The well known Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Sky Bridge took 9 years in total from an idea to the product. It was officially put into use on August 20th, 2016.
The sky glass bridge is constructed between two peaks, spanning the entire Grand Canyon. It was composed by steel structure and glass. This well designed Glass Bridge is 430 meters in length with the main part of the bridge to be 375 meters. It is 6 to 15 meters wide, and the vertical distance between the bridge and the lowest part of the valley is 300 meters. See from afar, the glass bridge is as thin as a wing of cicada, and it is looming when there is fog and cloud. Because of its stunning beauty, it was rated as one of the "11 most spectacular bridges in the world" by CNN.
☝ The Grand Bridge on Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon
Many visitors go to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon with the purpose of visiting this glass bottom footbridge. However, for safety concern, neither luggage nor travel accessories are allowed to be brought to the Glass Bridge except for cell phones with cases and wallets. After security check, visitor can then wear the shoe covers at the ticket gate and walk onto the bridge. The bridge deck is comprised of 99 pieces of transparent glasses, each separate piece of glass is 4.42 meters long and 3.01 meters wide. For the load carrying capacity, it is roughly 40 tons for a conservative estimation. Even though it has no one bridge pier to support, the glass bottom bridge can hold 800 visitors at a time. Walking on the glass surface that is hundreds of meters above the sea level, most visitors will find it a little bit scary when they see the deep dark abyss under their feet through the transparent glass; only those bold visitors can experience the real beauty of the Grand Canyon with the most incredible 360 degree view while feeling the thrilling excitement it caused. Visitors are suggested to take photos while walking around. The entire tour takes just twenty to thirty minutes.
☝ The Grand Bridge on Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon
The Bungee jumping at Grand Canyon Glass Bridge has attracted lots of attention from international travelers. On this glass footbridge, there are two bungee jumping platforms. The vertical height difference of the bungee platform under the central part of the bridge is 260 meters (853 feet), far higher than the one at Tower of Macau which is 233 meters (764 feet) tall. It is ranked as the world's highest commercial bungee platform. Unlike the bungee platform at the Macau Tower, the one at Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge has excellent views, and the bungee jumping at Grand Canyon Glass Bridge does not require cables for guidance, so the bungee jump process is more exciting and explorers can enjoy the pleasure of free fall. The bungee jump at the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is open for tourists at all times as long as the weather condition allows.
The bungee jump at the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is operated by an international expert, Beau Retalick, the founder of Bungy China, who owns the largest and the most professional bungee company of the world. He is in charge of the management of bungee jumping sites in Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Nepal, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Macau Administrative Region and Mainland China. These bungee jumping sites have been operating successfully for over ten years without any safety accident so far.
Bungee jump is an extreme sport that has emerged in recent years and it has brought visitors so much excitement. Depending on where the bungee jump takes place, it can be divided into different types such as bridge bungee, tower bungee, rocket bungee and etc. In addition to the strict requirements and high standards for organizers, venues, equipments, weather conditions, and so on, bungee jump also requires the participants to have high mental and physical qualities. Therefore, please do not be disappointed if you are told not allowed to participate in bungee jumping for some disqualifications after you have arrived. Sometimes, it is pleasant to just stand by and watch bungee jumping.
☝ Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon to Look Through the Glass Bridge
The Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge was designed by Haim Dotan (Chinese name: Du Tanghai), a world renowned architect, an urban designer and of course an artist meantime. His work is known for making the architecture looking like "developing a new language for the contemporary architecture". It worth to mention that the physical construction was done by China Construction No 6 Engineering Bureau Co Ltd. Speaking of Mr. Du Tanghai, he was born in Jerusalem, Israel in 1954. He graduated from the Department of Architecture from the University of Southern California, and also served as the chief designer of the Israel National Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, which was designed by Du Tanghai, has won the Arthur Hayden Award. This is the only sort of innovative award issued at the 35th International Bridge Conference.
During the construction phase of the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, it has overcome many world-class technical problems include but not limited to the selection of building material and calculations of the wind resistance, compression resistance, earthquake resistance, anti-skid resistance, and frost resistance, thus ensuring 100% safety of the Glass Bridge.
The entire project of Grand Canyon Glass Bridge was said to cost at least 260 million Chinese Yuan from the initial planning to the very end.
☝ A Couple of Tourists Are Jumping for Joy on the Glass Bridge of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon
The Sky Glass Bridge in Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon limits daily visitor number to less than 8,000 through out the year. Based on past experience, there were usually many tourists during the summer and fall. During weekends and national holidays, the scenic area is also packed with people. Because of these, it is recommended to book your entry tickets in advance for convenience. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon has complex geologic structure. Tourists are reminded to pay special attention to hidden risks such as rock falls and slides.
