The world’s tallest and longest pedestrian glass bridge over the Grand Canyon of Zhangjiajie in China highlights nature and fortitude.
At 300 meters (984 feet) above the canyon floor, the 385 meter (1,263 feet) long and 6 meters meters (19.7 feet) wide bridge over the Grand Canyon of Zhangjiajie is the world’s tallest and longest pedestrian glass bridge. It also boasts the world’s highest bungee jump and will serve as a stage for dances, fashion shows, and cultural events. The bridge features a transparent glass floor and side suspension cables and can hold up to 800 visitors due to the robust glazing solution implemented by its architects and engineers. This demanding application used the laminated glass panels of SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers from Trosifol®. At 50 milimeters (1.97 inches) thick, the panels are made of three layers of 16 milimeters (0.63 inches) low iron glass, with two layers of SentryGlas® interlayer sandwiched between them.
According to the architect, Professor Haim Dotan, founder of Haim Dotan Ltd. Architects and Urban Designers, “Out of respect for the beauty of nature, the bridge had to disappear. This was my challenge in the design process. We therefore put our heart, vision, and love of nature into creating a bridge, which had the least impact on the surrounding natural beauty.”
“We immediately conceived the glass floor,” he continues, “in order to make the bridge transparent. A structural girder design, suspended from cables, was devised to eliminate the need for bulky 3 meter or 4 meter (9.8 to 13.1 feet) bridge beams and to create a slim profile with a girder beam depth of just 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) for a 400-meter (1,312 feet) span length. In order to further integrate the bridge into the surrounding nature, the four suspension towers are covered with trees and plants, assimilating them into the green canyon cliffs beyond.”