China Built the World's Longest Glass Bridge 590 Feet in the Air — And It's Terrifying

Impact

China has long been known for gigantic and often death-defying public works projects. There's the mighty Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric dam, the sleek Shanghai tower, the world second-tallest building and the imposing China Central Television building — a structure so fearsome that it is popularly known among many employees as "the Death Star."

Now engineers in the country's central Hunan province have done it again, reportedly building the world's longest glass bridge.

Hey look at that!

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The bridge, which spans roughly 984 feet, links two adjoining cliffs in the province's Shiniuzhai National Geological Park and is elevated approximately 590 feet from the ground, according to the country's state-run news agency Xinhua. The bridge was officially opened to travelers (and gawkers) on Thursday.

From the air, it looks something like this:

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Thrill-seekers looking for added excitement can take solace in China's famously shoddy engineering and a political and legal system that is typically more concerned with preventing criticism than investigating man-made disasters. In 2008, for example, an earthquake in the country's Sichuan province left at least 69,195 dead, with many citing cheap construction for the high death toll.

Concerns like that, however, were outweighed by the importance of capturing the perfect selfie to make friends jealous on the Chinese social network Renren. 

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It's not the first time glass-bottomed floors have provided light adventure for FOMO seekers in the country. The 38th floor of the China Central television building in Beijing sports its own glass bottomed portholes. While the so-called "moon doors" don't open like their Game of Thrones counterparts, the effect can be no less terrifying.

Jon Levine