Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge
Located in the Lishuyan and Wuwangpo areas of the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, Hunan Province, the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, known as "Yuntian Du" (Cloudy Sky Bridge), is a scenic bridge that combines multiple functions such as pedestrian traffic, tourism, bungee jumping, zip lining and fashion catwalk.
The glass bridge has a relative height of approximately 300 meters from the canyon floor, making it the highest bridge in the world. It is the first glass bridge suspended in a high mountain canyon and has set several world records, such as being the tallest and longest glass bridge (at the time) and the first bridge built with new composite materials. The bridge is completely paved with transparent glass, and the entire project does not use reinforced concrete pillars. Visitors can clearly see the cliffs beneath their feet, as if they were walking on air.
To prevent pedestrians walking in unison from generating resonance, many glass spheres were placed on the surface of the bridge to suppress vibration. Each glass sphere weighs 400 kilograms, and due to their uneven placement, they interrupt the pace of walkers, thus reducing vibration.
According to the design concept, the materials used in the construction of the Grand Canyon glass bridge are selected from aerospace materials to improve the stability and safety of the bridge structure, which is extremely rare in the history of bridge construction in the world.
The glass bridge features the highest bungee jumping platform in the world, the steepest zip line in the world, the first suspension bridge with suspended cables and large open spaces, the first large bridge in the world whose main supporting structure is glass, the bridge with the lowest ratio between the height of the main girder and the span in the world, the first large-span suspension bridge without wind cables in the world, and the first bridge in the world that uses multiple damping devices to suppress vibrations in different directions.
CNN has included Yuntian Du among the 11 most spectacular bridges in the world.
In December 2015, Zhangjiajie launched a global competition to name the glass bridge. In March 2016, Shanghai user Mr. Yang's submission, "Yuntian Du" (Cloudy Sky Bridge), was selected. Of the 160,000 registered voters, "Yuntian Du" received 61,974 votes, with 38.3% support.
The explanation of the name "Yuntian Du" is "a bridge linking the sky, transporting people across the world." Through the fog, the bridge looks like a thousand-foot white ribbon that appears and disappears. Stepping onto the bridge, you feel as if you are rising from the natural landscape into the sky. Its unique design and innovative shape attract numerous tourists to visit and experience it.
