Unbelievable Architectural Marvels | China's Horizontal Skyscraper

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If you have a fear of heights, this might be a good time to look at away. China's impressive Raffles City Chongqing construction is still ongoing, however, the complex's "horizontal skyscraper", the Crystal, has opened to the public. The stunning skybridge sits at 250 meters above ground boasts a park and a glass-bottomed observation point.

With a limit of 3,000 tickets per day, the attraction sold out quickly during its opening weekend.

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The Raffles City Chongqing is designed by Moshe Safdie and consists of a cluster of eight skyscrapers. In a similar fashion to the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, four of the towers hold the horizontal skyscraper structure, which is officially named the Crystal, in place at a height of 250 m (820 ft). The Crystal itself measures 748 m (984 ft) in length and its weight comes in at a considerable 12,000 tons – much of the structure had to be painstakingly hoisted into position using cranes with engineering help from Arup.

The journey to the Exploration Deck on the world's tallest horizontal skyscraper begins at ground level thanks to a National Geographic exhibition detailing the history and development of the city of Chongqing. Then visitors zoom up to the top in just 50 seconds, to then walk through another exciting exhibition, one that depicts what a futuristic life on Mars would look like.

Next up comes a pocket park, where you walk through a luscious green area high above the ground, which ultimately leads to the Exploration Deck itself. Here you stand on a thrilling glass-bottomed floor offering views of the city beneath as well as stunning scenes of the merging of the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers nearby. Elsewhere in the Crystal will be a members-only clubhouse with two swimming pools, restaurants and bars, but these are still being finished and are due to open in the coming months.