The Bailang River Bridge Ferris Wheel is an enormous Ferris wheel located in Weifang, in the Shandong Province, in the eastern part China. The Ferris wheel has been constructed on top of the 540 meters/1,771 feet long Bailang River Bridge that passes over the beautiful Bailing River. Hence, the wheel has been named the Bailang River Bridge Ferris wheel. It is also known as ‘Eye of the Bohai Sea.’
The Ferris wheel opened to the public on May 16, 2018. It is set to soon become the most eye-catching and popular landmark in not just Weifang, but also in China and around the world. The amusement park-like attraction is 476 feet/145 meters tall. It is thus 10 meters taller than the world renowned and most popular Ferris wheel in the world, i.e., the London Eye located in London, the UK.
The Bailang River Ferris wheel is a spokeless and centerless hollow Ferris wheel. It is the first Ferris wheel to be built over a bridge. The wheel overlooks the area where the Bailang River merges into the Bohai Sea, thereby offering tourists a mesmerizing and clear view of the city and the natural landscape from high up in the sky, up above the Bohai Sea, the Bailang River, and the Haihe River.
The builders used around 4,600 tons of steel to build the giant Ferris wheel. The architects used a kite grid system of construction. Unlike other Ferris wheels, it does have any internal spokes. The steel beams that crisscross each other hold the when together in place. The structure of the wheel has described as some form of a dragon spine.
The Bailang River Ferris wheel has 36 carriages or carts. The body of the wheel does not rotate, but remains stationary. It is the carriages that move inside the hollow structure of the wheel. The Ferris wheel has a running gear built into the system and it helps rotate the carriages around, inside the wheel, in a circular manner.
Each of the 36 carriages can carry 10 passengers. Thus, the total capacity of the Bailang River Ferris wheel is 360 passengers. The carriages take around 28 minutes to complete the entire circumference of the wheel.
Each of carriages also comes equipped with Wi-Fi and television sets. Thus, visitors can take their pictures from within the carriages during the ride and instantly upload them on varied social networking platforms. Not much is known about the reason for the TV sets. But it is rumored that the TVs will offer real-time footage of a passenger’s location in comparison to the complete wheel.
Before the Bailang River Bridge Ferris wheel, the well-known and popular ‘Turn of Fortune’ Ferris wheel located in Changzhou city, Jiangsu was the tallest spokeless Ferris Wheel in China.
Bailang River Bridge Ferris Wheel – Pictures
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