Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge
Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge 平江石牛寨玻璃桥 Doushuiyan, Shiniuzhai, Pingjiang, Yueyang, Hunan, China. The centerpiece attraction within the Shiniuzhai Resort area, the Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge is one of the highest spans of its type in the world. The
towering rock formations have become extremely popular with tourists and in addition to the bridge, a cablecar ropeway was installed in 2009 as well as hundreds of meters of cliffwalks. The entire region is referred to as the Danxia Mountains or Danxiashan. Located just an hour from the giant city of
Changsha, the area and its attractions are designated as an official
Geopark. In 2014 a 10 meter section of the bridge deck was replaced by glass panels. Then in 2015 the park replaced the entire deck with glass panels to make it China's first all glass footbridge just a few months ahead of the much more substantial
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge, also in Hunan
Province. Facts on the footbridge are still unknown but the span is approximately 150 meters long and around 100 meters high. The cablecar route that reaches the plateau next to the north end of the bridge was used for a tightrope walk on July 8th, 2012 with walker Aisikaier practicing the famous Dawa Zi or Uyghur-style walk. The event took on a new dimension when Aisikaier did the 600 meter long route walking backwards with a blindfold on. All went well until the last 40 meters when strong winds and the steeper slope of the upper cable caused him to fall. Luckily the ground was not far below as he fell into some trees with no injuries. Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge 石牛寨风景区悬索桥 Pingjiang, Hunan, China (328) feet high / (100) meters high (492) foot span / (150) meter span 200? www.highestbridges.com
