Discover Zhangjiajie
Bailong Elevator
百龙天梯
A glass lift bolted to a 326-metre cliff, hauling you from the canyon floor to the Yuanjiajie plateau in under two minutes. It is a tourist attraction in its own right as well as the fastest way up.
The story
What makes this place special
The Bailong Elevator is a 326-metre glass lift built into the cliff face at Shuiraosimen in the core scenic area, opened to the public in 2002 and generally cited as the tallest and heaviest outdoor lift in the world. It was built to replace a two to three hour stair climb from the valley floor to the Yuanjiajie plateau, which it now does in under two minutes. It was controversial with conservationists at the time because it sits inside a World Heritage site.
What you’ll discover
You walk through a tunnel bored into the rock to the base of the shaft, then ride up - the lower section is enclosed in the cliff and the upper section is glazed and runs on the outside of the rock face, so the view opens suddenly about halfway up. The ride is short and crowded, with perhaps fifty people in the car, and the view is better looking out than down. At the top you come out onto the Yuanjiajie plateau.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- It is a separate ticket from park entry, and the lift is the one place people are caught out financially. Decide in advance whether you want one way or return; one way up, cable car down from Tianzi Mountain, is the better plan.
- Queue early. It opens around 09:00 and the queue builds within the first hour; in high season an hour's wait at the base is normal, and on holidays much worse.
- Stand at the back of the car as you board, which puts you at the glass wall as it rises. Boarding first and standing at the front means you look at the back of the tunnel.
- There is a stair path up the same cliff for anyone who wants it - two to three hours - and it is a genuine alternative if the queue is absurd and you are fit.
- Do not plan to ride it twice. Going up and down the same way wastes both the fare and the time; the cable cars exist so you can make a loop.
- The shuttle from the East Gate to the elevator base is included in park entry, so you do not need a taxi or a tour to reach it.
When to come
First hour of operation, for the shortest queue and the clearest air on the plateau afterwards. It closes in high wind and lightning, so have the stair path or a cable car as a fallback.
Getting around
This is the thing that makes the plateau reachable without climbing, and it is step-free from the tunnel entrance into the car - a wheelchair can ride it, and staff are used to it. The approach tunnel is long but level. The constraint is the crowd: you are packed into the car with a standing throng, and boarding is a scrum. Going at opening time, when staff can load a chair first, solves most of that. For a bad knee it is the single most valuable ticket in the park.
Worth knowing before you go
Queues of an hour or more are normal from late morning in summer. Go up early or take the Yangjiajie cable car instead and descend by the lift when the crowd has gone the other way.
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