World’s longest and highest glass bridge in China forced to shut

This bridge was on our bucket list so they had better quickly fix the problem. We can understand why they had to close it as who wouldn’t wanto to go and see it. The bridge is 1,400 feet long and 1,000 feet above ground level

You may have seen the bizarre videos of people frantically trying to walk over a glass bridge that is literally hanging in the mid-air and is a nightmare for faint hearted and folks with fear of heights.

This bridge has been dubbed as the world’s longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge, which is built over the legendary Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in the Chinese province of Hunan. The bridge was fully opened for tourists and visitors from all over the world.

A mere two weeks after its grand opening the glass bridge has been officially closed until further notice; to the surprise of many prospective visitors.

A spokesperson of the tourism industry from the Hunan province told the reporters that the decision to close down the bridge is not due to any damage to the bridge or accident. Instead, he said the demand had simply gone too high from the expected level that consequently forced the authorities to review the facilities provided for the tourists.

The spokesperson added that despite the fact that the bridge was initially built to easily accommodate the upwards of 8,000 visitors a day, the demand has been at least ten times that, effectively making things very difficult for the organizers to manage while keeping the high standards that were promised to the visitors.

The authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of visitors and eventually had to make the decision to close the bridge annoying many visitors who had already planned to visit the one of a kind bridge from all over the country and abroad.

The news of the closing of the bridge spread all through China like a wild fire. People had been frantically tweeting and posting pictures of absolutely terrified visitors that were creating a bit of buzz on the web all around the world.

The bridge has been designed by one of China’s most prestigious architectural firms Haim Dotan. The glass bottomed bridge stretches over 1,400 feet from one high Cliffside to the one opposite. The thick glass making bridge’s floor is highly secure and provides a terrifying view of the canyon which is 984 feet below, CNN reported.

The official notice for the closure was made effective from September 5 and was put into effect immediately. The officials are now assigned the task to improve the facilities for the visitors including the parking lots, ticket booking system and customer service to meet the highest international standards. The decision has been hailed by some of the visitors who had been posting of pictures of mismanagement and litter around the scenic area with complaints of inadequate food and water facilities.

The authorities are reluctant to give the date for the reopening of the bridge, however, they have assured that once reopened the facility will be able to deal with the high volume of visitors swiftly and without any hindrances.

It’s still on our bucket list and in the meantime, we will go searching for other cool bridges to cross.