The world’s longest moving stairway has begun ferrying tourists to the top of a mountain in Hubei province in central China.
The 688-m-long structure is consists of a reinforced concrete frame clad with sustainable wood, and an ancient type of glazed roof tile. It begins at the Qixing Village resort, then snakes up a vertical height of 200m to the scenic Enshi Grand Canyon.
The $5.2m structure can ferry 7,300 tourists an hour, and according to China Daily, 600,000 people a year are expected to pay their $3 for the 18 minute ride.
Xiong Yan, the man in charge of the project, who works at Central-South Architectural Design Institute, told media: "The whole engineering plan focused on ecological protection, which can be seen from the wooden structure and grey tile at the top of the escalator."
Climbing plants have been arranged next to the elevator, and it is hoped that it will blend "harmoniously" into the scenery over time.
Image: The escalator has opened for China’s National Day Golden Week Holiday (YouTube)
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