Published on: 2026-09-08
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Early in the morning on August 30, Lei Xin, a resident of Nichjuhe Village in Puli Township, Xuanwei City, Yunnan Province in southwest China, put on his backpack and went to school with friends from his native village to register for the new school year. Unlike most of their peers, on the way to school they have to use the so-called “air school bus” – an elevator on a vertical cliff and a high-altitude cableway.
Lei Xin’s home is located at the bottom of the Great Nichzhuhe Canyon. A vertical height difference of more than 500 meters separates the village at the bottom of the gorge from the school at the top of the mountain. To get to school, children from the Nichzhuhe village first need to climb to the top. Previously, the road from the village to the school took almost half a day: the children literally had to climb up, overcoming an extremely difficult route. “In rainy weather, the road became slippery and very dangerous,” Lei Xin recalls about how he used to get to school.
The turning point came in 2022. After the commissioning of the eco-cultural tourist complex in the Great Nichzhuhe Canyon, a 268-meter elevator and a high-altitude cable car began operating here consecutively, which the residents of Nichzhuhe village and nearby settlements can use for free. On July 31, 2026, the second elevator on a sheer cliff with a vertical ascent of 288 meters was officially commissioned.
Now the children from the village first ride for free for 6–7 minutes on the sightseeing vehicle of the tourist complex, then ascend more than 200 meters vertically by elevator and transfer to the cable car cabin. The journey uphill, which used to take more than three hours, has now been reduced to 30 minutes.
To ensure the safety of schoolchildren on their way to and from school, local authorities, together with the administration of the tourist complex, organized a special route for them and stationed employees at certain sections.
Thanks to the “air school bus” that opened the way high in the mountains, the once hard-to-reach mountain village has turned into a popular tourist destination. Lei Xing’s parents opened a guesthouse and a snack bar in the village. Now they don’t need to leave for work elsewhere: a stable income has appeared literally at their doorstep, and living conditions have significantly improved.
This road to the school, built “to the clouds,” leads not only to the fulfillment of children’s dreams but also to an increasingly prosperous future for mountain villages. Photo by Xinhua agency correspondent Chen Xinbo.
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