Video of China 'bending bridge' falsely shared as new tourist attraction in Indonesia

After a distinctive glass tourist bridge opened with limited access in Indonesia, a video spread online with a false claim that it showed the new attraction. However, the clip actually shows China's viral "bending bridge" inaugurated in September 2020, which has a different design to the bridge in Indonesia.

"The glass bridge of Bromo," read a Facebook post shared on November 6, 2024, with an aerial video of people walking on a curved bridge surrounded by mountains.

Bromo is a tourist destination in East Java on Indonesia's main island, known for its active volcano. The region opened a new glass bridge in August but with limited access (archived link).

The video racked up more than 300,000 views in similar posts on Facebook, Instagram and X which claimed it showed the new bridge in Bromo.

However, the video actually shows a pedestrian bridge in the Zhejiang province in eastern China.

'Bending bridge'

A Google reverse image search found a similar video shared on November 3 by an Instagram account that posts about in tourism in China (archived link).

According to the Instagram post, the bridge is located in the Shenxianju scenic area of Taizhou in China's Zhejiang province.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the video seen in the false post (left) and on Instagram (right):

The Ruyi Bridge -- which is composed of three bridges with partial glass decks -- opened in September 2020, according to an article from the state-run China Daily newspaper published on the provincial government website (archived link).

The eye-catching structure spans 100 metres (328 feet) across the Shenxianju Valley and sits at height of 140 metres (460 feet).

A picture by Chinese photo agency Imaginechina, which is available in AFP's archives, shows the bridge with a caption saying it was taken in Zhejiang (archived link).

Meanwhile, the new bridge in Indonesia, the Seruni Point Bridge, is also located at a scenic spot with a view of Mount Bromo, but has a straight design, according to Radar Bromo TV (archived link).

Below is the screenshot comparison between the false video (left) and the Bromo bridge on Radar Bromo TV (right):