A tiny wooden shed perched on a steep cliff in a scenic southern Chinese region has earned the nickname of “most inconvenient convenience store” in the country. Hanging a whopping 120 meters above the ground, the 2-square-meter shop replenishes climbers with drinks and light refreshments in the Shiniuzhai Scenic Area in Hunan Province, according to photos published in Chinese newspapers. Shiniuzhai is known for its hilly landscape, which offers breathtaking views and a range of thrilling mountain-based activities. It’s also home to Haohan Qiao, or “Brave Men’s Bridge,” which, upon opening in 2015, was China’s first glass-bottomed bridge. The name Shiniuzhai — “stone ox village” in Chinese — was inspired by one of the hills, which is shaped like the back of an ox. The convenience store is located along an 800-meter via ferrata route. Via ferrata — Italian for “iron way” — is a pathway along a mountain that uses metal anchors and other structures that climbers can fasten themselves to as they make their way up and across challenging terrain. The store sparked a buzz when it opened in 2018 after a year of construction. It returned to the spotlight following recent reports on Chinese media, captivating social media users. “The most inconvenient convenience store,” a popular blogger, who has more than 889,400 fans, quipped on Chinese social network Weibo last week. Another user joked: “It’s very demanding for the staff members.” The journey to the top takes about 90 minutes to complete and each climber can get a bottle of water for free at the store, said Song Huizhou, general manager of Shiniuzhai. Staff members are responsible for carrying supplies to the store every day, he added. An unnamed employee told Beijing Youth Daily that staff carry dozens of bottles of beverages up the hill in their backpack every day, each sold for between 5 to 7 yuan, less than US$1. Staffers also handed out free mooncakes in tiny red boxes to climbers when the country celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, according to videos circulated on Chinese social media. Hunan, a landlocked province with 64 million people, is also home to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which is famous for its towering, pillar-like karst formations believed to have inspired the otherworldly landscape in Canadian director James Cameron’s 2009 hit “Avatar.”(SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關詞匯 【便利店】biànlìdiàn convenience store a shop that sells food, drinks, etc. and is usually open until late 【興奮】xīngfèn buzz excitement, interest 中國南方某個風光秀美的地區，一個小木屋掛在陡峭的懸崖上，被稱為中國“最不便利的便利店”。 湖南省石牛寨風景區里，這家2平方米的小店懸掛在離地面120米的高空，為登山者補充飲料和小食，小店的照片被刊登在國內報紙上。 石牛寨以多山地貌著稱，景色壯麗，還有驚險刺激的登山項目。中國第一座玻璃橋也坐落在這里，名為好漢橋， 2015年建成投入使用。 石牛寨的名字源于當地一座形似牛背的山丘。 便利店位于一條 800 米長的飛拉達攀巖道上。飛拉達是意大利語，意為鐵扶手橫梯攀巖道，指的是建在山體巖壁上，由扶手、腳踏、鋼纜等構成的攀登徑道，讓不具備攀巖能力的人也能攀上陡峭的巖壁。 耗時一年，這家便利店2018年建成開業時引發了熱議。最近，中國媒體的報道讓它再次成為焦點，吸引了眾多社交媒體用戶。 這是“最不便利的便利店”，一位擁有超過 88.94 萬粉絲的人氣博主上周在微博上調侃道。 另一個網友開玩笑說：“對工作人員要求挺高的”。 石牛寨總經理宋會洲說，登頂之旅大約需要90分鐘，途中每位攀登者可在店內免費領一瓶水。 他補充說，每天都有工作人員負責向小店補給貨品。 一位不愿透露姓名的員工告訴《北京青年報》，員工每天會背幾十瓶飲料上山，每瓶售價在5到7元人民幣之間，合計不到 1美元。 中國社交媒體上流傳的視頻顯示，9月底中秋節期間，工作人員還向登山者免費發放裝在紅色小盒子里的月餅。 湖南是個內陸省份，有6400萬人口，也是張家界國家森林公園所在地，該公園因高聳入云、宛如石柱的喀斯特地貌而聞名，據說加拿大導演詹姆斯?卡梅隆2009年的大片《阿凡達》中的異世界景觀就是受此啟發設計的。 (Translated by Debra) | 