Bailong Elevator
This record belongs to the "Hundred Dragon Lift"
The Bailong elevator made it into the "Guinness Book of Records".
© WAN CHEUK NANG / Shutterstock.com
The Bailong Elevator in China is the tallest outdoor elevator in the world. Even a Hollywood director found inspiration in the area.
In the Chinese Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, in the province of Hunan, a special tourist attraction towers skyward between dense forests and steep rock faces. At 326 meters, the Bailong elevator is the highest outdoor elevator in the world and has been recognized as such by the "Guinness Book of Records" since 2015. Located on a steep cliff, the view from the terminus of the "Elevator of the Hundred Dragons" provided inspiration for a Hollywood blockbuster.
Construction of the elevator, which translates as "a hundred dragons", began in 1999 and was inaugurated in 2002. Three months after the opening, operations came to a standstill due to safety concerns, as the Chinese Ministry of Construction announced at the time. The lift finally started operating in 2003 – without any incidents since then. Even earthquake sensors are built into the elevator, and the elevator switches off in the event of vibrations. Three glass cabins each transport up to 50 people within a minute and 42 seconds.
As soon as the 326 meters of altitude have been overcome, a spectacular view of the national park awaits the visitors – and its columns made of quartz sandstone. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is part of the Wulingyuan area, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. In addition to the elevator, the national park has the highest glass floor bridge in the world. It is 430 meters long and can hold up to 800 people.
Inspiration for the floating mountains in "Avatar"
The bizarre rock formations in the national park apparently also inspired director James Cameron (66) and his team for the blockbuster "Avatar" (2009). The quartz sandstone supposedly served as a template for the floating mountains of the planet Pandora, called "Hallelujah Mountains" in the film. In the meantime, one of the almost 3,000 vertical pillars has been officially renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain".
The Federal Foreign Office is currently advising against traveling to China due to the corona pandemic. If you want to visit the Bailong Elevator and the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park later, you should have time, because the 50 square kilometer national park invites you to go on extensive exploratory tours – either alone or with a guide.