In 2022, authorities in Yunnan Province inaugurated the 268-meter Qingyun Ladder elevator to help the children of Nizhuhe village, located deep inside the Nizhu River Grand Canyon, reach their school without having to climb for hours. Every three weeks or so, the children had to undertake a perilous three-hour climb to the Guanzhai Village Primary School, but the elevator built alongside a vertical cliffside took them up the mountain in a matter of minutes.
Qingyun Ladder elevator was a massive logistical achievement that made national and international headlines at the time of its inauguration. One could say that it became too popular for its own good, as tourists started flocking to the scenic area to ride it. It soon became blatantly obvious that the elevator capacity was insufficient to satisfy demand, with people sometimes waiting in lines for hours.
The children for whom the elevator was originally built could ride it free of charge, but they also had to wait their turn in line during busy periods. Luckily, the waiting period was recently cut in half thanks to the inauguration of a second panoramic elevator built right next to the first one. The new Fuyao Ladder elevator stands 288 metres, or about 945 feet, above the canyon floor, making it one of the most impressive outdoor elevators in the world.
The Fuyao elevator is faster and more spacious than the first one, while its shaft is 20 meters longer. The children it serves still have to take a shuttle to the outdoor elevator, then board a cable car, but they still reach their school in about 30 minutes, as opposed to the three hours it took them before. Not to mention the six-hour-long round trip.
“Before, I had to carry my things and walk for three hours on mountain roads to get to school, and if I wasn’t careful, I could easily slip and fall,” one student told Xinhua News.
Thanks to the twin elevators, one of the most tiring and dangerous journeys to school has now become one of the most exciting in the world.
