Glass bridge on the mountain. China glass bridges
Fans of extreme sports and unusual types of entertainment should take a walk along the glass bridge in China. Made entirely of glass, it gives the impression of hovering over the abyss - just look at your feet. There are similar structures in other countries of the world, but it is chinese bridge- the longest. The glass bridge is located at a height of 180 meters above the Pinyang Valley and connects two Mountain peaks.
However, for China, the glass bridge is not new. They have previously built a glass bridge that circles Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
THERE ARE TWO GLASS BRIDGES? LET'S DISCOVER!
Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain built on the territory national park China's Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, 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 wraps around Tianmen Mountain and exits to Zhangjiajie Mountain, which provides an amazing view of the beauty of the natural park.
Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain
Glass Bridge over the Pingyan Valley 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 extra-strong three-layer glass, which is 25 times stronger than ordinary glass. Such a bridge will withstand any load - no matter how hard the tourists jump, the engineers assure. Its design is resistant to temperature extremes of 60 degrees Celsius and wind speeds up to 220 km/h. However, even knowing about the reliability of the bridge, tourists who set foot on it are often afraid to look down. After all, an abyss opens up under your feet and it feels like you are walking on air. That is why the attraction was nicknamed the “air path”. The staff working near the bridge helps to overcome this path, of course, laughing at the unlucky tourists who are stuck right in the middle of the bridge in a fit of panic :) Are you weak?
Glass bridge over the Pingyan Valley.
ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST PARK
It will be easy for independent travelers to find this park on world maps:
What else to see in Zhangjiajie National Park?
Certainly, national park Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is not only famous 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. The 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 stone pillars and a glass path, Zhangjiajie Park has many attractions that deserve attention:
1. The mountains. They are especially beautiful in the morning when they are covered with a thick layer of fog.
2. Stairway to Huanshi Mountain 3800 steps high, leading to the air path.
3. Elevator "Hundred Dragons". The highest lift in the world, lifting tourists 330 meters above the ground. Its transparent walls and ceiling provide a view 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. "Sky Highway" 11 km of 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.
WORKING SCHEDULE AND PRICES
You can walk along the glass bridge on Tianmen Mountain daily from 7:00 to 18:00 - at this time the last funicular leaves for the bridge. But you can enter Zhangjiajie Park itself later, if you wish, you can even stay on the territory of the national park for the night, settling 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 pass for 3 days costs 248 yuan, including insurance - 3 yuan.
2. For students under 24 and children under 1.2m tall, a three-day subscription will cost 163 yuan. Youth must show a student ID to receive a discount. If it does not indicate the date of birth, you should additionally present a passport.
3. Special benefits are provided to disabled people of groups I and II, war veterans and the military, as well as pensioners over 70 years old. The cost of a three-day subscription for these categories of visitors is 68 yuan.
The ticket price includes: entrance to the park and travel through the territory on regular buses. Elevator, funiculars, trams, excursions to the caves 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 a large area. Its cost is 5 yuan.
According to our readers (Andrew): 300m bridge over Pingyan Valley not located in the park, this is a separate mountain Tianji and a ticket to this mountain is bought separately and costs another 270 yuan.
Glass Bridge on Tianmen Mountain
HOW TO GET TO
BY PLANE
Near the Zhangjiajie Nature Park, there are two small towns - Zhangjiajie And Wulingyuan. You can get to them by plane from any big city A: Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, but it's 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, the town of Zhangjiajie can be reached by bus from Changsha and Fnghuang, located relatively close.
When you reach Zhangjiajie or Wulingyuan, you should take a bus to the park. It departs from the bus station and travels about 1 hour. The 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
A more comfortable and faster way is 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 make it difficult to explain where to go. It is better to have a booklet with the name of the park with you or show it on the screen of your smartphone in order to avoid misunderstandings with the driver. And be sure to check that the taxi driver turns on the meter, otherwise a dishonest driver will try to deceive you.
Before you travel, you can check the price 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, in order to keep it clean and transparent, visitors are asked to wear special shoe covers made of fabric when entering the bridge.
2. A strong nervous system is required to walk the aerial path. There are times when tourists faint from fear. Therefore, another name for the bridge is the "path of horror."
3. Specially trained employees are on duty at the entrance to the glass bridge, who help especially impressionable visitors to cross to the other side. Often people panic, not seeing the floor under their feet, and in this case, moral support comes in handy.
The glass bridge is not only beautiful, but also stylish. The Chinese decided so, and built an unusual glass building in Hunan province. After the bridge was built, it was used to connect the two sides of the mountains, and also played a lot of tourists.
