Zhang Fanying and her two children get ready to head to Yushan village, in the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province on July 23. Photo: Xinhua

 

Residents of a remote mountain village in Central China’s Hubei Province have relied on a kilometer-long cable to cross the valley for 16 years.

The isolated village of Yushan, located in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Hubei, is 150 kilometers away from the nearest county town. Surrounded by cliffs and a deep valley, the village is without roads to the outside world.

Built in 1997, the kilometer-long cable car involves a rudimentary steel cage suspended 480-meters in the air to help local villagers not only travel, but to bring in supplies. 

The local government is currently building a road to the village, and plans to retire the cable car upon completion. 

A villager (left) prepares to transport goods to the next town via the cable car July 23. Photo: Xinhua

A local man rides the cable car back home on July 23. Photo: Xinhua

An elderly woman takes the steel cable car across the kilometer-long valley on July 23. Photo: Xinhua

Villager Zhang Xinjun and his wife embark on a shopping trip July 23. Photo: Xinhua

Yushan village resident Zhang Fanying and her two children ride the cable car home on July 23. Photo: Xinhua