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For 200 years, the villagers lived 2,600 feet above the cliff. Now they are in housing
Atule’er, a 200-year-old village in Sichuan province, made headlines around the world when photos of school children appeared in 2016 down a cliff on an unstable rattan staircase – or “sky ladder,” as locals call it. .
But this week, 84 Atuleer households left the stairs forever, living in an apartment block closer to downtown Zhaojue district, 75 kilometers (46 miles) away, the Xinhua government news agency reported.
Their new apartments range from 25 square meters (269 square feet) to 100 square meters (1,076 square feet), and have modern kitchens, toilets, piped water, electricity and gas, according to the state television station CGTN.
“After moving to the county, life will be very comfortable for my family. My children will go to school easily, and hospital services will also be comfortable.”
However, not all villagers were relocated – around 30 households planned to stay.
Atuleer has become a tourist attraction in recent years. In 2019, 100,000 visitors generated nearly 1 million yuan ($ 140,878) for the village, according to Xinhua. Further development will serve the industry, with officials planning to build a cable car to bring tourists up and down the cliff, the government-run news website, Paper.cn reported.
Eradicate poverty
The resettlement of clifftop villagers is part of a broader push, and they are not alone. About 18,000 poor people – or more than 4,000 households – have moved to the development of new, large urban housing from 92 remote villages in the region, according to Xinhua.
Atule residents who were technically relocated out of poverty, with an average per capita income of 6,000 yuan ($ 845) last year – above the official 2019 poverty line in China of 3,747 yuan ($ 527). But this encouragement also aims to improve the living conditions of rural communities on low incomes.
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