China’s treacherous Lanying Cliff Road carved entirely out of the mountains

Located in Wuxi County in Southwest China, the Lanying Cliff Road is a beautiful, yet one of the world’s most dangerous roads. It is also one of the most famous Chinese tunnel roads, the path of which has been entirely carved out of the mountains.

Set on the southern slopes of the central Daba Mountains, it’s an extremely narrow road, and also serves as the only transportation route connecting Lanying village to the outside world. Before it was built, residents were required to travel almost an entire day to exit the mountainous area. They also had to make a six-hour stair climb to get to a nearby area, and the stairs were definitely not too safe-looking.
As per the reports, this 1.2 km road from the side of the cliff was constructed by villagers in 2001, who made all the efforts to hammer out a road along a cliff to connect their town to the outside world. With a drop of more than 1000 m, this road is extremely dangerous, although the drive offers some of the exciting views over Lanying Grand Canyon, the deepest canyon in Chongqing.

If reports are to go by, the road has been hand-carved by the villagers, and took more than 15 years. The road seems to be a hanging wall highway, a daring feat that drivers try every time they take this path.
Further, reports add that now the extremely narrow road, also known as the ‘Sky Road’ has been widened and paved, and has improved travel convenience of the villagers in this area. Also, the village has built a viewing platform, street lamps, hiking trails, toilets, and other infrastructure.