For some people, the fun of mountain climbing lies in the satisfaction of conquering endless stairs and walking through unspoiled forest; but for others, it’s all about the views from the top.
If you happen to be the latter, then this impressive observation lift in China could be your dream attraction.
A set of striking new pictures have emerged of the vertigo-inducing elevator, which is attached to the side of a cliff, overlooking the lush forest and rocky columns in central China’s Wulingyuan Scenic Area.
Not for the faint-hearted! The formidable elevator, named ‘hundred dragons sky lift’, is situated in Wulingyuan Scenic Area in central China
Get ready for the ride of your life: The £13mn project took three years to build and has attracted a large number of tourists to the area
The towering structure, poetically named ‘hundred dragons sky lift’, is the showpiece of the scenic area in Zhangjiajie Forest Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The incredible observation elevator, which is taller than The Shard, can transport visitors to the top of a 1,070-foot-tall cliff (362 metres) from its foot in less two minutes.
According to People’s Daily Online, the £13 million (120 million Yuan) project claims to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world.
To top that, it has set three Guinness World Records: the world’s tallest full-exposure outdoor elevator, the world’s tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator and the world’s fastest passenger elevator with biggest carrying capacity, according to the same article.
The structure is composed of three separate glass elevators, each of which can carry up to 50 people at a time.
This means, up to 1,400 tourists get to experience the stomach-churning ride which offers a sweeping views across Zhangjiajie’s renowned sandstone pillars, thought by some to be the inspiration of the ‘floating peaks’ in Avatar.
Zero to 1,070 feet in two minutes: The structure is composed of three separate elevators, each of which can carry up to 50 people at a time
Stunning views from the top: The stomach-churning ride offers a sweeping views across Zhangjiajie’s renowned sandstone pillars
Are these the ‘floating peaks’? The forest park in Hunan Province is thought by some to be the inspiration of the planet Pandora in Avatar
Work began on the lift in 1999 and finished three years later.
It has been reported that service was halted temporarily due to safety concerns shortly after its opening.
But the lift reopened in 2003 and now has a cult following from tourists keen to experience one of the most terrifying lifts in the world for its sheer drop views down to the bottom of the valley.
Those whose fear of heights prohibits them from taking the lift can instead take a two-and-a-half hour walk up the valley.
The Zhangjiajie, a 3,670-square-mile forest park in Hunan Province, is also building what they call the world’s longest glass-bottomed walkway.
The breath-taking bridge, which stretches a quarter-of-a-mile above a 980-foot-deep canyon, is set to open to the public in May.
The world’s highest outdoor elevator with a magnificent vertical height difference of 335 meters in Zhangjiajie, Central China’s
