In the mountains of central Vietnam, a colossal pair of hands lifts a golden walkway high above the clifftops, as if the mountain itself has sprouted limbs.

"I feel like I am walking on clouds," said tourist Vuong Thuy Linh from Hanoi. "It is so unique."

Cau Vang, or the Golden Bridge, in the Ba Na Hills, near Da Nang city, has attracted scores of tourists since it opened in June.

The 150m-long pedestrian walkway was designed by Ho Chi Minh City-based company TA Landscape Architecture. The glimmering structure sits at more than 1,000m above sea level, offering tourists uninterrupted views of the majestic landscape beneath.

The bridge was designed to evoke the image of the "giant hands of gods pulling a strip of gold out of the land", said Mr Vu Viet Anh, design principal at TA Landscape Architecture. He added that he had been surprised at the level of attention the design had attracted, both locally and internationally.

The Ba Na Hills, a popular getaway for the French during the colonial occupation of Vietnam, received more than 2.7 million visitors last year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The Golden Bridge and its huge hand-shaped supports look set to be the top attraction there.

REUTERS