Bailong Elevator: An Elevator Built Into the Side of a Mountain

The Bailong Elevator, also known as the Hundred

Dragons Elevator, carries tourists 1,070ft (330m) up the

side of a massive sandstone column in a mountain

range in China's Hunan Province.

This glass elevator stands 330 meters

tall and is claimed to be the highest and heaviest

outdoor elevator in the world. Quite possibly, it is the

only elevator in the world that lets people ride up a cliff.

The elevator can take ~48 passengers at once to the

top, a journey that takes 2 seconds shy of 2 minutes.

After it was built, the lift was said to be the world's

tallest full-exposure outdoor lift, tallest double-deck

sightseeing elevator, and the fastest passenger elevator

with the biggest capacity.

The elevator was built during 1999 and 2002 at the

cost of 120 million yuan or $19 million. The project was

met with fierce criticism from environmentalists who

were angry that it was sited in the middle of a World

Heritage Site.

After the project was opened to the public in 2002 it

was quickly shut down temporarily because of safety,

rather than environmental concerns.

It reopened in 2003 and now has a cult following from

tourists keen to ride a lift known as one of the most

terrifying in the world for its sheer drop views down to

the bottom of the valley.

Those whose fear of heights prohibits them from taking

the lift can instead take a two-and-a-half hour walk up

the valley.

The lift ride takes around a minute to reach the top,

from where tourists can see breath-taking views of the

area's quartzite sandstone pillars.