Tianmenshan Cliffwalk and Glasswalk
Tianmenshan Cliffwalk and Glasswalk
张家界天门山栈道和玻璃栈道
Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China
1,165 feet high / 355 meters high
6 foot span / 2 meter span
2011
Without question the highest and most spectacular of all of the world’s cliffwalks is the hiking path that skirts around the upper edge of Tianmen Mountain near Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province. The top of this peak was inaccessible to tourists until a gondola cableway was built from the center of the city to a point near the summit. With a length of 7,455 meters, it is one of the longest gondolas in the world as well as one of the highest with an elevation gain of 1,279 meters. The steepest section of the ropeway reaches 37 degrees.
The other big attraction on Tianmen mountain is the 99-turn bus road that reaches the base of the giant Tianmen Cave - a natural hole in the mountain that measures 131.5 meters in height.
The Tianmenshan Cliffwalk is one of many cantilevered hiking paths that have sprung up around China since the 1990s and all were made with similar construction techniques. Horizontal steel beams encased in concrete are placed 2 to 4 meters apart inside of holes drilled horizontally into the side of the mountain. Flat concrete panels span between the support beams. Most pathways are between 1.5 and 2 meters wide depending on the random shape of the cliff wall surface where the structure is connected.
The Tianmen cliffwalk also has three glass sections that are each around 60 meters in length that requires wearing supplied booties around your shoes to avoid scratching the surface. The drop below the glass panels on the original glasswalk is approximately 250 meters while the newer glasswalks are 250 and 300 meters respectively . The drop below the highest point on the concrete surfaced cliffwalk is a jaw-dropping 355 meters.
Since 2012, BASE jumping events have taken place over a section of the famous 99 turns bus road and alongside the gondola.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
This small glass overlook is only about 30 meters high but the slope drops down hundreds of meters more! Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Tianmen Mountain glass cliffwalk entrance. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
There is a vertical drop of 250 meters from the original glass cliffwalk. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by John Brignoli.
The official BASE jump platform near the top of Tianmen Mountain. Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
A view looking down an access ladder approximately 300 meters/1,000 feet high. Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Tianmenshan Cliffwalk and Glasswalk satellite image.
Tianmenshan Cliffwalk and Glasswalk location map.
