Chinese woman’s glass bridge proposal to ‘cowardly’ boyfriend backfires because he was frightened to take the plunge

A Chinese woman who challenged her “cowardly” boyfriend to overcome his fear of heights and walk across a glass-bottomed bridge in return for her hand in marriage has been rebuffed, local media reported.

The woman set up her unconventional proposals by dressing up in a wedding dress and standing next to a car and briefcase containing 100,000 yuan (US$14,500) in cash as a dowry on the bridge 350 metres (1,150ft) above the ground in Zhengzhou, Henan province, said Henan Daily.

Footage published by Pear Video on Wednesday showed her standing next to a red banner reading: “If you dare to walk across the bridge, I’ll marry you.”

But despite the apparent efforts of the man’s friends to persuade him to cross, he flatly refused and left the site.

Staff members at the bridge on Fuxi mountain admitted helping the woman’s proposal, but denied claims that the whole venture was a publicity stunt, telling news portal Thepaper.cn they just “help tourists to do what they want”.

The woman was filmed shouting at the man through a microphone, saying: “Though I’m happy to have been in love with you for three years and my parents are pushing us to get married, I can’t marry you.

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“You wonder why? You have a weakness that I can’t bear at all – cowardice and a fear of heights!”

But he turned away and walked off, complaining she was “irresponsible” and had put their relationship in jeopardy.

The woman late told Henan Daily that she was now going to break up with him for good.

The horseshoe-shaped bridge opened to the public in June and while some social media users expressed sympathy for the couple, others questioned whether it was all just a publicity stunt.

A staff member at the site named Ge told Thepaper.cn on Thursday that they hadn’t organised the incident, but “just helped a little bit”.

“It’s not the first time that lovers have arranged a proposal on the bridge and many young couples also ask to take wedding photography there,” Ge added.