The Bailong Elevator ( Highest Outdoor Elevator In The world), Zhangjiajie, China

The Bailong Elevator is a glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangjiajie, People's Republic of China that is 326 m (1,070 ft) high. It is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. Construction of the elevator began in October 1999, and it was opened to the public by 2002. The environmental effects of the elevator have been a subject of debate and controversy, as the Wulingyan area was designated a World Heritage Site in 2002. Operations were stopped for 10 months in 2002–2003, reportedly due to safety concerns, not environmental ones. On 16 July 2015, the elevator was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest outdoor lift.

 

The name Bailong means A Hundred Dragons in English. Therefore, Bailong Elevator is also known as Hundred Dragons Elevator. The elevator is located in the World Heritage site Wulingyuan Scenic Area. It took a mere three years to build this architectural marvel! When the proposal of creating such an elevator appeared, the engineers just wanted to help tourists enjoying the scenery in ease and convenient. With the discussion went on, more and more environmental ideas were added. Considering not to upset the natural balance of the neighborhood, half of the elevator was embedded in and half out of the cliff. In order to perfectly “hidden” in the surroundings, all of the elevators were fitted with glass windows. And finally, such a special elevator created. 

 

 

Usually, hiking from the bottom of Yuanjiajie to its top needs about 2 hours so, Bailong Elevator is an attraction itself. Besides, it is also a time-saving way for you to get up or down the hill. Bailong Elevator is very magnificent. The total height of it is 335 meters (1099 feet), of which the running height is 326 meters (1069 feet). 154 meters (505 feet) of the total height is in the mountain wells and the rest of 172 meters (564 feet) was composed of steel derrick and other components. The Elevator includes three exposure sightseeing elevators running parallelly. Each elevator can take 64 passengers every time and the speed is 3 m / s (the speed has been accelerated to 5m / s since 2013). If the three elevators run simultaneously, the amount of one-way passengers will reach 4,000 per hour.

The construction of Bailong Elevator can allow people to “go sightseeing up the mountain during the day, stay down the mountain at night in one day". So it provides convenience in transportation for visitors. Moreover, passengers can appreciate peerless scenery in the elevator, including World Bridge of Yuanjiajie, Wulong village and Yangjiajie etc. The elevator integrates Mount Tianzi, Yuanjiajie, Jinbian Stream as a single entity, solving traffic bottlenecks problem in this scenic spot which bothers the visitors for many years.