This Mountain In China Installed Escalators But Not Everyone Approves Of Them
It has shortened hiking time to 10 minutes.
By Tamara Jayne — 30 Oct 2023, 02:04 PM
A hike in China that previously took 50 minutes has been shortened to just 10 minutes with the installation of escalators
However, the 350m-escalator, which was installed on Tianyu Mountain, Chunan county in eastern Zhejiang province last year, has been receiving mixed reactions lately.
While many loved the idea of 'effortless climbing', there are differing opinions on the escalator systems. Some believe they provide benefits for the elderly and children, while others argue that they take away the joy of hiking and the natural beauty of the area.
"This feature should only be installed in amusement parks. They shouldn't make changes to nature like this," wrote one TikTok user.
According to South China Morning Post, a manager named Xu, from a tourism development company said, "Our initial idea was to build a cable car. But that carries far fewer people and is riskier."
"We just want to give visitors a new option," Xu added.
The Tianyu Mountain escalators cost a total of USD2.2 million (RM10.4 million) to build and charges CNY30 (RM20) per person to use.
It's not the only mountain in China with escalators
A video circulating on the Chinese social media platform, Xiaohongshu, shows several tourist mountain spots in China that installed escalators, so visitors can enjoy the view without needing to hike.
Another mountainside escalator in China is the South Sky Ladder in the Shenxianju Tour Zone in Taizhou of Zhejiang province, which was built three years ago.
"Even young people feel exhausted from climbing this mountain. Hoping to make tourists' trips easier and convenient, we have installed both the cableway and escalator, so that people can enjoy the natural scenery easily," said Gu Qiaolu, a manager at Shenxianju Tour Group.
"Don't you see the escalators take away from the natural beauty of the mountain?" one person wrote on Weibo. Meanwhile, another user said, "So what's the point of climbing the mountain? I think that joy has gone."
