Visitors can test their courage on Shanghai skywalk

Visitors walk at 340.6 meters above the ground at a new attraction on a skyscraper in Shanghai. GAO ERQIANG/CHINA DAILY

Visitors to a landmark skyscraper in Shanghai can put their nerves to the test by walking, leaning off of or sitting down on the outside of one of China's tallest buildings－340.6 meters above the ground.

The Jinmao Tower, in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai's Pudong New Area, will launch a program on Thursday that allows visitors to walk on an open-air glass walkway outside the building's 88th floor.

The skywalk on the 420.5-meter-tall Jinmao Tower is about 60 meters long and just 1.2 meters wide, without a handrail. Visitors are harnessed to an overhead rail system that allows them to move about freely on the walkway.

The attraction is believed to be the world's highest outdoor, handrail-free walkway on a skyscraper. Macao Tower Skywalk X allows visitors to take a 15- to 20-minute open-air walk around the outer rim of the Macao Tower, 233 meters above the ground.

The management team of Jinmao's skywalk said on Wednesday that the Shanghai attraction offers visitors a thrilling but safe opportunity to look out over the city. They said the project does not damage or overload the building.

Xia Ming, 35, who works for a Japanese company in Shanghai, said he has great interest in attempting to walk on the glass platform, from which visitors can reportedly see as far as Chongming Island on clear days.

"But they have to make sure that the armored glass under my feet is very solid and my safety belt won't get loose," he added.

Visitors pay 388 yuan ($58)－298 yuan for students－to stay up to 30 minutes on the platform, although a discount is being offered during the attraction's trial period.

A maximum of 15 people are allowed on the platform at any time, and there are always two safety instructors to provide assistance, the management team said.