Cracked floor in China. Glass Bridge in China: Traveling along the “air trail”. Glass observation decks and trails


Relatively recently in Chinese in social networks A video has emerged showing a man walking across a glass bridge when the floor suddenly cracks under his feet. The man crawls to the side in horror, because under him there is an abyss 1180 meters deep!



The action took place on the famous glass passage located along Mount Taihanshan (China). Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists go there to test their nerves. But the administration of this attraction thought that people were moving too calmly on the transparent glass, and they decided to “add” the thrill.




A touch panel was installed on a glass section 430 meters long, which simulates glass cracking. When you press it, the sensors are triggered and an image of cracks appears. Transparent panels alternate with matte ones, so it is not clear which of them is the trick.

After installing the touch panel, none of the tourists were warned, so the first one who stepped on the “unsafe” glass experienced a shock, and the cracking sound was too loud.


To prevent anyone from getting a heart attack from fright in the future, the administration released a video in which a guide demonstrated to a group of tourists that the cracking of glass was not real.

The Chinese love to surprise with attractions that will take your breath away. They built . This structure even sways a little from gusts of wind, so fans thrills can go there with confidence.

Several glass pedestrian bridges have been built, arousing great interest among tourists and local residents. They give a delightful sensation when crossing over an abyss and allow the pedestrian to test his courage and bravery.

Glass bridges are a national hobby of the Chinese. Nowhere in the world are there so many such structures as in China. They are very popular, and their number increases exponentially every year.

Today these bridges are trending in China. Their construction is inexpensive, and the effect of the influx of tourists quickly pays for the investment. No less in demand here are glass paths over steep cliffs and observation decks with glass floor.

1) . It is located at an altitude of about 300 m, has a length of more than 400 m and can simultaneously support up to eight hundred people.

The glass covering of the lower part of the structure was subjected to a huge number of safety tests for pedestrians, incl. for resistance to high and low ambient temperatures, their sudden changes, strong winds, etc.

Because of the glass floor, the bridge looks invisible, and pedestrians have the feeling that they are walking on air, floating in the clouds. But such a trip is not possible for children and people suffering from actophobia - fear of heights. They may have a nervous attack.

2) The second bridge in Hunan Province can be found in Zhangjiajie Park. It is called the Bridge of the Brave. It is about 300 m long and hangs between two hills at an altitude of about 180 m.

Previously, the bridge was made of wood, but gradually the interest of tourists and vacationers in the park began to fade away, and it was decided modern solution: make it out of glass. First, we conducted an experiment: we covered a small part with glass.

Visitors to the park liked to walk high above the ground in the clouds, then it was decided to make this entire pedestrian walking bridge glass. Since then it has enjoyed deafening popularity.

Experts are confident that a 6 cm thick glass floor is completely safe and you can jump on it. But few people dare to take such actions. The vast majority of pedestrians move across the bridge with their eyes closed or crawling.

3) "Cracking" glass bridge in China near Mount Taihan Shan is located at an altitude of almost 1,200 meters. In fact, the appearance of “cracks” is an attraction or a special effect, a way to once again test pedestrians’ courage.


It is important to note that such a special effect can simply cause a myocardial infarction for an unprepared pedestrian. Local authorities believe that this is just a playful “provocation”, but continue to be criticized among the population.

But in 2015, the special effect glass actually began to crack, so it was removed and repaired. But after the renovation, they installed “cracked” glass, explaining this by the great popularity of the attraction among spectators.

4) A new glass bridge has appeared in southern China, only the most courageous and reckless people will be able to walk along it. He walks around sheer cliff at an altitude of more than 1,500 meters, called “Writhing Dragon” and leads to Tianmen Mountain.

The length of the bridge is more than 100 meters, it is narrow - about 1.5 meters. Walking along it, pedestrians see pictures of the surrounding nature. extraordinary beauty: the valley below and the mountains floating past the clouds.

Glass observation decks and trails

1) Near Beijing there is the famous Shilin Forest. This forest has a platform with a glass floor. It has an area of ​​more than 400 km. m, a height of more than 400 m and gives an excellent overview of Shilin: huge stones mixed with trees.

2) In the south of China, a path more than 250 m long was opened in the mountains in 2015. It is located on the steep side of the mountain, and in order to walk along it, considerable courage is required, which the Chinese love to demonstrate.

3) The Yunduan glass observation deck is located at an altitude of more than 700 m. It was opened in the summer of 2015, extends far into the abyss from mountain rock, to which it is attached, and offers viewers a magnificent view from above.

