Chery’s big moment to flaunt its Fulwin X3L SUV on Tianmen Mountain’s gnarly “Heavenly Ladder” backfired spectacularly when the ride lost grip mid-climb during a promo stunt. November 12 was supposed to be a flex, a nod to other brands’ audacious feats, but instead, the SUV awkwardly slid backward, smacked a railing, and got embarrassingly stuck on those unforgiving stone steps. Crews scrambled for almost two hours just to pry it loose, shutting down the whole route.
The internet, of course, went wild. Clips of the flop blew up across Chinese social media, forcing Chery into damage control. The company coughed up an apology, blaming bad planning and some safety system hiccup, while insisting the SUV itself wasn’t the problem. Sure, blame the gear, not the star of the show.
Chinese auto manufacturer trying to replicate feat by Range Rover. Fails. pic.twitter.com/z20iwQ3ksq
— The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动 (@TGTM_Official) November 12, 2025
Let’s talk about this staircase, though. Tianmen’s “Heavenly Ladder” isn’t for the faint of heart—a brutal 985-foot crawl with gut-wrenching 60-degree pitches and laughably slim 12-inch steps. It’s a death-defying photo op, a magnet for brands chasing clout. Remember that viral Range Rover stunt from 2018? Yeah, same spot. High reward, higher risk.
Turns out, Chery’s rigging gave out mid-climb when a shackle popped, tangling the rope in a wheel and sabotaging the whole ascent. Fancy hardware means squat if your backup plan implodes.
Now, the big question: What was Chery thinking? The botched climb was meant to scream “tough and unstoppable,” but all it screamed was “oops.” Minor scrape or not, the optics were brutal. Carmakers love these flashy, edge-of-disaster stunts, but public stages turn tiny flubs into PR nightmares. For Chery, this was a wake-up call: When you play with spectacle, one slip can get you cancelled.
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