World's Longest and Highest Glass Bridge Opens in China

They say people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

But what about people walking across glass bridges? Bombs away, my friends. This thing is indestructible.

Billed as the “world’s highest and longest” glass-bottom bridge, the 1,400-foot walkway that just opened for business over a canyon in China’s Hunan province connects two mountain peaks at an altitude of nearly 1,000 feet.

In order to prove the bridge — which is constructed from 99 panes of three-layered glass — was safe, officials allowed media members to pound it with a sledgehammer and even drove a car across it before the $3.4 million overpass opened to the public.

However, while hammers are apparently fair game, cameras, selfie sticks and stilettos are not.

So, given that similar bridges have cracked, why would you want to pay $20 to cross this one?

“It’s the relationship between emotionally driven fear and the logical understanding of safety,” architect Keith Brownlie told the BBC. “These bridges tread the boundary between contrasting senses, and people like to challenge their rational mind in relation to their irrational fear.”

Should you decide to pass on glass but still want some thrills, might we recommend a new set of waterfall-spanning ziplines a bit closer to home?

Meet your guide

Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”