Gao Qimin / For China Daily

2.Guoliang village in Huixian county, Henan province

Guoliang village is well hidden in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains. The village perches on a mountaintop 1,700 meters above sea level and is besieged by cliffs on three sides.

In 1972, to find a safe way in and out of the village, local people chiseled through the stone cliffs and created a 5-meter-high and 4-meter-wide passage. The 1,250-meter-long passage took the villagers five years to complete. Villagers from teenagers to those older than 70 joined in the epic project, using their hands and bamboo baskets to remove the stones. Some villagers even died in accidents.

You can feel the cold tunnel breeze and walk the meandering passage hanging along the rocky cliffs, while the abyss is just outside the side-openings.

Before the passage, stairs chiseled out along the almost vertical cliff, nicknamed "heavenly stairs" by locals, was the only way to connect the village with the outside world. Although the stairs have been abandoned by local villagers, it is a favorite choice for hikers.

Despite its hazardous structure and location, it is an ideal place to observe a sunrise.

If you go: Tourists should first go to Huixian county, in Henan's Xinxiang city, which is connected to Beijing by a three-hour high-speed train ride. Then take a shuttle bus to Guoliang village. It costs 10 yuan ($1.60) for the three-hour bus ride. Hostels and family lodgings in the village have simple facilities and usually cost 40 to 50 yuan per person for one night.

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