HEBEI, China: A Chinese tour guide falls to his knees as as a glass walkway "cracks" under him in video that has gone viral over the weekend, but this is no accident.



This cliff-hugging walkway in East Taihang, Hebei was built with special effects on the last few glass panels, that make virtual cracks appear with each step the visitor takes.



In the 10-second video, posted on social media and Chinese news sites, the man shouts: "I'm scared to death!"





The gag came amid reports of glass walkways and bridges, many of which were built in China, cracking for real. A pane of glass cracked on the walkway at Yuntai Mountain just a month after it opened, it was reported in October 2015.

East Taihang Scenic District authorities assured visitors that this was a planned gimmick using "body weight-sensing" glass.



It shared a copy of the video on its Weibo account on Sunday (Oct 8).

The authorities managing the mountain tourist attraction issued an "apology" on Weibo on Sep 28 that read more like a tongue-in-cheek marketing spiel.

A glass walkway with special effects that "cracks" when it senses weight in East Taihang, Hebei. (Photo: Weibo / East Taihang)

It apologised for the "ridiculously high" walkway which is built at a height of 1,180m on soaring cliffs as well as for scaring visitors.

"Wherever you walk, the glass will break, and it comes with a 'kacha' cracking sound," the Weibo post in Chinese read. "The effect is so life-like, you won't be able to tell if it's the glass or your heart breaking."