Guoliang Village

Guoliang sits on a shelf in the Taihang cliffs, reached until the 1970s only by the Sky Ladder, a stone stairway of some 720 steps cut into the rock. In 1972, after the government declined to fund a road, thirteen villagers began digging one themselves with hammers and chisels, working for five years and losing several men to accidents to complete a tunnel of about twelve hundred metres through the cliff face, with thirty-odd window openings punched out to remove rubble and let in light. It opened in 1977 and is now driven by buses. The village above has become a destination for artists and photographers, with guesthouses in stone houses and viewpoints along the cliff edge.

What you actually see

• The cliff tunnel - twelve hundred metres cut by hand, with window openings on the drop.
• The stone village - houses on the shelf above the cliffs.
• The cliff viewpoints - the Taihang escarpment from the village edge.
• The old stairway - the Sky Ladder, the original 720-step route up the rock.

When to go

April to June and September to October; autumn colour draws the largest crowds. Winter is cold with ice on the tunnel road. Weekends and holidays fill the village's small guesthouses.

Honest expectations

The tunnel is narrow, one lane, with buses and cars passing carefully; walking it is possible but exposed to traffic. The village is small and busy in season. Guesthouse standards are basic.

Nearby

Wanxian Mountain and other cliff villages are close; Yuntaishan lies south.