22 Words  Saved so far. Join the Cause!  1,300-foot-high cable
is the only access to Chinese village [6 pictures]  Sep 18, 2012
By Abraham  The 200 people who live in the village of Yushan in
China’s Hubei Province used to have to walk several days to get
to the nearest village. But then in the late 90’s they were
connected to the outside world by cable car.  Though
unquestionably convenient, this public transit is more than a
little unnerving. It swings in the breeze 1,300 feet above the
valley that separates villagers from their destination. And it
stretches 3,280 feet — a full kilometer.  The crate that
passengers stand in to cross is hoisted along by a simple diesel
engine…  Zhang Xinjian has been the operator since the cables
were first strung across the gorge because no one else
(reasonably) would take the job. His dad was the village head at
the time, so he assigned the task to his son.  Besides operating
the machine, Zhang Xinjian must also ride along the box perched
on top of it to grease the cables