Children in China are climbing an 800m ladder to get home from school

Local authorities have said a set of stairs will be built while longer term solutions are considered.

Local officials say they are investigating alternate options for access. (AAP)

Local officials say they are investigating alternate options for access. (AAP) Source: AAP

The Associated Press has released astounding images of children scaling 800m cliffs to get home from School in Atuleer, a village in southwest China's Sichuan province. 

The images of children in backpacks climbing bamboo ladders were taken mid-May, and highlight the uneven economic development experienced by China's 1.4 billion people. The children are aged 6-15, according to reports.

AP says that the ladders are the only means of access for the 15 children, who return from boarding school to their village every two weeks. The villagers are members of the Yi minority, and survive on subsistence farming.

The images appeared in China Daily and other mainstream English newspapers earlier this week, prompting officials to arrange trips to the area to investigate the issue.

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Source: AP



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