Glass bridge of Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China

Standing on glass 275+ metres in the air. Glass footbridge in Zhangjiajie, China

Just 13 days after the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge opened in 2016 in Hunan, China, it was forced to close. Not because it was faulty but because the attendance rates far exceeded capacity. Built to hold 800 people safely, daily attendance was expected to be around 8,000. When 80,000 showed up each day after it opened, authorities needed some time to reevaluate what exactly they had. Parking, ticketing, and customer service were boosted before the bridge reopened.

Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, it was always meant for tourists. Spanning 430 metres across the canyon between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, more than 120 glass panels allow unparalleled views 300 metres straight down. Should you feel daring, you could swing underneath the bridge or take the plunge from the world’s highest bungee jump. Management touts that the bridge set 10 world records for design and construction and, at the time, it was the longest bridge of its kind in the world. That honour has since passed to the bridge at the Huangchuan Three Gorges Scenic Area in China’s Guangdong province, which spans 525 metres.