Inside world's 'narrowest city' where residents live on 'edge of disaster'

Travel blogger Drew Binsky recently visited the Chinese city of Yanjin, also known as the "world's narrowest city", which is reportedly home to 450,000 people who live in a strip of buildings along a river

A travel blogger has exposed the precarious existence of residents in what's been dubbed the world's "narrowest city", where 450,000 people are reportedly perched on the brink of calamity.

Drew Binsky, a YouTube sensation with over 4.62 million followers and a library of more than 1,000 videos, recently ventured to Yanjin in China's Yunnan Province – a city squeezed into a single strip of high-rises.

In his latest upload, 'Entering The World's Narrowest City', Drew explores the urban sliver wedged between mountains and skirting a river, with buildings teetering on cliff edges.

Despite the beauty, Drew warns of the looming dangers: "The main road of Yanjin follows the river's path, winding through the city with barely enough space for two lanes."

He adds: "But somehow, 450,000 people live here and they face the constant threat of floods and earthquakes as their homes are sitting on the edge of disaster."

Determined to capture life amid such risks, Drew says: "I came to Yanjin to document how people are living in this crazy environment despite the constant threat of catastrophe."

Yanjin's population is crammed into an area that narrows to 30 metres and widens to just 300 metres at its broadest, mostly hugging the riverbank with surprisingly few bridges to connect it.

The buildings were constructed atop pillars to combat the inherent instability of the land and the rising water levels that come with intense floods.

YouTuber @MegaProjects-su9sp shared insights into the unique urban layout, commenting: "Every house is closely connected with almost no vacant space."

Delving deeper, they added: "Moreover, you don't have to worry about getting lost because the entire place has only one main road. It is truly a single-road city. The unique geographical environment gives Yanjin a distinctive charm, filling people with curiosity and a desire to explore."

Back in 2009, Voice of America reported that many of Yanjin's residences had been built near to hillsides, flagging them as prone to earthquakes, according to experts.

In 2006, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Yanjin County in Zhaotong City, resulting in the collapse of some 6,000 homes. China Daily reported the calamity caused 22 fatalities and over 100 injuries.

The bulk of homes in Yanjin had been built on earthquake-endangered terrain.