No longer needing to rise at dawn. The lives of about twenty Chinese children have become much simpler thanks to a simple elevator. Until now, these inhabitants of Yunnan province in the southwest of the country had to plan for a three-hour trek to reach their school, perched at the top of the Nizhuhe Grand Canyon. With the installation of an elevator called Fuyao and built by the Chinese company Ningbo Hongda Elevator, the journey now takes only half an hour, according to Interesting Engineering.
This glass cabin, which can accommodate up to 81 people at a time, makes it possible to ascend the roughly 288 meters separating the village of Nizhuhe from the other communities in the city of Xuanwei, at the canyon’s edge, in just 50 seconds. To reach Guanzhai School, at an altitude of 1,650 meters, residents must, after exiting the elevator, ride a cable car for 30 minutes.
A 288-meter-high cliff elevator has begun operation at the Nizhuhe Grand Canyon in Xuanwei City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, making it easier and safer for students living at the bottom of the canyon to reach their school on top of the cliff.
Children living more than 500… pic.twitter.com/nOE5PDKZfP— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) August 5, 2026
Tourists also greatly benefit from the new elevator
In 2022, already, a steel elevator named Qingyun had been erected along the canyon’s rock to facilitate journeys. Building a second one was not easy, particularly due to the logistical constraints of installing an elevator in the middle of a canyon that is heavily affected by humidity and fog. But it is now fully functional and complementary to the previous one.
The opening of Fuyao was not only designed to accommodate the handful of exhausted schoolchildren who faced six hours of walking each day to study. It is also a way to attract tourists. Since its inauguration, authorities estimate welcoming up to 15,000 visitors per day.
In China, altitude is no joke
The Chinese are no strangers to elevator feats. In Zhangjiajie National Forest Park sits the Bailong Elevator. It is regarded as the tallest outdoor elevator in the world, capable of climbing up to 326 meters amid the mountains that served as the backdrop for the film Avatar.
To draw in tourists, Chinese authorities are also rolling out even more spectacular attractions: glass bridges and suspended ladders have proliferated in recent years across the country. A way to scare oneself and make a splash on social media… to entice others to visit.
