By Sheng Yulei, Ye Chuanzeng, People’s Daily
In just less than three minutes, an elevator transported nine students from the valley floor of Nizhu River Grand Canyon to a cableway platform 268 meters above. After stepping out, the students boarded a cable car and reached their mountaintop school – the Guanzhai Village Primary School – within five to six minutes.
What was once a perilous three- to four-hour trek now takes merely half an hour, thanks to a “sky school bus” that soars through the clouds.
Located atop the Nizhu River Grand Canyon in Puli township, Xuanwei, southwest China’s Yunnan province, the Guanzhai Village Primary School sits at an elevation of 1,650 meters. Nizhu River village, a natural village under the administration of the Guanzhai Village Committee, lies at the bottom of the canyon at 1,100 meters above sea level.
For generations, to reach their classrooms, children from Nizhu River Village had to trek up the gorge along a perilous “sky road,” scaling cliffs and wading through rivers – a journey that took three to four hours on foot.
In October 2022, a 268-meter-high elevator and an aerial cableway spanning nearly 200 meters in elevation officially went into operation, providing the children with a direct “sky bus” to school. Their journey to class is now not only much safer but also comes with a touch of sci-fi wonder, as if they are gliding through the clouds. What once felt “tough” has now turned into something “cool.”
This uplifting story echoes the progress of the times, reflects the resilience of the human spirit, and embodies a shift in mindset.
It is a path of unyielding perseverance.
The canyon’s abyss and cliffs were not just physical barriers but walls that stifled education and opportunity. Grandparents of the children carved crude footholds into stone; fathers of them built stair-like cliffside paths. Each generation labored to keep knowledge flowing through these mountains, breaking cycles of poverty.
Today, modern infrastructure carries their legacy forward, propelling young dreams toward horizons once unimaginable.
It is a path of boundless potential.
How does a secluded village bridge centuries of isolation? The answer lies in reimagining development. By embracing eco-tourism, the area has birthed cafes, bars, and local cuisine hubs, empowering over 1,600 residents from 300 households to thrive without leaving home.
Where “barren hills and treacherous waters” once defined hardship, lush landscapes now draw visitors, proving that “lush mountains and lucid waters” are invaluable assets.
It is a path of unconventional modernization.
To drive development, local authorities introduced tourism projects, leading to the construction of the cliffside elevator and cableway as supporting infrastructure. To serve the people, the canyon scenic area set up a green channel, allowing villagers and students to ride for free with priority access.
Development and well-being intertwine. This path – once a road out of poverty – has now become a road to prosperity, vividly demonstrating the principle of ensuring and improving people’s well-being through development. It showcases the virtuous cycle between economic growth and better living standards, highlighting the boundless potential of Chinese modernization.
Nizhu River Village is not an isolated case—thousands of mountain villages across China have been transformed. Guided by forward-thinking ideas and supported by policies and resources, once-barren lands are now full of opportunities, carrying the dreams of many. Through hard work and determination, people are reshaping their destinies and riding the waves of progress to build a better life.
Children from Nizhu River village arrive at the cable station. (Photo by Jia Liyao)
Children from Nizhu River village take a cable car. (Photo by Jia Liyao)
