Reposted from CGTN

The world's largest glass blown castle, housed at Shanghai Museum of Glass, has been broken into pieces after two children knocked the showcase down, the museum announced over the weekend.

The Fantasy Castle was made by Spanish glassblower Miguel Arribas, based on the iconic Cinderella Castle at Disney World Resort. It was presented as a gift to the museum in 2016 to mark its fifth anniversary.

The 60-kilogram artwork is worth around 450,000 yuan (64,000 U.S. dollars) and features spires made with 24-karat gold.

It took the artist 500 hours to complete the castle, using 500,000 glass loops, according to Manuel Arribas, co-founder of the Arribas Brothers, a chain of glass and crystal shops at Disney Parks around the world.

According to the museum, the accident happened on May 30. Two children touring the facility crossed the belt barrier and toppled the display case, causing the castle to fall. The main spire was broken while other parts suffered different degrees of damage.

The museum said they have contacted the artists as they sought to repair the artwork, but because of travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, they are unable to travel to China at the moment.

Shanghai Museum of Glass apologized to visitors for not being able to present the collection in its entirety and urged them to follow the guidelines and refrain from running and crossing the protective railings.

The parents of the two children have apologized for the incident and promised to take responsibility for the repairs.

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