World's highest glass bridge closes just 13 DAYS after its grand opening due to overwhelming volume of tourists
- The £48 million walkway in southern China is forced to close today after it opened on August 20
- Thousands of people flocked to stand on the 984-foot-high 1,410-foot-long structure every day
- A spokesman said 'there were too many people' but he insisted there were no safety concerns
- September 2nd, 2016
The world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge has been forced to close after an overwhelming number of tourists flocked to walk across the transparent structure standing some 980 feet high.
The walkway in southern China, which cost £48 million to build, opened on August 20 and halted its operations today, according to People's Daily Online.
A spokesman from the attraction told MailOnline that the bridge is designed to support a maximum of 800 people at a time, and it has received around 10,000 tourists a day since its opening.
The spokesman insisted the glass floor of the bridge is safe.
The glass-bottomed bridge in China closed today - two weeks after its opening - due to overwhelming volume of tourists
The walkway crosses two peaks in the mountains of Zhangjiajie - the same ranges that inspired the blockbuster Avatar
A spokesman from the attraction told MailOnline that the bridge has received around 10,000 tourists a day since its opening
The see-through bridge is located in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, a popular scenic spot in China known to have inspired the American blockbuster Avatar.
The same spokesman said government of the local Zili County had requested the bridge to close after it realised that the structure had attracted an overwhelming number of tourists. The management decided to follow the instruction.
He said the bridge has been closed for 'maintenance' and 'upgrading'.
Tourists were said to need to queue for hours to in order to stand on the transparent floor.
The spokesman added that the large number of people had also posed difficulties for the construction of facilities around the attraction.
However, the spokesman said the management is 'confident about the quality of the glass floor.
'There were simply too many people. For example, we can't expand our parking area properly, and people started scalping tickets.
It is yet to be announced when the bridge will reopen.
The bridge is designed to support a maximum of 800 people at a time, and the spokesman insisted the glass floor was safe
The dramatic bridge, which stands at some 980 feet high, is designed to support a maximum of 800 people at a time
Young boys lie on the world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge over the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon on August 20
In an announcement on one of its social media accounts, the company apologised for inconveniencing the many travellers who had made reservations to visit.
'You... have cheated consumers,' one angry commenter replied.
'I'm on the train right now. I can't change my travel plans or get a refund. You have made the world lose hope. I see you are the world's number one cheat,' another posted.
Some even took to smashing the glass with a hammer to prove the robustness of the bridge. However officials are now struggling to cope with the masses of people descending on the attraction saying it needs 'an internal system upgrade'
The Zhangjiajie glass-bottomed bridge spans approximately 430 metres (1,400 feet) across two peaks and is suspended 300 metres (984ft) above a sheer drop.
It crosses a canyon that divides two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie Park, in China's central Hunan province.
The structure is six metres (19ft8in) wide and made of some 99 panels of clear glass.
It can carry up to 800 people at the same time, an official at Zhangjiajie told China's state news agency Xinhua.
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.
According to management, a bungee platform and a giant swing are expected to be added to the platform.
The bungee platform, which will be attached to the bridge, is expected to be 260 metres high (853 feet), said the spokesman.
If the plan materialises, the platform will be 23 metres (75 feet) higher than that of the Macau Tower, the highest commercial jumping spot in the world.
The swing is planned to be nearly 170 metres (558 feet) long and is due to be suspended from the bridge towards the valley.
Both the bungee jump and the swing will be open to the public next year, according to the company.
Tourists can walk across the bridge, designed by Israeli Haim Dotan. A bungee platform and a swing have also been planned
Following an alarming glass bridge cracking incident at the Yuntai mountain in northern Henan in 2015, authorities in Zhangjiajie were eager to demonstrate the safety of the structure
According to Huanqiu, many tourists started queuing to be the first to go on the bridge the night before its grand opening on August 20.
The first of those to get on the bridge were seen lying down and doing splits.
Later on in the day, the bridge became incredibly crowded and you can barely tell that the structure has a glass bottom.
Wang Min, who was visiting the new structure with her husband and children, said: 'I wanted to feel awe-inspired by this bridge. But I'm not afraid - it seems safe!'
Lin Chenglu, another visitor who had come to see the bridge with his colleagues, said: 'It's crowded today and a bit of a mess. But to be suspended 300 metres in the air, it's a unique experience.'
Following an alarming glass bridge cracking incident at the Yuntai mountain in northern Henan in 2015, authorities in Zhangjiajie were eager to demonstrate the safety of the structure.
Cameras and selfie sticks are banned, according to Xinhua, although it seems that some of the first tourists are already flouting the rules
No fear: The structure is six metres (19ft8in) wide and made of some 99 panels of clear glass
They organised a string of media events, including one where people were encouraged to try and smash the bridge's glass panels with a sledge hammer, and another where they drove a car across it.
They organised a string of media events, including one where people were encouraged to try and smash the bridge's glass panels with a sledge hammer, and another where they drove a car across it.
Tourists will have to book their tickets a day in advance, at a cost of 138 yuan (£15.94).
Cameras and selfie sticks are banned, and people wearing stilettos will not be allowed to walk on the bridge, Xinhua said.
Last October, a group of tourists were left screaming in terror after a glass-bottomed walkway cracked at 3,540 feet high
Last October, a group of Chinese tourists were left screaming in terror on the side of a 3,540-foot-high cliff after a glass pane on a new transparent walkway suddenly shattered.
A visitor posted pictures of the cracked glass on Chinese social media. She said she could feel the shake under her feet the moment when the glass broke.
The U-shaped platform is attached to a cliff face on Yuntai Mountain, Henan Province, and had opened to the public two weeks earlier
Don't look down? The setting for the movie 'Avatar' is based on the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and its surroundings. It is a UNESCO world heritage site
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