China's record-breaking glass bridge closes
Serenitie Wang and Elaine Yu, CNN • Updated 2nd September 2016
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(CNN) — Visitors hoping to walk on the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge will have to hold their breath.
The record-breaking structure hanging over Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in China has closed Friday, just 13 days after it opened to the public on August 20.
"We're overwhelmed by the volume of visitors," a spokesperson from the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon's marketing and sales department told CNN, explaining that the bridge was the main draw of the canyon.
He added that the capacity of the glass bridge was limited to 8,000 visitors per day, but total demand was 10 times as much.
The famous bridge also brought renewed interest to other scenic spots in the area.
When asked if the bridge was cracked or broken, the spokesperson said "there was no problem." He also confirmed there have been no accidents.
The 6-meter-wide bridge stretches 430 meters over a 300-meter-deep valley between two cliffs in the stunning Zhangjiajie Park, said to have inspired the scenery for the sci-fi movie "Avatar."
Just 13 days after opening, the world's highest and longest glass bottled bridge in China closed because of "overwhelming demand."
The attraction's management made the announcement Thursday on its official Weibo account, a Chinese microblogging site.
It didn't say when it might reopen and apologized for the inconvenience caused.
The Weibo statement says that due to the "urgency to improve and update" the facility, the government decided to suspend operations on September 2.
The park officials had suggested September 5 as a closing date, to accommodate travel agencies who "have already included the Grand Canyon and the glass bridge into their itineraries."
Visitors aren't happy
"I have booked everything and now you are saying you are closed... Are you kidding me?" wrote Weibo user XiaoMOMOYa in response to the official statement.
"The Scenic Area is deficient. There's trash everywhere and no bottled water for sale. It's right to reopen only after they've cleaned up the place," wrote another user, Fashiwanying.
During the suspension, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon plans to improve not only its infrastructure, including parking lots, but also its ticket-booking system, customer service and other areas.
Haim Dotan, the Israeli architectural firm that designed the bridge, didn't immediately respond to CNN's request for comments.
Click through the gallery below for more incredible new bridges from around the world.