Bridge Features
This bridge is considered the longest structure on the planet made of glass. Its length is 430 meters. And the width is 6 meters. The bridge is suspended at a height of 380 meters. Also, this design is safe and equipped with last word technology.
The glass bridge project and its construction cost China $3.4 million. The bridge consists of 99 strong and three-layer parts. A national park and a canyon extend under the bridge. So far, excursions at the facility are being held in test mode.
Draws of tourists
Immediately after the opening, a funny incident occurred on an extraordinary bridge. The guide, who was leading the group through the glass structure, suddenly fell to his knees and screamed hysterically, and under his feet there was a visual effect of cracked glass. The tourists were taken aback, but then relaxed a little, because a passer-by was calmly walking along the bridge in their direction.
Glass bridge in China cracked under the feet of tourists (video)
It turned out that the bridge is equipped with interactive panels that create the effect of cracks, as well as reproduce the sound of breaking glass necessary for the prank. These are the Chinese entertainers.
Bridge visit
8,000 people can look at the bridge and walk along it a day. Before opening, the structure was tested for strength more than 100 times. The attraction was opened in 2016. At first, people were on duty near the ticket office in front of the bridge at night to buy a ticket for an excursion.
Now everyone is used to the new miracle of engineering, and the excitement around it has subsided a bit. 800 people can cross the bridge at the same time. But for security reasons, the throughput number was reduced to 600. After all, the bridge itself is guarded by about 200 guards.
The facility is open to visitors from 7 am to 5 pm. It often happens that by 8 am all tickets for the glass bridge are already sold out, so it is worth planning a tour of it in advance.
The ticket price is approximately 140 yuan. A child under 1 meter and 30 centimeters tall can enter for free.
How to get to the glass bridge?
The city with the bridge is located in the southwest of Beijing. You can get there by train. You will have to get off the car at the Zhangjiajie station. It is also possible to fly to this place from Beijing by plane.
The canyon, over which a glass bridge hangs, is a 15-minute drive from the city. It is preferable to get to it by car, which is not difficult to rent.
The bridge is strong enough, there should not be any defects, it is able to withstand even high temperature at 60°. Does not wobble or stagger in wind speeds of 220 kilometers per hour.
The bridge is treated with care, everyone who wants to walk on it puts on 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 whole way - 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 feel all the delights of 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 that their work is well compensated.
You will not believe it, but not so long ago, a guide was leading a tourist group along 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. Interestingly, 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 were heated discussions on the net later. To reassure people, the East Taihanshan County government told the media that these were just special effects. This is such a PR move in order to a large number of tourists visited such a frightening attraction.
Modern architectural possibilities allow you to create amazing buildings. One of them is the “China Sky Path”, which has been captivating the minds of its visitors for several years in a row!
Where is the glass bridge in China?
The world's longest glass bridge is located in a picturesque place - Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. This place for construction was not chosen by chance. The canyon will be able to surprise all tourists with incredible sunset and sunrise views. The height of the bridge at 300 meters can be seen through the transparent floor of the architectural wonder! This creates an optical illusion, as if you are walking on air - taking the first step can be very difficult and scary.
Zhangjiajie District Wulingyuan (zhangjiajie) - Avatar movie in the real world. This mountainous area will remind you of the landscapes of the fantastic, fictional planet "Pandora", which exists in the movie universe of the film "Avatar".
From the glass bridge you can observe the nearby nature reserves and the Tianmen mountain system. These areas are among the first nature reserves in the world, which will allow tourists to enjoy amazing nature, preserved from the early periods of the formation of the state of China.
Description of glass bridge
Knowing how amazing and diverse China can be, a glass bridge in the mountains does not seem to be something amazing at all, but there is something to be surprised at:
- Transparent bridge height: 300 meters;
It has convenient viewing platforms and places for extreme recreation (you can jump from it with bungee jumping).
- Passage width: 6 meters.
Such a width does not introduce difficulties when moving along the bridge, and creates the feeling of the absence of sides - you just walk "on air" and nothing more.
"The glass sky of China" - this is sometimes called this architectural building century. This name is associated with the mythology of China. In Chinese myths, the sky is a symbol of divinity and power. The one who walks in the sky has incredible magical power.
When was it opened?
The "Glass Ride" (as it is sometimes called by the Chinese) was opened on August 20, 2016. At first, the bridge was opened in test mode - no more than 600 tourists a day and by pre-booking a ticket, but later - this measure was canceled and the bridge operates in standard mode (800 tourists per visit).
