The world's tallest outdoor elevator is located in the heart of "Pandora"
At 326 meters high, the world's tallest outdoor elevator brings thousands of tourists every year to [...]
China
With its 326 meters of height, the'World's tallest outdoor elevator' brings thousands of tourists every year to admire breathtaking views. And if those views remind you of anything, know that you're not wrong: they inspired the settings of Avatar.
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We are in the China central, exactly in the Zhangjiajie Forest Park, known worldwide for its spectacular sandstone pillars (the tallest exceed 900 meters!). On one of them is the Bailong Elevator. A project that, despite much controversy, represents an impressive feat of engineering. Its three double-decker elevators manage to ascend the cliff in 88 seconds. A minute and a half along the sandstone wall: an unforgettable thrill, which is accompanied by the feeling of being in the blue jungle of Pandora (home of the Na'vi people in James Cameron's film).
credit: Wikipedia | Nyx Ning 湖南 张家界 百龙天梯 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Records of the world's tallest outdoor elevator
Started in 1999, with an investment of about $20 million, the Bailong elevator was opened to the public in 2002. Built in the middle of a quartz sandstone wall, it saw the excavation of tunnels and shafts to house the three two-story elevators.
Each elevator has a load capacity of 4,900 kilograms, with 50 passengers traveling in each car. All this means that the Bailong elevator is not only the world's tallest outdoor elevator, but also The world's tallest double-decker panoramic elevator and the'World's fastest passenger traffic elevator' With that carrying capacity.
"The geologic structure of the site is very suitable for the use of elevators as a means of transportation, which is why we built the Bailong Elevator" explained Liu Jie, the director of the company that operates the elevator (whose name means "Hundred Dragons"). "Before there was only one cable car With limited capacity, so tourists had to wait a long time" Liu added.
Credit: www.zhangjiajieguide.com
The controversy
However, the idea of building a huge elevator in the middle of a UNESCO world heritage site has stirred up quite a bit of controversy from environmentalists. Indeed, the latter have claimed that the construction would attract Even more tourists to an already popular site, exercising further Pressure on the park and its infrastructure.
In contrast, the opinion of Bailong Elevator supporters is different, who believe that the elevator has significantly Reduced damage to mountain trails, as tourists can now bypass them altogether. He also added that visitors can organize day trips within the park. Previously, tourists had to drive more than three hours along what was sometimes a dangerous mountain road to access different parts of the site. Now they only have to wait in line for a minute and a half elevator ride. With tourists no longer needing to stay overnight, many hotels and guesthouses have been removed, further reducing the environmental impact of tourism in the park.
How to get to the elevator
The Bailong elevator is located in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Zhangjiajie, in the Hunan Province of China. Buses, which leave from Zhangjiajie Main Station, take 45 to 60 minutes to reach Wulingyuan (but there are also shuttle buses from the airport). Once inside the park, there are four bus lines, two of which stop at the elevator.
