Record-Breaking Full Glass Bridge Opens In China

A Chinese beauty spot has opened a new glass bridge and it's broken the Guinness World Record in the process.

The Huangchuan Three Gorges Scenic Area in Lianzhou unveiled its new full-glass bridge, with Chinese state media reporting that it's the world's longest at 526.14 metres (1,726 feet).

Reps from Guinness World Records were on hand to make it official, awarding the local government the certificate at the bridge's soft opening, which took place on 18 July.

Staff for the area said that the ambitious structure, which is built over the Lianjiang River, will be able to hold 500 tourists at once, on four observation decks at the middle of the bridge, according to China News Service.

It will be used for normal foot traffic, as well as for bungee jumping, zip lines and even as a catwalk for fashion events, they said.

The report added that the walkway is made from three layers of laminated glass which are 4.5cm (1.77in) thick. The glass is said to be 99.15 percent transparent, giving a view of the floor of the valley below.

A local carmaker, GAC, was invited to the opening ceremony, promoting its new Trumpchi GS8 line of SUVs.

The company showed off two of its vehicles, which weigh about 4 tonnes together, being driven over the bridge to prove its strength.

China News Service said that the bridge took three years to build and cost around 300 million CNY - £33.7 million. Work was finished on the bridge in January of this year.

And it's not the only glass bridge the country has to offer. In fact, China now has more than 2000 glass bridges across its beauty spots, as reported by News China in 2019, a weekly magazine that is published by China News Service.

The glass bridge has smashed the record that was held by the Hongya Valley glass bridge. The previous record holder is in the Hubei Province, which is in Central China, and is 488m (1600ft) long. It opened back in 2017.

Huangchuan is named after the historical term for the Liangjiang River.

Its name is derived from the three gorges - Xiannv, Lengjia and Yangtiao - found along the 20km (12m) stretch of river in the city.

The scenic area has an 'AAAA' or '4A' rating, which is the second-highest grade assigned by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.