Bailong Elevator

Bailong Elevator

With a vertical height of 335 meters (1,100 feet) and a running height of 326 meters, Bailong Elevator is acknowledged as the highest sightseeing elevator in the world. It mainly contains two parts in structure: 154 meters’ (500 feet) solid well inside the mountains and 172 meters’ (560 feet) steel derrick against the mountains. How long did it take to build Bailong Elevator? It is not easy to build this elevator, taking 2 years and 7 months from September of 1999 to April of 2002, costing CNY 180 million.                      
 

Normally, it takes the elevator only 1 minute and 58 seconds to run from the foot to top of the mountain, and the running speed of the elevator gets to 3 meters per second. The fastest running speed can reach 5.5 meters per second (18 feet/s) and the whole riding lasts only 66 seconds. In the previous days when there was no elevator, it took tourists about 2 hours to climb up to the mountain top. 
 

With three double-decker fully exposed sightseeing elevators, Bailong Elevator has the largest capacity among all sightseeing elevators all over the world. Three elevators run side by side to serve tourists and one elevator can bear up to 50 persons. When three elevators are in service at the same time, Bailong Elevator can serve 4,000 tourists per hour.     
 

3. Tourists buying a round-trip ticket can go through exclusive channel without queuing.

There are 5 ticket windows in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The nearest one to Bailong Elevator is Zimugang Ticket Office, also known as Shuiraosimen Ticket Office. From Shuiraosimen Ticket Office, tourists can follow direction signs walking to Bailong Elevator in about 15 minutes. From Zhangjiajie National Forest Park ticket office, battery cars are available for the transfer. It is not recommended to get to the elevator from other ticket offices, for the distance is far and there is no transportation available.