On April 30, the long-expected glass sightseeing platform “Flying Disk/UFO” at Shilin Gorge in Pinggu District, Beijing officially opened to the public. On that day hundreds of dustmen and -women from Pinggu were invited to visit this Disk for free and were the first guests visiting the Flying Disk. Large numbers of tourists stepped on the transparent sightseeing platform and made all kinds difficult movements aiming to challenge themselves.
[Photo/Xinhua]
It is reported that this sightseeing platform is located at the “First Bell of the Past and Today (Chinese: 古今第一钟)” of the Dragon King Peak (Chinese: 龙王顶), the highest peak insideShilin Gorge(literal translation:Stone Forest Gorge) in Pinggu District. The sightseeing platform with a length of 32.8 meters off the cliff is 11 meters longer than the Grand Canyon Skywalk inside the Grand Canyon National Park in the United States, has a standing area of 415 square meters and has been the largest glass sightseeing platform in single size in the world.
[Photo/Xinhua]
[Photo/Xinhua]
The sightseeing platform is 768 meters above sea level and 400 meters high from the foot of the cliff. It is true that those who have acrophobia cannot pay a visit to it and even those who have no the disease will surely feel terrified as soon as they step on the transparent breathtaking glass floor, through which they can see the valley 400 meters below. Therefore, after its opening up, brave tourists and who want to try their bravery can visit this glass platform to experience the excitement walking in the sky.
[Photo/Xinhua]
[Photo/Xinhua]
Self-challenge is important, but safety is more important. It is reported this sightseeing platform was constructed with titanium alloys, which have highly-appreciated characteristics such as not easy to be deformed, to corrode or to be damaged because of high temperatures. Therefore, these alloys are widely utilized in aeronautical and space fields but haven’t been used in large scales for daily life until today in China.
[Photo/Xinhua]
“The aim of using titanium alloys to build this project is to guarantee the safety of each and every tourist visiting this site the most. ” According to the person in charge of the tourist attraction, this glass platform consists of three layers of glass and two layers of glue, to make sure each square meter can bear a load of 700 kg or above. With this load level, even a concrete truck can drive on it. “Even after the three layers of glass were broken, the titanium alloy structure could hold a platform full of people. ”
Source: china.huanqiu.com
