The first main-line steel girder for the high-level Xiangshan Cloud Walkway was installed March 20 foretelling that the entire Fenghuang Mt hiking trail will open to visitors this year.

A key livelihood project of Zhuhai, the walkway will connect, 16.17 km (10 miles) from east to west: Yinkeng Peninsula, Sea & Sky (Haitian) Park, Dajingshan Community Sports Park, Shixi Park, Xiangshan Rest Station, and Xiangshan Lake Park.

Rendering of Xiangshan Cloud Walkway over Dajingshan Community Sports Park between the reservoir and Yingbin Feeder of Xingye Express Road [Photo courtesy Guanhai App]

An 836-m (half-mile) Jigong Hill demonstration section will open in May leading westward from Sea & Sky Park behind the Zhuhai Museum & Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in Old Xiangzhou. The entire first phase of 9.97 km (6.2 miles) includes the initial demonstration section, which opened in November, that is 509-m (1/3-mile) long and has commanding views of Xiangshan Lake Park off Jianmin Road in New Xiangzhou.

The entire walkway section will have 11 entrances and exits, as well as seven parking lots for 4,000 vehicles. The second phase covers 6.2 km (3.85 miles) from Yinkeng Peninsula in the east to Sea & Sky Park.

Zhuhai Xiangzhou Zhengfang Holdings says it is preserving the original landscape as much as possible and building a walkway with a gentle gradient and no stairs.

Anticipated is a "smart" hiking experience relying on such "black technologies" as artificial intelligence, big data, and 3D visualization. For instance, with a tap on the boardwalk system, visitors will know where the best places are to take photos and how far they are from their destinations.