Thrill-seekers defy gravity at the top of China's tallest TV tower
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Tourists and their guide crossing a tightrope at the "Landmark Alpha" adventure park at the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China, last week. The park offers extreme sports enthusiasts three different courses at heights ranging from 198m to 298m.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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GUANGZHOU • Walking on tightropes, rappelling down a four-storey-high rope tunnel, sitting in a dangling basket 58 floors high - tourists have been steeling their nerves for adrenaline-filled challenges in a new assault course at the top of China's tallest TV tower.
Thrill-seekers in Guangzhou are rewarded with a rare panoramic view of the cityscape along the Pearl River through the steel structure of the tower, with a sweeping night breeze to break the stifling heat of the southern city.
Wearing helmets and harnesses, tourists can scramble and climb between the columns of the distinctive twisting metal structure, accompanied by a coach who shouts instructions while demonstrating techniques to go through each challenge, pausing occasionally to find the best position to take photos for the challengers.
"I've never had a more exciting experience anywhere," a glowing Mr Peng Xin told Agence France-Presse after finishing the challenge on the 33rd floor, 198m off the ground.
Costing over 80 million yuan (S$16.6 million) and taking more than a year to build, the "Landmark Alpha" adventure park opened in January at the 600m-high Canton Tower.
It offers extreme sports enthusiasts three different courses at heights ranging from 198m to 298m. Adventurers in Guangzhou spend up to 688 yuan per person on a single course at the tower.
The adventure park typically welcomes 200 to 300 tourists during public holidays.
"I thought I was brave enough to do it, but my legs just gave out," confessed one ashen-faced climber.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
