Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge

 suspension bridge, tourist attraction

张家界大峡谷玻璃桥
World's Highest Footbridge
Sanguansixiang, Hunan, China
820 feet high / 250 meters high
1,411 foot span / 430 meter span
2016



Opened in 2016 as the highest and largest footbridge ever constructed, the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge is also home to the highest public bungy platform in the world with a drop of 250 meters. The central suspension span is spectacular not only for having glass panels along its entire length but also for the tapered deck that is 15 meters wide at the ends of the bridge before narrowing to a width of only 6 meters in the center. Bridge architect Haim Dotan and engineer Zhi Dong Cheng pulled off this rare feat of engineering by curving the two main support cables inward, allowing the web of wire support stringers to soar outward in a V-shaped pattern that opens the bridge up to the sky like a giant butterfly. The cable support towers are 45 meters apart from each other on either side of the canyon with plans to eventually enclose them in rock giving the appearance of natural stone spires.
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge is one of several attractions within the privately owned park that is located just 20 minutes east of the famous Zhangjiajie National Park that inspired the look of the Avatar movies. Other attractions include a cliffwalk, mountain elevator, slide, waterfalls, caves, a smaller low level glass bridge, zip line and a boat ride.
For most visitors, the visual highlight of a trip to the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge will be viewing the gorge between their toes through glass panels 2 inches thick. But for those few who are brave enough to take their thrills to the next level, the ultimate fall awaits them on two separate platforms located several meters below the main deck. The west platform is where famous New Zealand bungy operator AJ Hackett runs the world's highest bungy jump at about 250 meters. On the east platform AJ installed a slightly less intense decelerator drop ride where guests dangling from the end of a cord are quickly lowered to the bottom of the gorge at a constant rate of around 60 kilometers per hour that is not as fast or out of control as the bungy drop but no less exhilarating.