For children living in Nizhuhe village in southwest China, getting to school once involved far more than simply setting out for the day. The village lies deep within the Nizhu River Grand Canyon, where cliffs and narrow mountain paths separated homes from Guanzhai Village Primary School. A journey that could take around three hours on foot has now been reduced to roughly half an hour, thanks to a transport system built into the canyon itself. Students can travel by shuttle bus, rise hundreds of metres in a cliffside elevator, cross part of the canyon by cable car and then walk the final stretch to school. The latest addition is an even taller elevator, standing 288 metres, or about 945 feet, above the canyon floor. What began as a way to improve access for residents has also helped turn this remote mountain area into an increasingly busy tourist destination. For the pupils, the biggest change is the removal of the most dangerous part of the journey. Instead of navigating steep cliffside paths for hours, they can now make the commute through a series of engineered connections, making regular school attendance safer, faster and far more predictable.
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