The world’s highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge in China was shut down just 13 days after opening. An employee of the company that built the bridge told state media that it was “overwhelmed” by visitors.
The 1,410ft (430 meter) bridge opened on August 20th has a capacity for 8,000 visitors per day. However, there is a reported 10 times as much demand for it.
“We’re overwhelmed by how many people come through here,” a spokeswoman for the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon’s marketing and sales department told CNN, explaining that the bridge was the destination’s main attraction.
The Gap Bridge is an architectural wonder designed by the Israeli architect Haim Dotan. The bridge is suspended nearly 1,000 ft. above the canyon, giving visitors an opportunity to look down into the chasm through 99 glass panels.
With no accidents to report, there was no issue with the safety of the structure.
A Weibo post from the bridge’s management stated that the government has suspended operations due to the need to improve and update the attraction.
Some of the key parts of the infrastructure that will be improved are parking, ticket-booking, and customer service.
The article did not mention when the bridge would reopen and apologized for the inconvenience. It stated that tour groups who were intending to see the bridge this weekend might have discretionary admission, but it has not been confirmed what that means.
When people tried to book lessons, they were greeted with a message saying the site was closed, which left many users frustrated. One Weibo user replied with the following response.
After witnessing the Grand Canyon during one of his trips to the American West, James Cameron is said to have drawn a number of parallels between its landscapes and those in his blockbuster film Avatar. Through a series of publicity stunts, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened amid great fanfare, including a walk across by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Volvo XC-90 SUVs are so safe, they were driven over by a few designers and workmen.
