THE world’s highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge opened last Saturday (20) in China’s spectacular Zhangjiajie mountains – the inspiration for 2009 American blockbuster Avatar.
Some 430 metres (1,400 feet) long and suspended 300 metres above the earth, the bridge spans the canyon between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie park in China’s central Hunan province.
The bridge, which is six metres wide and made of some 99 panels of clear glass, can carry up to 800 people at the same time, an official in Zhangjiajie – a popular tourist destination – told the Xinhua
news agency.
Tourists can walk across the bridge, designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, and the more adventurous will be able to bungee-jump or ride a zip line.
“I wanted to feel awe-inspired by this bridge. But I’m not afraid – it seems safe!”
Wang Min, who was visiting the new structure with her husband and children, said.
Following a glass bridge cracking incident in northern Henan in 2015, authorities in Zhangjiajie were eager to demonstrate the safety of the structure.
Only 8,000 people each day will be allowed to cross the bridge, Xinhua said, and tourists will have to book their tickets a day in advance, at a cost of 138 yuan (£16).
Community members pay their respects outside the home of the sole survivor of the crash
Air India’s Catherine West with Indian high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami at India House
Family members pray beside the bodies of Dilip Patel and his wife Meena Patel, who died in the crash
A police officer stands before the wreckage of the Air India aircraft 
