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11 Aug, 2015 17:42

Stairway to heaven: Fireworks artist creates stunning ladder in mid-air (VIDEO)

Stairway to heaven: Fireworks artist creates stunning ladder in mid-air (VIDEO)

As it turns out, there really is a stairway to heaven, but you can’t climb it because it’s made of fireworks. A Chinese artist created a sparkling, mid-air ladder, lighting up the night sky one step at a time. A video of the dazzling event has gone viral.

The 80-second clip begins just after the fireworks were set off, revealing the first few steps of the ladder to the soundtrack of cracking and popping.

As the video continues, awed spectators can be heard in the background as the ‘Sky Ladder’ becomes longer and longer – eventually reaching an impressive height of 1,650 feet (503 meters).

The remarkable spectacle – which took place in Quanzhou, southeastern China, in June – was the brainchild of Cai Guoqiang, an artist known for using gunpowder in his displays.

But although the spectacle had an air of magic to it, the ladder didn’t really appear out of thin-air.

Cai actually used a ladder made of metal wire and aluminum to pull off the impressive pyrotechnic show. He then covered it with fireworks and gunpowder before attaching it to the bottom of a hot air balloon, Yahoo News reported.

But while this particular display went off without a hitch, it was actually Cai’s third attempt at creating the ‘Sky Ladder.’

He attempted a similar show in 1994, but strong winds prevented the balloon from taking off. The artist tried again in 2001, when Shanghai hosted the APEC summit, but was forced to put his plans on hold due to restricted aerial access following the 9/11 attacks.

However, 2015 proved to be Cai’s year – and perhaps for a very special reason. The artist dedicated the ‘Sky Ladder’ to his grandmother, who just celebrated her 100th birthday.

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