The building on the cliff edge is a library in the ancient Cloud Rock Temple (云岩寺) in Sichuan Province.
There are a thousand paths to enlightenment, but only two ways to access the 1,000-year-old sutra library: one is via a long and winding mountain track that is time-consuming, and another is a shortcut through a bridge formed by just two chains – one functioning as the narrow, and very narrow, bridge deck, the other serving as handrail.
The photo was taken in the 1930s, showing a Chinese Buddhist monk returning from the library through the chain bridge.
A Chinese Buddhist monk walking on the bridge formed with two iron chains that link the sutra library and a cliff top on the other side of the gorge.