VIDEO Hitting a glass bridge with a sledgehammer

In case you haven't noticed, China has got a thing for glass bridges recently. They're building the structures all over the country including viewing platforms for those who really want to find out if they're afraid of heights.

It's a slightly strange national obsession but one that has produced some incredible feats of engineering, including a 430 metre bridge over the Zhangziazie Grand Canyon which is mostly glass and will be able to hold more than 800 people at a time when it opens to the public in July, 2016.

Recently there were fears over safety when a glass panel was cracked at a different platform. Naturally to combat those concerns, a fellow from the BBC stood on the new bridge and hit the glass with a sledgehammer.

For science, you understand.

Dan Simmons isn't totally crazy so he's actually hitting a different set of glass panels which are made of the same material as the bridge but still there's a very visceral reaction when that first strike creates so many spiderweb cracks.

It seems the first layer takes most of the brunt of an impact and the other two remain safe, even with more than 20 people standing on top of it. That should make members of the public feel better, but it still won't cure your fear of heights.