Fifteen children in a village in Southwest China have the scariest commute to school.
These children from the ages of 6 to 15 climb a cliff as high 2,625 feet to get to their school in a nearby village. This 90 minute journey includes climbing up 800 meter rock faces, going down unsteady ladders and clawing their way over bare rocks and is said to be so demanding that the children are reported to return home only twice a month.
Seven people have died making the journey, the Independent reported.
Images of this terrifying descent made rounds on the internet after they were published in a state run Beijing newspaper.
The pictures were taken by award winning Beijing news photographer Chen Jie after he learnt of the village from a few friends and found out that the children would be returning home on May 14.Jie joined the children in their climb with a camera in hand, ready to record this journey.
"It was dangerous enough climbing up. I can't imagine what it would be like climbing down," Chen told CNN.
"Think about it. City parents get worried when their spoiled kids aren't happy, but what the kids here face is a formidable abyss -- they could fall any second," Jie added.
A group of around 50 officials made the trip to the village once the issue gained global media attention. The Global Times reported that government officials were in the process of assessing safer alternatives to the ladder, including potential construction of a road to connect the village, despite being disproportionately expensive for the impoverished region.