Is this the world's toughest school run? Children from remote Chinese village have to climb unsecured vine ladders on a vertical cliff between home and class

Children from Atule'er village were pictured climbing vine ladders  to go back to  remote homes at 2,624 feet high[CN]

图为阿图勒尔村的孩子们爬2,624英尺高的藤梯回偏僻处的家

The perilous journey takes two hours and they are supervised by parents who use ropes to ensure their safety [CN]

这趟惊险旅程费时两个钟，家长陪同监督，使用绳索确保他们的安全。

An official of Shaojue County said the trip could be extremely dangerous and it had killed around eight residents[CN]

昭觉县一位官员说，该趟旅程可是极其危险的，已有约摸8名当地人因此丧生。

Due to the treacherous commute, some children from the village can't receive education after they reach school age[CN]

由于通勤路途艰险万分，村里一些孩子到了上学年龄还无法接受教育。

The treacherous climb to home: The children climb up the cliff face to go home from their school at the foot of the mountain in China[CN]

攀梯回家危机重重：学校在山脚下，孩子们爬上悬崖壁后回家。

Scary experience: The journey up the terrifying cliff face takes around two hours and the students are accompanied by three adults[CN]

惊魂经历：攀爬悬崖壁之旅耗时大约两个钟，学生们由三个成年人陪同。

Taking a break before continuing: The 15 children are aged between six and 15 and live on top of a 2,624-foot-tall peak in Sichuan Province[CN]

稍稍休顿再度攀岩：15个孩子的年龄在6岁到15岁不等，他们住在四川省的2624英尺高的山顶上。

Experienced: For the parents who are used to the journey, it takes them an hour to go down the cliff and an hour and a half to go up
[CN]

游刃有余：对路线已经滚瓜烂熟的父母们，只需一小时即可下到悬崖底部，半小时即可爬到山顶。

 Treacherous trip: These young pupils have to carry heavy schoolbags while going through the perilous journey once every two weeks[CN]

危险之旅：这些小学生每隔两周便来一次惊险的攀爬。攀爬时他们必须背着沉重的书包。

Precarious journey:The children live in a terrifying 'cliff village', which is situated on the top of a 2,624-foot-tall peak in Zhaojue County

Precarious journey:The children live in a terrifying 'cliff village', which is situated on the top of a 2,624-foot-tall peak in Zhaojue County

Renowned community: Atule'er, dubbed the 'cliff village', boasts an altitude of 4,600 feet and is on top of a 2,624-foot-tall mountain

Isolated in the hills: The village dates back some 200 years and is home to 72 families, most of whom make a living by growing chillies

Sadly, some children from the village are not sent for education even after they reach the school age because of the dangerous commute

Villagers would like a road to be built to ensure a safer journey however the government said the costs are too high

Aerial view of the isolated village of Atule'er at Zhaojue County in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province

A group of children in China are facing dangerous journeys between their homes and school because their village is so cut off from the outside world.

Heart-breaking pictures have emerged  showing these pupils, the youngest of whom are aged just six, must climb unsecured vine ladders on the side of a steep rock face to go home from school.

The schoolchildren live in a so-called 'cliff village', which is situated on the top of a 2,624-foot-tall peak in south-west China, and their school is at the foot of the mountain, reports Huanqiu affiliated with the People's Daily Online.

The set of pictures were taken on May 14 as 15 children spend two hours climbing 17 cliff ladders at the county of Zhaojue County in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. 

These pupils, who aged between six and 15, were seen carrying heavy bags and supervised by three parents.

Their homes at the Atule'er village boasts an altitude of 4,600 feet. 

The village is so remote that only 72 families live there, most of whom make a living by growing chillies. 

Once the they arrive at the Le'er Primary School, the children stay there for two weeks before making the treacherous journey back down the mountain to visit their families. 

Every time they come down or go up the mountain, their parents take it in turns to pick them up. 

For the parents who are used to the journey, it takes them an hour to go down the cliff and an hour and a half to go up.  

However for the young pupils, they need around two hours to scale the cliffs with the help of dangerous ladders. 

30-year-old Chen Guji is one of the parents  helped pick up the children on the day when reporters took the pictures. 

Chen told the reporter he had to get up at 6am that morning in order to descend the peak to pick up his four daughter and one son, as well as other children.

His son, named Chen Muhei, is six years old and is the youngest of his five children.

The father  used rope and tied a knot around his son's backpacks to ensure his safety.

According to A Pi Ji Ti, the Secretary of Communist Party of Zhi'ermo Township, the perilous journey between the village and the foot of the mountain has killed around eight people.

Sometimes the journeys are difficult with the village encountering rain and snowy weather.

Because of this, some children from the village are not sent for education even after they reach the school age.

A Pi Ji Ti added the village dates back some 200 years. 

Despite the fact it’s isolated, the land is fertile and the villagers are self sufficient.

Looking towards the future, the residents would like the government to build a road leading to and from the village however due to the high costs and small number of people who live there, it appears to be out of the question for officials.   

Zhaojue County office secretary Ji Ke Jin Song says: 'The main problems is that we can easily move the villagers to a nearby city but without their farm land they have no job.

'They have good land resources and have a high yield of crops. Building a road to the village would cost 60 million yuan (£6.2 million) which is not cost effective because the number of people is so low.' 

The government has invested one million yuan (£105,000) in sheep for the villagers.  

It's thought that in the future the village could become involved in the tourism industry.