China: A 430-meter-long glass bridge in China which hangs above a 300-meter drop has been in news for its ultimate challenge of smashing its glass floor with sledgehammers to prove its safety credentials. About 30 visitors were invited and were given sledgehammers and told to give it their best shot at cracking the floor in a game where the winner risks a nasty fall at the Grand Canyon in Zhangjiajie in Hunan province on Saturday.
The showpiece walkway joins two sides of the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and is made from reinforced glued glass panels and can hold 800 people walking on it at once.
The tourists wielding 5.5 kg hammers did accomplish cracking the glass extensively. Thankfully though, no one succeeded in completely knocking off the glass panel.
“Even if the glass cracks, it will not break into pieces. Each panel can still bear the weight of up to 20 people and pedestrians can still walk on it,” said Chen Zhidong, an official at the park.
A Volvo SUV was then driven over the smashed glass to convince people that this vertigo-inducing overpass can be trusted.
A Video footage of the weird and daring ‘safety test’ was released showing volunteers screaming with terror as a woman smacked the bridge floor with a large hammer.
The bridge is the work of award-winning Israeli architect Haim Dotan and is the latest glass pathway to be constructed in the country.
The brilliant feat of architectural engineering is reportedly due to open to public this summer and would provide brave visitors with spectacular, unhindered views of the Zhangjiajie National Park in Hunan province.
