This Chinese Village Has NO ROAD ACCESS — Only A Giant Elevator

hour's drive until the driver drops me at some point at the entrance of the sinkhole, and from there I have to walk. The road is winding, and we've been driving in the valley for a while. And I wish that I had a driving license so that I could do a road trip myself. I'm still working toward it. So last time I went back home, I took some of the classes. I finished the written test, but I still have the real driving classes to take. Hopefully I can get it by the end of this year, because it would be so nice if I could just drive a car and do a road trip

myself. Eat! Look at this. Just one person? Just me. So what do you want to eat? Then I'll have a stir-fry dish. I think I'll get a stir-fry. Hello, welcome! Boss, can I have the stir-fried cabbage with pork? Sure. I'll take that, and some rice. Okay, do you want it with liver or chicken? Let me ask you, can I leave a piece of luggage here for a while? Yes, you can. I might— uh, come pick it up this afternoon or tomorrow noon. That's fine, right? Sure. Thanks! You're welcome. Okay, thank you. Hello there! Are you staying down there? Yes. And you walked

up? Yeah. How long does it take to get to the bottom? An hour and a half. Okay, thanks! I haven't run into many people. I saw a couple of old grandpas and grandmas, perhaps they are from the village down in the valley. And at the entrance, there are two roads, and this is the way going down on foot. But there is also another way which is behind me— there is the elevator. So well, let me move slowly. When you are here, you'll realize how immense this elevator is. Look, so— this is a cliff; it's about this much, but the elevator is double the size,

man. This is crazy. There's a big canyon, and there is a waterfall. How much farther is it? Well, you've just started! I've just started. Okay. They told me that when that elevator was built, it was the world's longest inclined elevator. So I don't know what the ranking is right now, because every year new records are being broken. Almost there, almost there! Just a little bit more. Hahaha! Finally, I almost reached the bottom now. I see a few more households there. There is also a path going to the back of that mountain. Perhaps there are some more

people living in this valley. Oh, my legs are so sore right now. Hidden at the bottom of this canyon is one of China's most isolated villages. Today, an elevator connects it to the outside world. But what was life like before, and what is it like today? Boss, how many households are living down here? How many families? There are still over 30 households now. Over 30? There used to be over 70. Over 70 before. Right. Did they all move away? Some left on their own. Where did they go? They went to various places— Jingzhou, Wuhan, and settled there. They

moved out. It wasn't convenient for kids to go to school. If they made money outside, they'd buy a house out there. Buy a house. So when did people first start living here? How many years ago did people settle here? Over 300 years. I see. Over 300 years. We came up from Hunan over 300 years ago. We're from Hunan. Hunan? Changde, Hunan. Oh, Changde! Cixi County? Why did you move here back then? To escape the wars. In Hunan, there was fighting— war. It was a time of chaos. The older generation said, well, they didn't want to die in Hunan, so they found a

remote place to hide. So before this elevator was built, how did you get in and out? Without the elevator, let me tell you, did you come down via the plank road? You came down from the plank road. Isn't there a small road on the opposite side? A small path? It's also 48 switchbacks. You go up the switchbacks and reach the ticket office up there. Can you drive up there? No, you can't. Just a dirt path. Hahaha! So how did you get up there—did you run? We walked up. When you walked up, people down below would call out to let you know— oil, salt, rice,

soy sauce, vinegar, tea— all those things were carried by hand. No different. Now we're talking about the past. We raised our own pigs, and chickens, and vegetables— everything we grew in our own fields. Right. So can you take the elevator to get in and out now? Yes, you can. It's 30 yuan per person. Don't they give you free rides? No way—it's state-owned. So do you take it when you go out? If it's urgent, if there's an emergency, then we take it. Yeah. It's not easy to get out. Not easy at all. You see, I built this house— now there's a freight

cable car. During the pandemic, when I built this house, it was the peak of the pandemic. Because I used to run outdoor tours, but there was no business then. Due to the pandemic, I decided to build a house. I took the old house— old houses like this one— yeah, and tore it all down. So this house here is also yours? That's my big brother's. Big brother's? Yes. We're three brothers. Three of us. The middle one is the eldest. Oh, so this one is the eldest's? Yes. And over here, I'm on the 276-square-meter plot—that's the second brother. Second

brother. Second. And that's the third. Third, yes. And what about the one in front? That one is also the eldest's. Oh, the eldest's. The eldest built it. It's for the three brothers. Yes, the three brothers all live in one courtyard. Hahaha! One family living together. Yes, one family here. Wow! Are you staying two nights? Just one night. Okay. How much is it per night here? Normally it's 188, but I'll give it to you for 150. That's my room for today— 150 yuan, and I got an inn. And he told me secretly, don't tell anyone else that I got a special

price. It's going to be a very quiet night. This is my work. This is what I love. So the brother is also a wood artist. Yes, this is golden-thread nanmu. Golden-thread nanmu. Where did you get the wood? From down below at Luyuan Lake, back before it was developed. Because I like making root carvings, I enjoy exploring different woods. Ah, this is my work. Wow! This Bodhidharma— did you carve this? Yes, I carved it. Hahaha! This is a burl from a boxwood. A burl pattern! Boxwood is also— this is also golden-thread nanmu. Wow! This is a tree burl. It

looks like a turtle. Yes, this is the first piece I ever made. Hahaha! It's all by hand. A tree burl. Yes, a tree burl. One whole burl. It's one solid piece. I just modified it a little, shaped it a bit, and it ended up looking like a turtle. But I also like drinking. Look, this is my hobby. And some guests share the same interest. This is made with lingzhi and corn wine. Wow! This is deer antler wine. Deer antler? Yes, deer antler. We raise sika deer down here—this is their antler. Deer antler—wow! Yeah. This is deer— deer blood wine. Deer blood

