How is life in the narrowest city in the world (17 photos)

Despite the fact that our planet is comparable to a grain of sand in terms of boundless space, it has many unique places that can to surprise even seasoned travelers.





China's Yanjin County

One such example is China's Yanjin County, which is called the narrowest city in the world. Yanjin is located on Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province.



Zhaotong County

More than 3000 years ago, these places were inhabited by a small ethnic group Bo, whose main feature was very original funerary customs. They preferred to bury the dead in hanging coffins, which hewn out of durable logs of hardwoods and left unpainted.





hanging coffins

During the final years of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial army began to oppose the Bo people, and its representatives had to move to new places. As a result, they managed to integrate into other ethnic groups, and hanging coffins can still be seen today in mountains of Yunnan province.



The name of Yanjin County is translated as "salt ford", and, Naturally, it did not appear by chance. The fact is that on the shore of the local There is a salt marsh on the river, but it is far from being the reason for the county's popularity. Much more interesting is that there is also the city of the same name, which considered to be the narrowest city not only in China, but throughout the world.



Yanjin City

When you find photos of this place taken from above bird's eye view, at first you do not believe that this is even possible! Easier suggest that someone who is good at photoshop added their own adjustments. Well, or that all this is footage from a feature film. However sometimes reality surprises us and turns out to be much more exciting than any, even the most original fantasy.



The two parts of the city of Yanjin are separated by a river. The width of the city at its narrowest point is only 40 meters, and at the very wide - only 300. On both sides of the city there is a road, stretching for many kilometers. Surprisingly, the bridges in the city very few were built, although it would seem difficult to come up with more good place! It is also striking that at a similar point on the map there are many multi-storey buildings. This feature gives the city some unusual and originality, and from some angles it even seems as if it drew.



In addition to the road, Yanjin also has a railway. Due to local natural features, it took cut a tunnel right in the mountains. As a result, the length of the finished tunnel was about 2 km. This road is very important since it connects China and Vietnam. Last but not least thanks to her, Yanjin, as if trying to hide from prying eyes in mountains, maintains contact with the outside world.



However, the city is still considered inaccessible and, despite its unusualness, crowds of tourists do not flock there. Except obvious difficulties with the road, Yanjin has nothing to boast of in front of visiting travelers. There are no bright spots in the city

attractions and interesting tourist sites. Only himself. However, every year more and more people strive to get there in order to see with their own eyes one of the most unusual cities in the world.



Land is perhaps the most valuable asset in Yanjin. Builders here have nowhere to roam, because the city is literally sandwiched between two mountains. Modern metropolitan areas usually have the opportunity to expand in breadth, but Yanjin is deprived of this.



Many apartment buildings were erected on the banks of the river, and so that nothing happens to them during the flood, they are raised to thin poles. When the forces beginheavy rains, the river overflows, and it seems as if the houses were built directly in the water.



If you do not take into account the visual component, then Yanjin - quite an ordinary city with about 40,000 inhabitants. IN Yanjin has a school, a barbershop (and probably more than one), hotels, car repair shops and others necessary for a comfortable accommodation facilities. Part of the local population is engaged in service railroad. Others devoted themselves to agriculture, because The climate of the county is favorable for growing rice. There is no cold in Yanjin winters are warm almost all year round and it often rains.



But with the economic development of the city, things are like this itself, and the reason for this is the aforementioned inaccessibility. Therefore call Yanjin is definitely not prosperous! Yes, and it is unlikely that he will be in soon. And then a reasonable question arises: "Why then at all live in a place that is cut off from civilization, and even be under the constant threat of floods?



The main reason is that the city has been inhabited for a very long time, and some they just don’t want to leave it, because their ancestors lived in this place. Besides same, and I will not tire of repeating it, a person is a creature capable of adapt to any (or almost any) conditions. There are more in the world uninhabitable places: for example, the houses of the African Nilotic people, stand in the middle of the largest swamp in Africa.



Nilotic people live in the middle of the swamp

It is also interesting that Yanjin is not the only Chinese a settlement hidden from everyone in the mountains. Similar settlements in China a lot. True, not so large. Stands out among them a village called Guoliang. For a long time to get it was only possible to reach it by a staircase carved in the mountains, numbering 720 steps. Naturally, the descent and ascent along it is very doubtful. pleasure!



Road to Guoliang Village

And only in the second half of the 20th century did the locals decide to change situation and cut a kilometer-long tunnel in the mountains. For this they It took 5 years of hard work. But after life in the village changed dramatically, because now Guoliang could be reached by car. Guoliang attracts tourists to this day. And I'm interested there are not many of them the village itself, but the tunnel, recognized as one of the most dangerous routes.



Guoliang Tunnel

Life in the narrowest city in the world, probably cannot be called really fabulous, but here's what he himself resembles some fantastic phenomenon - fact. Probably the locals find their own in Yanjin. unique charms, since they are in no hurry to leave it. Although in China there are plenty of much more suitable cities for a comfortable life. I want to to believe that the locals will be able to continue to keep Yanjin afloat, preserving its uniqueness, and prevent decay.