Hiking is hard work. So we're not surprised when we end up writing about ways to make it easier, whether that's the "lazy man hiking experiment" of tying a helium balloon to your backpack to lighten your load, or using an exoskeleton to help you climb the UK's highest mountain. Now, a sprawling system of escalators has been developed on a mountain China to help visitors scale a gnarly peak without ever even entering heart rate zone 1.
New drone footage of the project at Lingshan Scenic Area has emerged on News Flare, showing what looks like dozens of escalators ascending thousands of feet. According to the post, the project is nearing completion, with the escalators scheduled to open to the public next month.
Lingshan in Shangrao, Jiangxi is home to 72 peaks and has a maximum elevation of nearly 5,000ft (1,500m). In the past, visitors have had to climb thousands of steps to reach the top, a journey that takes around two hours, but now they will be able to ditch the hiking boots and glide effortlessly to the summit.
This isn't the first time we've seen escalators installed to take the sweat out of hiking. In Zhejiang province, Tianyu Mountain has a 1,100ft escalator that whisks hikers to the top in 10 minutes, and in Rio de Janiero, pilgrims wishing to visit the 2,310ft Christ the Redeemer statue do so on a moving staircase.
No information has been given as to what happens when the escalator inevitably breaks down, but we'd recommend wearing hiking shoes and carrying extra layers, water and snacks just in case.
