Park officials at Shiniuzhai National Geological Park have opened a convenience store that hangs on the side of a cliff 427 feet (130 meters) high, selling water and snacks for climbers.
Image credit: Shiniuzhai National Geological Park / Weibo
The store, which is also called the “most inconvenient” convenience store, can be found in the Shiniuzhai National Geological Park. It’s one of China’s most popular and scenic national parks, known for its gorgeous waterfalls, massive cliffs, and various climbing trails.
Since many thrill-seeking tourists visit Shiniuzhai, park officials decided to open up a small shop that can provide refreshments to the climbers, in case they need a quick rest during their climb. The small wooden box is located in the middle of three popular climbing routes, and it’s constructed of light materials, to cause no damage to the rock.
Image credit: Shiniuzhai National Geological Park / Weibo
The store only sells bottled water, and snacks, such as potato chips, and energy bars. While at first glance most people would probably think that the small shop is quite pricy, that’s not actually the case. A bottle of water, for example, costs just 2 yuan, the equivalent of $0.30. Furthermore, besides cash, customers can even pay for the goods through a mobile application.
mage credit: Shiniuzhai National Geological Park / Weibo
“We offer low-priced products to climbers to help them maintain their physical endurance,” said Wang Qiwei, staff member at Shiniuzhai National Geological Park. “Due to the limited flow of customers, the store is not very profitable, but it aims to provide a special experience for our climbers”
The shop only employs professional climbers, who go to work every day with a zipline. This is also how they transport the products to the store. Only one person is allowed inside the box at one time, and it’s that worker’s responsibility to serve the customers and to refill the store every morning.
The height is not the only occupational hazard. Another is how far the bathroom is.
“Every new employee is quite scared of doing this at first, but you get used to it very quickly,” said a worker. “The only issue is having to use the toilet. It’s exhausting to have to climb back down and up again to use the toilet, so we try not to drink too much water.”
