Back in May, a tiny cliffside village in Sichuan province caused a national uproar after netizens found out the dangerous route down an 800 meter tall cliff, utilizing 17 wicker ladders, that children in the village were forced to take just to get to school.


Well, you’ll be happy to hear that some improvements have been made.

Iron ladders! It’s no ropeway or elevator, but at least it’s an improvement. Workers are currently placing the last of some 1,500 iron bars and the new ladders should be ready by November, cutting travel time to less than an hour.

72 households call the cliffside village of Atule’er their home, where the cell phone coverage is crap and marriageable women are scarce. But the biggest concern is the safety of the village’s 15 children. The kids’ school lies at the bottom of the cliff and twice a month the children must climb down the dangerous path to go to classes, staying at school for 10 days, before going back home for 5 days.

While eight people have died in the past making the climb, there hasn’t been an accident since 2009. The villagers are proud that they keep their kids safe by having a male adult accompany each of them during the dangerous journey with a rope tied around their waists.

Obviously though, this isn’t optimal. Earlier this year, public pressure caused the local government to visit the village and announce that it would build a set of steel steps leading up to the village. Looks like they’ve delivered.
[Images via Sohu]