A tourist poses on the Bach Long (White Dragon) glass bridge in Moc Chau District, Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam. Photo: Facebook page 'Cau Kinh Bach Long - Moc Chau Island'
About one month after its grand opening, a glass-bottomed bridge in mountainous Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam has been declared the world’s longest glass bridge by Guinness World Records.
The bridge’s investor, Son La-based Tour 26 Moc Chau Joint Stock Company, has officially received a certificate from Guinness World Records, the world’s authority on record-breaking performances, for its glass-bottomed Bach Long (White Dragon) Walkway.
The certification means the 632-meter long Bach Long Bridge now trumps the previous Guinness-recognized record for a 530-meter glass bridge outside China’s Guangdong Province.
Construction on the Bach Long Walkway started in early 2021 and the project cost a total of VND773 billion (US$33 million).
It was put into operation in the province’s Moc Chau District on April 29 this year.
The glass-floored bridge spans a lush green jungle valley. At its highest, it is about 150 meters above the ground.
The Bach Long glass bridge in Son La Province, Vietnam. Photo: Facebook page 'Cau Kinh Bach Long - Moc Chau Island'
The Bach Long Walkway is Moc Chau’s newest tourist destination, joining its well-known green tea hills and ethnic minority villages.
At the foot of the bridge sits Muong Mooc Cave, also known as Chim Than (God Bird) Cave, which features natural stalactites and stone sculptures.
The bridge is 2.4 meters wide and has two 30-meter towers.
Its floor was made of super tempered glass imported from France and the suspension cables were shipped from South Korea.
The bridge can safely accommodate thousands of people at a time, but the operator limits the number to just 500 for safety purposes, Tour 26 Moc Chau said.
An entry ticket costs VND550,000 ($24) per visitor on regular days and VND650,000 ($28) on weekends or national holidays, according to VnExpress.
This is the third glass bridge in Vietnam after the Tinh Yeu (Love) glass bridge, also in Moc Chau, and Rong May (Cloud Dragon) in Lai Chau Province.