Holiday Destinations

World's longest glass skywalk opens in China

World's longest glass skywalk opens in China
The world's longest glass-bottomed cantilever skywalk has tourists contemplating a 718 m (2,356 ft) drop to the rocks below (Photo: Imaginechina)
The world's longest glass-bottomed cantilever skywalk has tourists contemplating a 718 m (2,356 ft) drop to the rocks below (Photo: Imaginechina)
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The Tianmenshan crystal glass skywalk, Tianmen Mountain, China (Photo: Shutterstock)
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The Tianmenshan crystal glass skywalk, Tianmen Mountain, China (Photo: Shutterstock)
Crowds soak up the view from atop the stunning skywalk (Photo: Imaginechina)
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Crowds soak up the view from atop the stunning skywalk (Photo: Imaginechina)
The world's longest glass-bottomed cantilever skywalk has tourists contemplating a 718 m (2,356 ft) drop to the rocks below (Photo: Imaginechina)
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The world's longest glass-bottomed cantilever skywalk has tourists contemplating a 718 m (2,356 ft) drop to the rocks below (Photo: Imaginechina)
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The world's longest glass-bottomed cantilever skywalk has been opened to tourists at the Longgang National Geological Park, Chongqing, China. The stunning walkway stretches an impressive 26.64 m (87.4 ft) into thin air, offering a breathtaking vista of the landscape.

Built atop a cliff edge at the dizzying altitude of 1,010 m (3,314 ft), the walkway cost the Chinese government 35 million yuan (US$5.6 million) to construct and is a full 5 m (16 ft) longer than the iconic Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona.

Crowds soak up the view from atop the stunning skywalk (Photo: Imaginechina)
Crowds soak up the view from atop the stunning skywalk (Photo: Imaginechina)

The result is an impressive venue for tourists hoping to observe the breathtaking natural beauty that the national park has to offer, while battling bouts of vertigo and anxiety as they contemplate the 718 m (2,356 ft) drop to the rocks below.

Terror-inducing walkways such as this appear to be a rising trend in China. April 2015 saw the reopening of the Tianmenshan crystal glass skywalk in Zhangjiajie, following a period of maintenance. While the mountainside path is undoubtedly a majestic piece of architecture, it's geared solely toward the more thrill seeking, daredevil tourists among us.

The Tianmenshan crystal glass skywalk, Tianmen Mountain, China (Photo: Shutterstock)
The Tianmenshan crystal glass skywalk, Tianmen Mountain, China (Photo: Shutterstock)

However, this newest addition simply operates on another level. The apparent lack of any support afforded by the cantilevered approach adopted in the construction of the skywalk is sure to put China in the running for the most terrifying tourist attraction of all time (until Jurassic Park is realized).

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2 comments
2 comments
Michael Flower
The should have made it out of ALON (Aluminium Oxynitride) or Transparent Aluminium. For long-term usage, it would be more cost effective to maintain...
vcr
Well - all this does for me is make me grab my desk for security - I could NOT go on this thing or any other super high glass bottomed walkway unless my life were otherwise in danger - and then I might just flake out in terror anyway. I can induce this feeling just by imagining it - my feet hurt as I write this !