A sky-high school commute: from a grueling 3-hour trek to a 30-minute ride
Can you imagine it used to take the children of Nizhu River Canyon in China's southwest Yunnan Province 3 hours of trekking dangerous treks to get to their Guanzhai Primary School at the mountaintop?
The 550-meter drop of trecherous trekking and climbing now have been reduced to a 30 minutes, thanks to a "sky school bus."
For decades, children from Nizhu River Village endured a perilous three-hour journey to school, climbing steep cliffs and crossing rugged terrain. Their path was a treacherous mix of hand-carved footholds, makeshift ladders, and narrow ridges.
Local school children would need to trek through mountainous area to get to school prior to 2014.
Known locally as "Bat Cave" and "Gecko Trail," these routes tested the courage of generations of students. Falling snow or rain often turned these already risky paths into slippery and unforgiving challenges.
Locals used have to climb the "Gecko Trail," a steep climb with a 11-meter drop, to get outside of their village.
The turning point came in 2017 when Xuanwei City initiated the Nizhu River Grand Canyon Ecological and Cultural Tourism Project. By late 2018, construction began on a vertical cliff elevator and a cable car system.
Children ride the elevator.
The 268-meter-high elevator and the nearly 200-meter-high cable car were officially launched in 2022, transforming access to the canyon. Now, nine students from Nizhu River Village attending Guanzhai Primary School can reach the 1,650-meter-high mountaintop school in just 30 minutes.
After the construction of the bionic walkway in the scenic area, children can safely walk to school. The canyon walkway spans 3.5 kilometers and takes 50 minutes to complete.
The new "sky school bus" has done more than shorten the commute. It has brought safety and dignity to the children's educational journey.
Parents, once wracked with worry, can now rest easy, knowing their children's path to school is safe. The remaining energy and time are redirected toward learning and personal growth.
The vertical cliff elevator.
Students, who used to dread the dangerous trails, now find joy in their commute. "The elevator is so fast – it feels like just a blink, and we're at the top!" shared one child. Another excitedly likened the cable car to their personal school bus.
Students ride the cable car. Combined with the elevator, the 3-hour dangerous trekking commute to school has been reduced to just 30 minutes.
This transformation hasn't just benefited the students. The Nizhu River Grand Canyon is now a 4A-rated tourist destination, creating local jobs and boosting the economy. Some villagers have returned from working away to start businesses, enabling their children to rejoin the local school system.
