WATCH: Chinese artist builds stairway to heaven with ladder of fireworks

Celebrated Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang is known for creating stunning pyrotechnic works of art. You may remember the giant footprints that lit up Beijing’s sky above the Bird’s Nest Stadium during the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony – the footprints symbolized China walking out into the world.

For his latest “explosion event,” Cai rigged a 500-meter wire ladder lined with fireworks and gunpowder to a large helium balloon to create an ephemeral stairway to heaven in his hometown of Quanzhou in Fujian province. Entitled "Sky Ladder," the two-and-a-half-minute installation was dedicated to Cai’s 100-year-old grandmother.

Admire it below (VPN and non-VPN versions):

Check out Cai Guo-Qiang’s previous work:

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