wine. This is deer blood wine. Hahaha! Welcome to this Chinese guy's liquor library. There are so many different kinds. It's basically different Chinese medicinal wines. He definitely has passion for life. This is— fruit wine. This is plum. Mountain plum wine—very nice. And blueberry. Blueberry, blueberry. That's one of his first works. This is a handmade knife. Handmade—electric tools make it easier. It has a very rustic, ancient feel. Very nice—I think it looks great. It has a very primitive charm. Very primitive and simple. Yes, it looks like

an antique, almost like a cultural relic. It reminds me of artifacts from the Shang Dynasty. Exactly like that. That brother is so happy with what he has—his positivity is contagious. I thoroughly enjoyed his liquor library journey. And also, his wife opened a small shop—like a food stand here. We make everything ourselves. The meat looks really good. Yes. Everything is made at home—wrapped by us. So you can eat with confidence. Guests feel safe and at ease too. At ease. What's this? That's Dangshen (codonopsis root). Yeah. My husband dug these

herbs from the mountains himself. Your husband is truly talented! Hahaha! So many hobbies! Yes, his hobbies— You'll see two very interesting attractions. One is called "Chunyang Peak," and the other is called "Yunü Cave" (Jade Maiden Cave). That's a big cave on that cliff that you can see from here, and the other one is a peak. So basically, one symbolizes the vagina, and the other symbolizes a penis. It's pretty straightforward. And let's also visit their garden. As he said, they have their own chickens and ducks under the big tree. And the granny is

harvesting— she's weeding. The garden is just next to their house here. If I walk a bit further, I see a few more households. Excuse me, is the waterfall this way? Right? The waterfall? It's this way. Oh, I need to go that way. Oh. Okay, thanks. What I want to get close to is a waterfall, but I decided to explore a bit further. There are a few more households in the valley. Wow, look— You know, when I get retired, I also want to live in a place like this— get a small house, a garden, and a cat, some free-roaming chickens. I'll pick up the eggs

every day. And I'll watch my tomatoes and chili peppers grow. Sister, can I order now? We have meat, sausages— sausages, yes. Our own homemade cured meat. We have sausages, cabbage, and some greens, and free-range chicken! Hahaha! It depends on how much you can eat. Hold on— How about I start with some wontons? Just wontons. Wontons, please. If that's not enough, I'll order more. Just wontons? Join us for some dishes! We have stew— cured meat, pig trotters, and cabbage. Haha, great! Okay, thanks! Thank you! Great, great. OK. Wontons—wow! Freshly

wrapped! For the guest! Thank you, boss! Hahahaha! Let me toast to you all! Cheers! Thank you, brother and sister! Wait, wait— let me first taste his wine. Hahaha! This is plum wine. Plum wine—what about yours? Mine is medicinal wine. Medicinal wine. Cheers to you too! Hahahaha! Sour! Smoked ribs—try some. Okay, it might be a bit spicy. Wow! A bit spicy! Just the bone. Such a big piece of meat! It's just a bone—that's a bone. Have another one. There's none left inside. Is this cured meat? Yes. Cured and smoked. Right. It's like fruit wine. You

say it's low-alcohol—I find that hard to believe. I think you're pulling my leg. Soaked with grapes— home-brewed. Whole grapes. Sour, sour. Oh, the grape flavor is really strong. Yes, it's quite tasty. No additives added. Here, we make our own grape wine. Now I've moved to a second table because I found a group of hikers here. That one who sings folk songs— he's the inheritor of the Zhu family's folk singing. He's known as the number-one Tujia folk singer—Uncle Zhu. Can he sing? Today, we even represented Enshi in a competition. For Enshi

Prefecture. Uncle— (dialect unintelligible) Hahaha! Can you—can you sing one for us? He hasn't finished his wine yet. If I finish it, will you sing? Yes! Okay, I'll drink. Hahaha! My grandma can sing 500 folk songs. My second uncle and aunt can sing too. He can also sing. The three of us sing together. His— Let grandma start with one first, then they'll do one, and then we'll all sing together. Hahahaha! Awesome! So lively! I want to hear them sing, because apparently they have their own folk singing tradition— Tujia folk songs. (lyrics

unintelligible) Little sister waves her hand— (lyrics unintelligible) Little sister waves her hand— (lyrics unintelligible) Hahaha! Thank you! Thank you! Wow! Yesterday, the guesthouse owner told me that this used to be a sulfur factory— a sulfur mining area. And that house over there used to be the factory, and all those areas are the mining areas. So it was very polluted. But it's so hard to imagine the industrial past of this place because now it's so green. Nowadays, they are developing tourism in this small village, so there is even a shuttle

bus that you can just hop on and hop off, and there is also a deer garden. Where did these sika deer come from? They were brought from Jingmen, over there. From Jingmen? Yes, brought here to raise. Wow! You won't even take it from my hand? There's none left. If you want more, you can reach out and touch them— it's okay. They won't bite. Come here, come here— One day, when I have my own house in the countryside with a big yard, I'll buy one of these. I just took the elevator up, and now I'm saying goodbye to this beautiful village. It felt so

otherworldly— it felt so unreal. This village is one of the most unique villages I've visited. And I hope you enjoyed this video. Thanks for watching, and now I'm going back to the city eventually. Bye-bye!