Cliff-side village cashes in on isolation

Isolation once locked people into endless poverty, but it is proving a source of wealth for Baodu, a remote village in the mountains of Shanxi province.

Perched on a cliff 900 meters up Taihang Mountain, the village has only nine permanent households and no road access. Yet it never lacks visitors, who need to trek more than three hours through rapids and ravines to get there.

They come for its hidden beauty, surrounded by lush forest and often shrouded in mist. "The view here is uniquely splendid and fascinating, but getting here is tough," one visitor said.