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Skywalks on the rise at China's tourist attractions

By XU JINGXI in Guangzhou (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-05-29 15:23

It has become a fashion in recent years for mountain parks in China to build glass skywalks on the cliff edge to attract thrill-seeking hikers.

The latest glass skywalk opened to visitors in Central China's Hunan province on Wednesday makes walking in the clouds even more playful by installing electronic components in the glass that can play 70 different notes when stepped on.

The 180-meter-long interactive musical road is the first of its kind in China. It was built off the side of a cliff 300 meters above sea level in Shiniuzhai National Geopark in Pingjiang county.

Tourists flocked to the geological park on the glass skywalk's opening day. Some trotted in excitement to play a melody against the magnificent backdrop of the Danxia landscape. Some were scared by the height, crouching and leaning on the cliff all the way.

Built with double-layered special glass nearly 30 millimeters thick, the transparent path is actually safe to walk on, according to the park.

Besides the musical path in Shiniuzhai, people who fancy glass skywalks can find three more in China to rival the famed U-shaped Grand Canyon Skywalk in the United States.

The most famous glass skywalk in China may be the one built in Tianmenshan National Forest Park in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province. The biggest vertical drop under the path is 1,430 meters.

The highest glass skywalk is located in Molmt Baishishan National Geopark in North China's Hebei province, built on the edge of a cliff 1,900 meters above sea level.

There is also a glass skywalk to get visitors' adrenalin pumped on Phoenix Mountain in Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

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