| Coordinates: | 29.0532°N 110.4803°W |
The East Taihang Glasswalk is a skywalk bridge located in East Taihang Mountains, Hebei Province, China. Opened in October 2017 it is built above sea level, stretches long, and is roughly wide.[1]
The bridge was the subject of some controversy for a special effect that made it appear as if the glass was cracking beneath the feet of those trying to cross it.[2] Infrared sensors would determine when a pedestrian was walking across the bridge, at which point light decorations and sound effects would produce the illusion of glass cracking.[3] The administration of East Taihang officially apologized for the illusion shortly after the bridge's opening, saying that the effect was designed to be "provocative".[4]
The East Taihang Glasswalk was part of a larger design scheme in China to create "invisible" glass-bottomed footbridges. Other notable skywalks of this variety include the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge and the Yuntain Mountain Walkway.[5] After a series of deaths and injuries on glass bridges in Hebei, the province elected to close all 32 of its glass-bottomed skywalks, including the East Taihang Glasswalk, on October 30, 2019, while it examined their safety protocols.[6]