The construction took over 5 years. Several workers died during construction. Several mountains (previously unnamed) are named after them, which are visible from observation deck. Climbing the stairs to the bridge, you can find out the biographies of these workers - they are written on special memorial tablets. The stairs have comfortable handrails and a container with first aid supplies, which is located every 300 meters.
At the opening ceremony, the head of the Zhangjiajie city district solemnly cut the ribbon - this event has become national holiday for the whole country, and in Beijing they issued a nominal postage stamp in honor of the completion of construction.
Bridge length
The length is:
- 430 meters.
Almost half a kilometer in the Zhangjiajie area, a glass bridge allows you to connect two hiking trails. In itself, walking on it is an attraction that causes surprise and an unusual feeling of freedom.
Along the entire length, tourists can take pictures of themselves "floating in the air" over the abyss.
Who built it and how?
Chilling soul and eye suspension bridge was built by order of the Chinese government. The cost of the order amounted to 3.4 million dollars. The completed project set 10 world records at once!
The beginning of construction began with the installation of special (architectural) support pillars, which visually look very light - this was specially conceived by the architects. This decision allowed once again to emphasize the effect of "hovering above the ground" for tourists.
The transparent bridge has a base in the form of a steel frame. 120 walking glass panels were mounted on this frame (instead of traditional asphalt). The material for the manufacture of such panels can only be called "glass" conditionally - the material is much stronger, but has a similar transparency to glass.
However, the glass bridge in China is cracking. The fact is that recently several screens were installed in it, which imitate glass. When passing through them, holographic cracks form under the feet of tourists and a pre-recorded sound of broken glass is heard. The guide may not warn his "wards" about this, which causes real, genuine emotions of shock, but this is only part of the attraction to entertain visitors. In order for a bridge to really crack - human effort is not enough for it to crack - (if you set yourself such a task) you need to use special tools.
The thickness of the durable transparent coating of the bridge is 15 centimeters and is not inferior in strength to concrete. Walking on such a surface over the abyss is allowed.
Architecturally, the "heavenly" of the creation is emphasized by the decorative and functional suspension elements of the steel frame, which makes it unusual appearance, and further adds to the strength of the entire structure.
Security measures
The safety measures on a glass bridge are the same as on a regular bridge, with a few exceptions:
- It is forbidden to use selfie sticks;
This precautionary measure is caused by several cases of loss of them. tourists, for beautiful photos, protruded them beyond the sides, a gusty wind carried away such “photo tools” from their owners under the bridge.
- Take heavy luggage with you;
Before passing, the weight of your luggage will be weighed on special scales and asked to lay out heavy items. After graduation tourist travel Items are returned to their owners. Also, this is due to the fact that in 2015 a missed thermos filled with liquid could make a microcrack at the junction of two panels. Technically, it was not really a crack, but only a detachment of one of the composite parts of the panel, which did not pose a threat to the life of visitors. However, a decision was made to ban heavy hand luggage.
- You can't walk with a cane.
The tips of the reeds can become clogged with small stones. The strength of such stones (quartz) is extremely high - they can leave scuffs and scratches.
How to get to the architectural masterpiece?
You can get there in several ways and in several stages - these are:
- By plane:
Chinese Airlines carry out regular air flights from the cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Changsha, Shenyang,.
- By train;
From any city there are trains of the usual type. It is recommended, for faster travel, to calculate your route in such a way as to travel the maximum distance on a high-speed train, and then transfer to a regular one - it's faster.
At the Zhangjiajie bus station, purchase a ticket to the Grand Canyon. Buses are equipped with air conditioning and tourist programs from guides.
Buy a ticket at the box office or present a pre-purchased ticket for admission to the tourist area, which includes the "heavenly sky".
Myths and facts about attractions
- The Chinese authorities are hiding the number of people who fell off the bridge.
It can not be true. Since the longest bridge in the world is the pride of the Chinese nation, all tourists are counted. This is done in order to increase safety and identify (at an early stage) possible problems in the design. Any interested journalist, exercising the journalist's right to information, can obtain this data at the first request to the authorities.
- "China Airway" trembles when walking.
It's true. This was done intentionally to reduce the load on the steel frame. Some note that it is from this that the “terrible” suspension bridge cracks, but this is not entirely accurate. Trembling - cushioning, which allows the bridge to be more resistant to winds and to a possible change in the geological features of the area (the distance between the supports).
