Country China Area 2,699 km² | Time zone China Standard (UTC+8) Province Sichuan | |
Prefecture Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture | ||
Zhaojue County is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.
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Map of Zhaojue, Liangshan, Sichuan, China
Atule'er Village
The remote Atule'er Village (Atulie'ercun, 阿土列尔村) [note: also tranliterated as Atuleer, and Ado Ler] , in the Zhi'ermoxiang (Zhi'ermo Township Branch, 支尔莫乡) of Zhaojue County was the focus of Chinese news video and photojournalism that became international news in May, 2016. Due to the 200 year-old village's isolated location, perched like the seat of a chair with near-vertical cliffs both above and below, village children must use a series of handmade ladders to scale the 2,625 feet (800 m) cliff to reach a school in the river valley below. Parents supervise their children during the crossing due to the potential hazards. The school, which serves ages 6–15, had 15 students as of 2016. Students travel between their school and their residences every two weeks, and for the school period reside in dormitories on campus due to the ladder situation.
In 2015 Chen Jie of the Beijing News photographed the children on the ladder. The pictures went viral on the internet, prompting local authorities to announce that they will construct a staircase to serve the students.
Villages such as Atuli'er are often dubbed Cliff villages due to their height and remoteness.