Built several kilometers along the Nanxi river, Yanjin county is the World’s narrowest city between the mountains of Yunnan, China. Its narrowest point is 30 m wide while it measures around 300 m wide at its widest point. There is one main road on each side of the road; however, there are not many bridges even though the river is an important part of the city.

As there is not much land suitable for construction, several buildings stand over thin pillars on the river bank. the pillars protect the houses from flooding, however, it still does not seem like the ideal place to live while there is so much suitable land in China. .

Due to the mountains surrounding the city and insufficient transportation infrastructure, the city is considered inaccessible by many. The infrastructure of Yanjin city also hinders its economy

Despite all its disadvantages, the city presents a breathtaking view and it has been inhabited for hundreds of years now. Today, it has roughly 450 000 residents, and most of them do not consider living anywhere else.

Built along the Nanxi River, between the steep mountains of China’s Yunnan Province, Yanjin county is widely regarded as the world’s narrowest city.

Looking at Yanjin county from above, it’s hard to believe that such a settlement actually exists in real life. The narrow stretch of usable land sandwiched between the troubled waters of the Nanxi River and steep mountains on either side hardly seems like a suitable location for a city of roughly 450,000 people, but that’s exactly what makes Yanjin so special. It looks more like something you’d expect to see in a fantasy movie, or in a building simulation game than a modern-day city.

At its narrowest point, Yanjin is only 30 meters wide, while the widest part of the city measures around 300 meters. It is traversed by one main road on each side and even though the city stretches for several kilometers along the river, there don’t seem to be too many bridges.

Apart from the extreme narrowness, Yanjin has another noticeable particularity. Because land is such a precious commodity in the area, many of the apartment buildings are located right on the banks of the river and are built on stilt-like thin pillars, to protect them from flooding in case the water level rises.

Drone-shot footage of Yanjin has been going viral on Chinese social media for years, leaving many scratching their heads about the reason why anyone would want to live in such a narrow city, when China has so much more suitable land. But the truth is that this area has been inhabited for hundreds of years, and many of the locals wouldn’t consider living anywhere else.