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Fans of extreme sports and unusual types of entertainment should take a walk along the glass bridge in China. Made entirely of glass, it creates the impression of floating above the abyss - just look at your feet. There are similar structures in other countries of the world, but it is Chinese bridge- the longest. Glass Bridge is located 180 meters above the Pinyang Valley and connects two Mountain peaks.

However, a glass bridge is nothing new for China. They previously built a glass bridge that goes around Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

SO THERE ARE TWO GLASS BRIDGES? LET'S UNDERSTAND!
Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain built on the territory national park China Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which is located in Hunan Province. The length of the bridge is about 70 meters and it is located at an altitude of 1900 meters. The bridge goes around Tianmen Mountain and reaches Zhangjiajie Mountain, which provides an amazing view of the beauty of the natural park.

Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain

Glass bridge over Pingyang Valley is located at an altitude of 180 meters. Its length is about 300 meters, and it connects two mountain peaks. The sides and floor are made of especially durable three-layer glass, which is 25 times stronger than usual. Such a bridge will withstand any load - no matter how hard the tourists jump, engineers assure. Its design is resistant to temperature changes of 60 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of up to 220 km/h. However, even knowing about the reliability of the bridge, tourists who step on it are often afraid to look down. After all, an abyss opens up under your feet and it feels as if you are walking on air. That is why the attraction was nicknamed the “air trail”. The staff working near the bridge helps to overcome this path, of course laughing at the unlucky tourists stuck right in the middle of the bridge in a panic attack :) Are you feeling weak?

Glass bridge over the Pingyang Valley.

ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST PARK

Independent travelers will find it easy to find this park on world maps:

What else to see in Zhangjiajie National Park?
Certainly, national park Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is famous not only for its glass bridge. This is one of the most beautiful parks in China, which has been under the protection of UNESCO since the late 90s. Local nature not only captivated thousands of tourists from all over the world, but also became a source of inspiration for the award-winning director James Cameron. He specially came here to admire the stone pillars, which eventually became the prototype of the floating mountains in the acclaimed film “Avatar”.

In addition to the stone pillars and glass path, in Zhangjiajie Park there are many attractions that deserve attention:

1. Mountains. They are especially beautiful in the morning when they are covered with a thick layer of fog.

2. The staircase to Huanshi Mountain is 3800 steps high, leading to the aerial path.

3. Elevator "Hundred Dragons". The highest altitude lift in the world, lifting tourists 330 meters above the ground. Its transparent walls and ceiling provide views of all local attractions.

4. Cable car to Mount Tianji, stretching for 7445 m. It is the highest and longest in the whole world.

5. "Heavenly Highway" 11 km dangerous mountain serpentine with more than 100 sharp turns.

6. A network of caves, including the four-level Yellow Lion Cave at an altitude of over 1000 m.

OPENING SCHEDULE AND PRICES
You can walk along the glass bridge on Tianmen Mountain every day from 7:00 to 18:00 - at this time the last cable car leaves for the bridge. But you can enter Zhangjiajie Park itself later; if you wish, you can even stay in the national park for the night, staying in one of the hotels located there.

Price entrance ticket to the park depends on the age and social status of the visitor:
1. An adult 3-day pass costs 248 yuan, including insurance - 3 yuan.
2. For students under 24 years old and children under 1.2 m tall, a three-day pass will cost 163 yuan. Young people must show a student ID to receive a discount. If it does not indicate the date of birth, you must additionally present your passport.
3. Special benefits are provided to disabled people of groups I and II, war veterans and military personnel, as well as pensioners over 70 years of age. The cost of a three-day pass for these categories of visitors is 68 yuan.
The ticket price includes: entrance to the park and travel around the territory for regular buses. Elevators, funiculars, trams, cave tours are paid separately.
In addition, at the entrance to the park it is recommended to buy a map, without which it will be difficult to navigate large territory. Its cost is 5 yuan.

According to our readers (Andrew): 300m bridge over Pingyang Valley is not located within the park, it is separate standing mountain Tianji and this mountain ticket must be purchased separately and costs another 270 yuan.

Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain

HOW TO GET THERE
BY PLANE
There are two small towns near Zhangjiajie Nature Park - Zhangjiajie And Wulingyuan. You can get to them by plane from any large city: Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, but it is cheaper and faster to fly from Shanghai.

BY TRAIN
From any smaller city in central China it is cheaper to travel by train. True, you will have to go through several connections.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
In addition, Zhangjiajie town can be reached by bus from Changshi and Fng Huang, which are located relatively nearby.
Once you reach Zhangjiajie or Wulingyuan, you should take a bus to the park. It departs from the bus station and takes about 1 hour. Ticket price is about 12 yuan. The bus will arrive at the bus station, from which you will need to walk a few minutes to the entrance to the national park.

