Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - To entice thrill-seeking tourists, a mountain resort in Vietnam has constructed the third glass-bottomed...
Image: Reuters |
The Bach Long suspension bridge, which means "White Dragon" in English, is located in Son La province, northwest of Hanoi and on the border with Laos.
"I didn't dare to look down since I'm frightened of heights," said Vi Thi Thu, 22, a visitor who stepped onto the bridge following Saturday's inauguration ceremony, which featured dragon dancing and ribbon cutting.
According to the facility's owner, the reinforced glass utilized for the bridge has three layers, each 40mm thick, and can accommodate up to 450 people at a time.
The 290-meter bridge connects two peaks on opposite sides of a valley, as well as a 342-meter cliffside pathway.
Guinness World Records lists a 562-meter glass-bottomed bridge in Qingyuan, China's Guangdong province, as the world's longest at https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/523265-largest-glass-bottomed-bridge.
"The engineering required to create that into the side of a cliff while maintaining all of the natural elements, the flora, the rocks, it's been an extraordinary project," said Glen Pollard, a Guinness World Record representative who attended the opening ceremony.
The World Record Association, which also certifies records, has designated the two-part Vietnamese bridge as the world's longest at 632 meters (https://www.officialworldrecord.com/record/the-largest-glass-bridge-in-the-world).
Another attendee at the opening ceremony said he immediately got over his fear of crossing across the bridge.
"At first, it makes you nervous, but after about ten glass panels, that feeling goes away," remarked Tran Xuan Tinh, 72.