In pics: How China tests safety of world’s longest glass bridge

Chinese officials successfully drove a two-tonne truck onto the world’s longest and highest glass bridge in central Hunan province on Monday to conduct a safety test ahead of its scheduled opening.

Chinese officials successfully drove a two-tonne truck onto the world’s longest and highest glass bridge in central Hunan province on Monday to conduct a safety test ahead of its scheduled opening in July.

A participant swings a sledgehammer at the floor of glass-bottomed suspension bridge in Zhangjiajie in southern China's Hunan province. (AP)

To further convince the public of the sturdiness of the 430-meter bridge tucked between two steep cliffs at Zhangjiajie which is 300 meters above the ground, 20 volunteers used hammers to try to smash the glass, before an all-terrain vehicle carried 11 volunteers across the cracking glass.

Another team of 10 volunteers then tried again to smash the glass. Despite some fractures on the surface, the glass did not break, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A sedan car filled with passengers drives across a glass-bottomed suspension bridge after the top layer of glass was deliberately cracked during tests. (AP)

The bridge is made of three layers of the tempered glass, all together 99 pieces, each of 3 by 4.5 meters and 15 mm thick. Damaged pieces can be removed and changed. (REUTERS)

A man strikes a hammer against the glass bridge. (REUTERS)

People wait for a safety test ceremony of the glass-bottom bridge. (REUTERS)

A view of a 430-meter-long glass-bottom bridge before the safety test ceremony. (REUTERS)