There's a new adrenaline-filled tourist destination in China, offering travellers a chance to experience their country from the sky. Tianti, a sky ladder, on Mount Qixing in Zhangjiajie Nature Park, in southwestern China's Hunan province, is not for the faint-hearted.
The attraction, 168 metres long, stretches between two cliffs at a height of 5,000 feet, making it one of the most dramatic and daring climbing experiences in China. Built using steel handrails, footrests, tethers and cables, the climbing trail follows a ferrata-style route, enabling tourists to scale steep rock faces.
According to Chinese state media, Tianti has gained popularity, with tourists eager to embark on the perilous climb. One such tourist, He Qian, whose viral video of her experience on the ladder attracted widespread attention on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), explained how her nine-year-old son reacted to the heights. “The feet in this video are mine, and that kid is my son. I was not nervous, my son was, but he was all right soon afterwards,” she told CNN.
He, who runs a nearby bed and breakfast and helps visitors book tickets for the attraction, talked about the tourists frequenting the site. “Those who like to challenge themselves like doing this. I've helped dozens of them get their tickets, they were all scared at the beginning,” she said.
Zhangjiajie's new sky-high attraction gets more than 1,200 visitors daily, according to state-run CCTV. The popularity of the site has even led to instances of “people jams” in the air as crowds gather to experience the exhilarating climb.
This trend has sparked a surge in social media posts, with videos like He Qian's showcasing breathtaking views of the ladder and the surrounding landscape. Yuan Xiaorui, marketing supervisor at Qixing Adventure, the company that operates the attraction, said the three-hour via ferrata experience costs 580 yuan (around Rs 6,700). “The whole process will be accompanied by coaches. Clients are also equipped with helmets, safety belts, and buffer bags (hiking backpacks),” Yuan said that safety was a priority, with regular inspections to ensure the facility remains in optimal condition.
The outdoor sports in China have grown in popularity with over 400 million participants as of August 2024. Other sky-high experiences, such as a cliffside café offering a $56 (around Rs 4,700) cup of coffee with stunning views of Taiwan, and the world's “most inconvenient convenience store,” perched on the side of a mountain in Hunan province, have also proved successful.