TAXI
More comfortable and quick way- a taxi, which will cost 100-200 yuan, but will deliver you exactly to your destination. The only negative is that Chinese taxi drivers do not speak English, which can create difficulties when explaining where to go. It is better to have a booklet with you with the name of the park or show it on the screen of your smartphone to avoid misunderstandings with the driver. Also, be sure to make sure that the taxi driver turns on the meter, otherwise a dishonest driver will try to deceive you.

Before your trip, you can check the cost of tickets from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie (Dayong Airport) on Skyscanner.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE GLASS BRIDGE
1. Few cleaners are willing to clean glass after every tourist. Therefore, to keep it clean and transparent, when entering the bridge, visitors are asked to wear special fabric shoe covers.

2. In order to follow the air path, a strong nervous system is required. There are times when tourists faint from fear. Therefore, another name for the bridge is “trail of horror.”

3. Specially trained employees are on duty at the entrance to the glass bridge, who help particularly impressionable visitors cross to the other side. People often panic when they cannot see the floor under their feet, and in this case, moral support comes in handy.

4. Since the side of the bridge is also glass, tourists try to walk, clinging to the rock. However, this turns out to be problematic: the glass bridge is quite slippery, and the person begins to slide, which adds to the extreme.

Users of Chinese social networks distributed a video showing how a glass bridge along Mount Taihanshan at an altitude of 1180 m began to crack under the feet of a tour guide. The guide, in a panic, threw the flag and began to crawl away from the cracks, but the situation did not improve, writes Mashable.

Weibo netizens noticed another tourist who calmly walked along the cracks. This fact led them to believe that the cracks on the bridge were not real, but were caused by a special effect.

Some noted that the special effect could lead to heart attacks among tourists. However, other viewers linked the cracks on the bridge to poor quality glass.

Because of the viral video, criticism of the quality of the structure reached the East Taihan County Administration, which had to explain that the cracking glass was the result of a special effect.

Special panels with a special effect were installed in some sections of the bridge “to provoke” and attract tourists. When people walk on such panels, the sound of cracking glass is heard and “natural cracks” appear.

The administration noted that the guide knew about the special effect, but deliberately decided to scare tourists. Officials expressed regret to the frightened tourists, but emphasized that they were not going to change the glass.

After watching the video, many tourists will want to come to the bridge and see the special effect with their own eyes.

The 430 m long bridge was put into operation in August 2016. It consists of 99 three-layer heavy-duty glass panels and can support the weight of up to 800 people at a time. The $3.4 million structure was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan.

Real cracks

In 2015, a cracked glass bridge in Henan province, located 183 meters above the ground, caused a stir among tourists. The bottom of the U-shaped bridge is lined with glass panels up to 27 mm thick.

According to experts, each square meter of the bridge can support up to 726 kg. However, this does not reassure tourists.

People posted on social media that the glass was cracked when a stainless steel cup fell. And although statements by officials convinced tourists of the safety and strength of the bridge, eyewitnesses had the opposite opinion.

“It wasn’t just a few cracks in the glass. The entire panel was broken. To say that I am exaggerating is a slander that I do not recognize,”- wrote Li Donghai.

The bridge is strong enough, there should be no defects, and can withstand even high temperatures of 60°. Does not waver or wobble in wind speeds of 220 kilometers per hour.

The bridge is treated with care; everyone who wants to walk across it wears shoe covers. And for people who really want to admire the beauty of the valley, but are afraid to go alone, there is a special staff that accompanies the entire path - from one peak to another.

True, the Chinese themselves are already accustomed to such bridges. The very first glass bridge was built on Tianmen Mountain. The length of courage is only 61 meters. But when you find out at what height the bridge is located, you are unlikely to agree to experience all the delights human creation. The bridge flaunts at an altitude of 1220 meters. There are always enough people who want to, but there are more of those who are instilled with fear of heights. Many people are terrified of heights, I wonder what it was like for the builders. We hope their work was well compensated.

You won’t believe it, but not long ago one guide was leading a tourist group across the bridge when suddenly cracks began to appear under his feet with a creaking sound.

The man fell to the floor and started screaming, he was scared. It is interesting that a happy, calm man walks towards him and casts an incomprehensible glance at the guide. He is not aware of what happened.

In the video you can see what is happening for yourself. People were so excited, and there was heated discussion online later. To reassure people, the East Taihan County government told the media that these were just special effects. This is a PR stunt to ensure that a large number of tourists visit such a terrifying attraction.

 

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