Shiniuzhai Glass Footbridge
Shiniuzhai Glass Footbridge
石牛寨风景区悬索桥
Pingjiang, Hunan, China
295 feet high / 90 meters high
(591) foot span / (180) meter span
200?
The centerpiece attraction within the Shiniuzhai Resort area, the Shiniuzhai Scenic Area Glass 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. Around the year 2016 the entire bridge was rebuilt with a new anchorage on the south end that extended the main span length to approximately 180 meters eliminating the need for the south tower. The rebuilt span is much more robust then the older span.
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.
In 2014 a glass floor was installed on a 10 meter section of the Shiniuzhai footbridge offering guests a new way to look down between their feet! Image by Chinanews.com.
Image by Chinanews.com.
Image by Chinanews.com.
Image by Chinanews.com.
In early 2015 the glass section of the deck was extended in length.
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Aisikaier begins his 52 minute tightrope walk on July 8th, 2012 walking backwards with a blindfold on.
Aisikaier drops his balance pole and begins to fall.
A group of trees breaks his fall just 40 meters from the upper end of the wire.
In 2009 the ropeway underwent rescue testing of passengers. Image by tour.rednet.cn.
Image by tour.rednet.cn.
Image by tour.rednet.cn.
Danxiashan area sign.
Danxiashan area map.
Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge satellite image.
Shiniuzhai Scenic Footbridge location map.
