Hundred Dragons Elevator : Bailong Elevator

China has the highest outdoor elevator in the world, dare to try?

Breathtaking cliff face elevator in China is recognized as the world’s tallest outdoor lift

The world's tallest outdoor elevator is the 326-m (1,070-ft) glass-sided Bailong ("Hundred Dragons") Elevator, the upper 171.4 m of which is above ground and built on the side of a quartzite cliff in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China.

The ascent in one of the three double-deck glass elevators travels at 3m/s and takes 1 minute 58 seconds. Each elevator can carry 46 people per trip, with a total daily capacity of about 18,000. Each elevator has a capacity of 4,900 kg.

The Bailong Elevator allows visitors to view the area's massive karst monolith geolithic formations, including one nearby called "Soldiers Gathering Together".

The construction began in 1999 at the height of 330 meters. The project was completed in May, 2002.

The project faced quite an opposition from certain environmental groups who were basing their argument on the World Heritage Site designation. The total investment for the project was $20 million. In order to build the Hundred Dragon Elevator, shafts and tunnels were dug into quartz sandstone column that was chosen very carefully and housed the elevator. The region receives 5 million visitors every year and the project suffered from excessive tourism as well, however, the show went on.

Supporters of the project say that the lifts with the highest passenger capacity in the world, saved the mountain trails of the excess load.