Published : 12/05/2026
Hidden among China's rugged mountains are cliffside villages that seem almost untouched by time. Built against sheer rock faces and often wrapped in mist, these remote settlements have endured for centuries.
They are not only striking examples of how people have learned to live with nature, but also home to some of the country's most breathtaking scenery. Which ones have you seen?
Hongni Village: A thousand-year-old stone village on a waterfall cliff
In the south-east of Pingshun County, Shanxi, deep within the Hongtiguan Grand Canyon of the Taihang Mountains, lies a thousand-year-old village on a cliff—Hongni Village.
Hongni Village gets its name from the rainbows that often appear in the plunging waterfall on the cliff to the east of the village and is known as the "Pearl of Taihang".
The village is backed by green mountains and faces a deep gorge, with the Hongni River flowing through it, forming a plunging waterfall with a drop of about 80 metres to the east.
Water mist fills the air, and in the sunlight, double rainbows can sometimes be seen in the sky; this is where the name "Hongni" originates. Below, the Hongni Gorge's cliffs are sheer and precipitous, appearing bottomlessly deep, coexisting with the ancient village in a state of peril and magnificence.
Hongni Village was first built during the Later Tang of the Five Dynasties period, over 1,100 years ago, and is a famous historical and cultural village and a traditional village of China.
The entire village is like a "stone kingdom"; its stone houses, stone walls, stone streets, and stone tiles were all built by villagers using local stone, sourced on-site, constructed in layers following the mountain's contours, giving it a simple and classical elegance.
The Hongtiguan cliff-hanging road to Hongni Village is one of the most primitive and wild cliff-hanging roads in the Taihang Mountains, carved out by local villagers. With its gravel surface and cave-like openings in the cliff face, it is a place where thrill and magnificent beauty coexist.
Walking along it, one can gaze upon the sheer cliffs, hear the roar of the waterfall, and see the ancient pagoda standing quietly, taking in the full majesty of the Taihang landscape and the time-worn character of the ancient village.
Yanmen Village: A "castle in the air" suspended on three sides
Yanmen Village in Fangqian Town, Pan'an County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang, is a natural village administered by Shijiazhuang Village.
It is situated on a mountaintop over 800 metres above sea level, surrounded on three sides by 300-metre-high sheer cliffs, with a vertical drop of nearly 600 metres from the valley floor to the village. From a distance, it looks like a "city in the sky" built high in the air, hence its name, "cliff village".
The village name "Yanmen" (Rock Gate) originates from two giant rocks at the village entrance that face each other like a gate; legend has it that ancestors with the surname Shi fled here to escape chaos during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, over 600 years ago.
Yanmen Village is located at the junction of Pan'an, Tiantai, and Xianju counties in Zhejiang.
Volcanic eruptions and tectonic movements over 100 million years ago created a unique and complex landform, boasting 27 geological heritage sites including volcanic rock ridges, Longxu cliffs, and thousand-zhang waterfalls.
It is one of the first national geological and cultural villages and a provincial 3A-level scenic village.
The residences with white walls and black tiles are built scattered along the mountain's contours, with a bottomless abyss on one side and cascading terraced fields on the other.
In the morning mist, a sea of clouds surges up from the valley floor, enveloping the village, making a walk through it feel like treading on clouds.
Here, far from the hustle and bustle, is a hidden fairyland tucked away in the mountains of central Zhejiang, its precipitousness sketching a different kind of Jiangnan poetic charm.
Gulu Village: A hidden Yi village above the sky ladder
Gulu Village in Ya'an, Sichuan, is a Yi ethnic village rooted on a cliff at an altitude of 1,400 metres, known as the "Yi village on the sky ladder", and is famous for its extreme steepness and unique ethnic customs.
The entire village clings to the sheer cliffs for its existence. In the past, for villagers to enter and leave the village, they could only rely on rattan ladders woven from vines and wooden sticks to climb the vertical cliffs; the journey was nothing short of perilous.
In the 1950s, the Railway Corps of the People's Liberation Army replaced the dangerous rattan ladders with steel ones, opening up a channel connecting this cliff village to the outside world and allowing this secluded beautiful scenery to be seen by the world.
The Yi dwellings of Gulu Village are arranged along the cliff faces, their rustic houses blending into the grey-brown cliffs, filled with a raw, untamed beauty.
Looking out from the village, the continuous mountain ranges and sheer, towering cliffs can't help but inspire a sense of awe for nature.
Muliqiong Village: Huangshan's most beautiful high-altitude cliff village
Muliqiong Village in Xiuning County, Anhui, is perched on the mountainside of Kuzhu Peak at an altitude of nearly a thousand metres.
It is the highest village in Huizhou and is also acclaimed as "the most beautiful high-altitude village in Huangshan".
Muliqiong Village was first built at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It is shaped like a camel overall, occupying a mountain ridge.
The north, south, and west sides are all cliffs, with only the east side connected to the mountain; the terrain is remarkably perilous.
The characteristic Huizhou-style black tiles and white walls are built along the mountain, arranged in a picturesque and orderly fashion beside the cliffs. Without excessive artificial modification, it authentically preserves the charm of an ancient Huizhou village.
The beautiful scenery of cliffs and the sea of clouds coexisting is one of the greatest features of Muliqiong Village.
The area is shrouded in clouds and mist year-round. Every morning or after rain, a sea of clouds surges from the valley, submerging the cliffs and enveloping the village, making the entire village appear to float above the clouds, like a heavenly abode.
Standing on the viewing platform at the head of the village, a bottomless abyss lies below your feet, and before your eyes are rolling green mountains and a churning sea of clouds.
The precipitous and the gentle merge perfectly, fully displaying the elegant beauty and magnificence of Huizhou's landscapes.
These cliff villages hidden across the land of China not only possess breathtaking natural wonders but also vividly demonstrate the resilient spirit of ancient peoples who took root and sought survival in harsh environments.
Which one would you most like to visit?
Read more: Exploring 4 magical ancient twin pagodas in China