Vietnam is home to the world's longest glass-bottomed bridge

Vietnam is home to the world's longest glass-bottomed bridge — take a look at the 2,000-foot pedestrian walkway, suspended high above a valley

• A 2,000-foot-long glass-bottomed bridge in Vietnam has been certified the longest of its kind in the world.
• Bach Long, the pedestrian bridge, has three layers of 40 mm of tempered glass, a report says.
• Beneath it is a 500-foot plummet to a valley below.

If you're afraid of heights, the Bach Long bridge probably won't be your thing. But for thrill seekers, the destination is a welcome addition to a bucket list.

The glass-bottom bridge measures 632 meters, or about 2,073 feet, in length, and the company behind it says it's the longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world. The bridge stands 150 meters, or about 492 feet, above a lush valley between two mountains.

It's located in the Moc Chau district of Vietnam's northwestern Son La province. Bach Long translates to "white dragon."

Officials from the Guinness World Records visited the bridge in late May and confirmed that it's the longest of its kind in the world.

Bach Long consists of three layers of 40 mm, or about 1.5 inches, of tempered glass. It can support about 500 people at a time, said Hoang Manh Duy, a representative of Moc Chau.

The company behind Bach Long said it put the bridge to the test by having heavy cars and trucks drive over it. As an additional safety measure, traffic on the bridge flows in only one direction.

The glass pedestrian bridge opened at the end of April. To clean the bridge before the opening ceremony, working crews used their bare feet and rags to wipe the glass. Visitors were made to cover their shoes with fabric when they walked across the glass bridge.

When the bridge opened, its first visitors had mixed reactions. Some were thrilled, while one young visitor clung to the railings and avoided stepping on the glass.

"I think it's all great," one visitor told Al Jazeera. "Stepping on the bridge and looking down was scary at first, but if we continued confidently, it was very amazing."

A ticket to walk on the bridge costs $27.65 for adults on weekends and $19 for children. Weekday prices are lowered to $23.40 for adults and $15 for children. Entry is free for kids under 1 meter, or 3.2 feet.

Unveiling the bridge is one way Vietnam is trying to bring back tourism after the industry came to a standstill for much of the past two years because of COVID-19. The country closed its borders to travelers in March 2020 and stopped issuances of tourist visas.

Around the start of the pandemic, Vietnam's tourism department estimated that COVID-19 could cost the country $4 billion in lost tourism in just three months. The country reopened its borders to international tourists in March 2022, dropping its COVID-19 restrictions for foreign visitors. That means adventure seekers from around the world can now behold the beauty — or terror — that is the Bach Long bridge.

Vietnam has made $16.5 billion from tourism this year, a senior official said in November, per local newspaper VNexpress. The country made $32 billion from tourism in 2019, per its tourism annual report.

(Source: Business Insider)