The Chinese province of Hebei has closed all its 32 glass attractions, including walkways and viewing platforms. The measure is taken following a few accidents, some of them even fatal, at the various glass attractions that can be found in the country.
In 2016, China built an enormous glass bridge in Zhangjiajie at the height of 300 meters in 430 meters long in Zhangjiajie. It turned out to be the start of a trend: an estimated 2300 glass bridges were built throughout the country.
There are 30 in the province of Hebei. They all close; it is not clear whether that is permanent. They may be better protected or demolished.
Hebei’s measures do not come out of the blue, because it went wrong several times at the glass attractions. Not long after the opening of the massive bridge in Zhangjiajie, several boulders fell on a crossing tourist.
A year later, a fatal victim fell in Hubei province. Earlier this year, a tourist died of slipping and falling off a smooth glass bridge after rainfall.
As a result of the accidents, the Chinese government decided to have national safety assessments carried out. It was then agreed in Hebei that it would be the safest option to close all-glass attractions, which include, for example, viewing platforms alongside the bridges.