shanghai news,Visitors to Shanghai can soon experience what it’s like to walk in the sky, after some final security checks. Shanghai’s 88-floor Jin Mao Tower is planning to open an outdoor glass walkway 1,116 feet above ground to the public. The glass walkway extends 197 feet in length but is only 3.9 feet wide. Marketed as the “skywalk” by Jin Mao Tower, it is said to be the world’s tallest transparent, fenceless walkway.
“I thought my legs would tremble because of fear, but they didn’t,” said 28-year-old Hu Siqin, who was one of the first visitors who tried the walkway during the trial period.The first 30 seconds were pretty scary, but after that, I felt calm,” Ms. Hu said. The walkway has no hand rail, and tourists are fastened to a beam with a length of rope. Visitors are guided by two security personnel and required to wear helmets during the whole process. Citing safety belts and the staff who helped her navigate the walkway, Ms. Hu said, “I felt it is pretty safe.”Last year, southern China’s Hunan province built the world’s longest glass walkway, which is 984 feet long and sits 590 feet above a valley. Completed in 1999, the 88-story Jin Mao Tower is one of the tallest skyscrapers in Shanghai’s financial district Lujiazui. Owned by Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Investments and Management Ltd., it is home to the Grand Hyatt Shanghai hotel and many international banks and funds.
The skyscraper was designed by Adrian Smith, an American architect whose other projects include Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. Jin Mao Tower originally planned to open the glass walkway to the public this week but postponed for unclear reasons. While a spokesperson cited “hot weather” as the main reason for the delay, an announcement on the company’s website says it decided not to open the walkway to the public yet because of “the public’s concern about the Jin Mao skywalk project” and “the Pudong district government’s regulatory requirements.
”Wang Chaonina, the spokesperson from Jin Mao Tower, said the company is cooperating with relevant government agencies on safety at the “skywalk,” citing a sightseeing seaplane accident last week as the reason the government tightened its security check. Last week, a seaplane carrying 10 people crashed near Shanghai’s Jinshan City Beach, causing five deaths. Asked why the company decided to build the skywalk, Ms. Wang said, “We think everyone in the world will love this.
| By | buzai232 |
| Added | Jan 22 '18, 07:18PM |
The Wall