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Will a Chinese firm’s Bali beach lift project alter the local landscape?
182-metre glass lift will transport tourists down the cliffside at popular Kelingking Beach in symbolic project backed by Chinese investment
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Ralph Jenningsin Bali, Indonesia
The Bali heat proved too much for Zhang Min, a 30-year-old tourist from Chengdu, one afternoon last month. She had made it to a cliff above one of the Indonesian holiday destination’s most sought-after scenic spots, but was exhausted by the journey.
“The roads are really poor,” Zhang said as her group stopped above the T. Rex-shaped headland – a unique land mass that has made Kelingking one of the world’s most photographed beaches.
Her group opted against hiking down a steep, sun-exposed trail to the beach’s crescent of white sand, which abuts vertical limestone cliffs.
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“I’m tired and not going down there myself.”
One year from now, that may no longer be a problem. A Chinese firm is installing a 182-metre (597 feet) glass lift down the cliffside, a highly visible sign of the country’s investment in Indonesia. Despite some public disquiet, officials there have long relied on China for infrastructure development.
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Construction cranes operate daily, lowering workers on suspended platforms over the shaft, where pieces of the lift are being attached to the cliff from the beach upwards.
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