Chang Kong Cliff Road, Wooden plank path on Mount Hua, Shaanxi, China.
Chang Kong Cliff Road is a narrow wooden plank walkway bolted directly into the sheer rock face of Mount Hua's South Peak in Shaanxi, China. The boards run horizontally along the cliff, suspended high above a deep valley with no railing on the outer side.
The route was originally carved out of the rock by monks more than 700 years ago to reach temples and meditation sites on Mount Hua. The wooden planks have been replaced and repaired many times since then, while the carved footholds in the rock still date back to those early builders.
The Chang Kong Cliff Road runs along Mount Hua, one of China's Five Sacred Mountains, which has been a center of Taoist practice for centuries. Visitors today still share the path with pilgrims who come to reach the small temples and shrines carved into the rock.
All visitors must wear a safety harness clipped to a steel cable system for the entire length of the path. Shoes with a firm, non-slip sole are strongly advised, as the wooden boards can become very slippery when wet.
At certain points along the path, the steel safety cable ends and visitors must briefly unhook and rehook their harness while standing on the narrow boards. When two people meet going in opposite directions, they have to find a way to pass each other on a surface barely wide enough for one person.
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