinese glass bridges closed amid safety concerns

2019-10-31T16:15:00-04:00

China’s growing obsession with glass bridges may be coming to an abrupt end, after a series of accidents led one province to close down all its glass-bottomed attractions. Hebei, a scenic mountainous province in northern China, has quietly closed all 32 of its glass bridges, walkways and mountain viewing platforms over the past year for safety reasons [...].

Despite being breathtaking engineering marvels, China's fascination with glass-bottom bridges hasn't been without setbacks: in August 2016, the world's highest and longest glass-bottom bridge, the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon glass bridge, opened in central Hunan province — but had to close again for safety inspections after only 13 days in operation.

Other provinces have experienced accidents, some fatal, which led to the decision to close all 32 glass bridges and walkways in Hebei province (including the terrifying 'cracking' East Taiheng Glasswalk) for safety reasons.

China's record-breaking glass bridge already closed again after two weeks

2016-09-13T14:40:00-04:00

A glass-bottomed bridge in China that was heralded as a record-breaker when it opened just 13 days ago has closed. Officials said the government was planning urgent maintenance work in the area and the bridge closed on Friday, with a re-opening time to be announced. [...] He said there had been no accidents and the bridge was not cracked or broken. [...] The bridge can accommodate 8,000 visitors a day but the spokesman told CNN that 10 times as many people wanted access daily.

Yibada reports that the bridge upgrades were going as scheduled and that the attraction was set to re-open to the public this week.

Previously in the Archinect news:

World's longest and highest glass bridge opens in China

2016-08-25T13:55:00-04:00

It's touted as the "world's highest and longest" glass-bottom bridge, elegantly stretched between two mountain peaks in central China's Hunan province. And as of this weekend, it's open to visitors. Now, one can walk the 470-yard length of the glass bridge, which is positioned a vertigo-inducing 328 yards above the ground, as China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The bridge is located in the Zhangjiajie National Forest [...].

China opens 590-foot-high glass-bottom bridge

2015-09-28T13:28:00-04:00

The recently completed span is a glass walkway suspended a stomach-flipping 180 meters (590 feet) above a sheer drop in China's central Hunan Province. Haohan Qiao, as it's known in Chinese, is the latest in a series of glass-floored attractions to open in China and the rest of the world. Each of the glass panes is 24 millimeters thick and 25 times stronger than normal glass. Hunan is due to open another glass bridge later this year in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area [...].

Previously: China announces world's longest and highest glass bridge

China announces world's longest and highest glass bridge

2015-05-26T19:03:00-04:00

Zhangjiajie, a scenic national park in the country's Hunan province, is set to open the world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge in July. Spanning two cliffs in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area, it will stretch 430 meters (1,410 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) wide, hovering over a 300-meter (984-foot) vertical drop. In comparison, the Grand Canyon Skywalk in the United States is 21 meters (69 feet) in length and stands 219 meters (718 feet) above the canyon floor.

UPDATE: World's longest and highest glass bridge opens in China