Student’s No Longer Crossing Raging River on a Cable
Not too long ago, we did an article about some Chinese school kids who had to cross a raging river on a steel cable everyday to get to their school.
We got a lot of visibility for that article and after the story was broke, people began to make donations to help the village build a real bridge.
Six months later, a 170 x 2 meter bridge now exists across the Nujiang River, near where the kids used to cross by cable.
Looks like the school children can finally go to school without risking their lives or getting stuck for hours in the middle of that old steel cable.
(link)
By Mui Mui on 20-05-2008
Comment by Tom Steele
May 20th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Plus you cleaned up the nasty river too! Way to go gang.
Comment by Aikyrie
May 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Aw go weirdasianews. I can’t believe they had to cross the river like that! A school should have been built on the other side too!
Comment by Japanite
May 20th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Truly Amazing.
Comment by anoni muss
May 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
wow it looked like so much fun. I wish I could zipline to school.
Comment by DARKWING DUCK
May 20th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
That’s not flying, that’s just falling with style.
“It’s not like driving the freeways of California. It’s dog-eat-dog out here. You have to have water and food and be ready for most anything to happen.â€
Comment by Warlock
May 21st, 2008 at 1:53 am
I think that would be easier if the teachers would cross the river but not the kids…
Comment by Harry Robets
May 21st, 2008 at 5:31 am
I personally would prefer the zip wire to school!
Comment by marshoutlaw
May 21st, 2008 at 7:37 am
there are probably kids living on both sides of the river, so some kids have to cross regardless of which side the school is on…
Comment by grace
May 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
wooo i think swinging would be more fun. but wait. this makes it safer, how? THE SIDES OF THE BRIDGE ARE ALL EXPOSED, PEOPLE!!! LITTLE CHILDREN WILL FALL ALL OVERRRRRRR
Comment by grace
May 21st, 2008 at 8:30 am
p.s: oh wait, they hold onto bells, is that it? seriously!
Comment by Joyce
May 21st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
170 x 2 METERS? whoa. thats narrow…
Comment by romulus
May 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pm
They should Homeschool — Oh I forgot, that’s not allowed in China or California.
Comment by gee-man
May 21st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Wow, that’s actually pretty cool. Who would’ve thought a site like this could end up getting a bridge built? Keep it up!
Comment by Nora
May 21st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
OMG STILL DANGEROUS i wouldnt let my kid cross by her/his self.. WOULD YOU ??
but it IS an UP GRADE! ♥
Comment by starvingbears
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
yahoo!!
Comment by Belle
May 26th, 2008 at 5:55 am
what are you talking about the sides arent completely exsposed. cant you see the wires going across the sides in the pic with the little kid ringing the bell. i blame the school system. apparently you didnt have a bridge or a cable when you were growing up.
Comment by crappy
May 26th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Wow! Way to go!
Comment by sultan_azteca
May 28th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Now you took all the fun of going to school from all those kids. Check out the big smiles of the girls in pic no. 1!!! Way to go, WAN!!!
I demand the immediate reinstallation of the cable for the kids benefit, and the removal of the bridge. I also demand indemnization to the kids for the deprivaton of an exhilarating life while the bridge was in operation, causing permanent damages due to exposure to parental overprotectionist Gringo-style practices.
As for the bridge, I advice its relocation onto the rio Grande for Mexicans to cross the border safely into the States, and live Banda music on both sides of the bridge for their daily welcoming/farewell!
Comment by Uncle B
June 20th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
1 in 4 American school girls under 16 have STDs, ride to schools in SUVs and busses, and never get a steel cable ride across a raging river or a walk on a windblown catwalk to get to school, or even on a holiday. Maybe if getting to school was thrilling enough they wouldn’t have to thrill seek that other way?
Comment by Beth
June 20th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Every little bit helps to change someone’s world.
Comment by psp
June 25th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Photoshopped!
Comment by ry
July 7th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Im not being a smartass here but why is the river water a completely different color in the before and after?
Comment by JW
July 11th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Well, evidently someone did some cleanup work. Don’t be so cynical about a good thing happening.
Comment by adam
July 15th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
How did the get back when they had the zipline?
Comment by itsalljustaride
July 21st, 2008 at 8:09 pm
There could be a couple reasons. The river doesn’t look like it was dirty because of pollution or something. It’s moving too fast for that. Most likely the other picture was taken after a heavy rain or some other phenomenon that caused sediment buildup (maybe construction upriver, who knows), Beyond that, it could be lighting. A different camera angle or white balance could make an otherwise murky river seem not so murky. Not really a big deal. Most large rivers undergo cycles of sediment buildup by natural means. Some tributaries of the Amazon become so murky with sediment that when they hit the Amazon you can see a clearly distinguished line of muddy vs. non-muddy water. Actually, the faster a river is moving the more likely it is to be filled with sediment, since the stuff doesn’t have a chance to drift to the bottom.
That’s my amazingly too long answer to a simple question
Comment by itsalljustaride
July 21st, 2008 at 8:14 pm
To anyone saying, “omg still so dangerous!” consider this: this river and the bridge now built may be a mile or so from the village, at least, so in that case I doubt kids are just going to be hanging out playing on the thing. Beyond that, a close look at the pictures shows that there is more than one guide-wire protecting the side. Could some kid still climb through and fall overboard…yeah, sure, Darwin Award winner in the making.
Comment by itsalljustaride
July 21st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
well, obviously they took the bridge, pfff what a silly question.
Comment by Adamneve
August 25th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
$300M to photoshop the opening ceremony but hairy barbarians have to donate a bridge for kids to go to school?
Comment by anon
February 25th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Right, because that makes financial sense. I would kill for a zip line to school!
Comment by Mad Pierre
March 10th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I’ve not had so much fun reading a really serious piece of work. ! Thanks America – You Do Have A Sense Of Humour(with a U)
Comment by EB
March 13th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
really? you’ve never seen a river after a rainfall? sediment is washed info the stream or river. must suck to live in a concrete jungle. if they barely had funds to make a bridge, how the h**l could they CLEAN UP A RIVER??? Get outdoors or something.