Zhangjiajie National Park
A Magnificent Forest National Park in China
by Dr Y
Zhangjiajie National Park is nestled in the northern Hunan Province of mainland China. The park is well known for its stunning eroded mountain pinnacles, which are breathtaking! This park is part of the Wulingyan Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because these mountains were formed by many years of geological erosion, there are miles and miles of caves underground.
The Long and Winding Road
A precarious, winding road reaches the viewpoints for the Forest Park. Electric busses zoom past each other around countless hairpin turns, transporting visitors to the top. At the top, you are rewarded with this impressive sight in the photo above. This is known as Tianmen Mountain, and the huge arch is called the “Heavenly Gate.” If you’re up for it, you can climb the 999 steps to reach Heaven! After huffing and puffing my way up all 999 steps with my wife and kids, we got a close-up look at the huge stone arch and were awarded with a certificate congratulating us on making it up to the top. After a short break to catch our breaths, we started the journey back down all 999 steps, which seemed way steeper on the way down..
Spectacular Scenery
The natural scenery in Zhangjiajie is truly unparalleled. Everywhere you turn, you see majestic, impossibly shaped mountains. Looking around at this mysterious scenery, it almost feels like you’ve entered another world. Of particular interest is the towering pillar of quartz sandstone you see in the photo to the left. Shaped by years of erosion, this mountain juts up towards the sky and is topped by a small section of lush forest. When the mist rolls in, the mountain looks as if it’s floating, and this served as the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar”. Accordingly, this peak has been named “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”.
Underneath the mountains of Zhangjiajie is an extensive cave system with many miles of caves, like the Yellow Dragon Cave in the photo. The caves were created over thousands of years by seeping water and depositing minerals into beautiful rock formations. We were told the immense cave system stretches for 15 km (about 10 miles), although only a 3 km (2 mi) section is currently open to visitors.
Our trip also took us to a picturesque mountain village known as “Phoenix Town,” with a river of mountain water winding its way through the heart of the town. And, of course, no trip to China is complete without a local feast and sweet dessert!
This article and photos were contributed by Dr Y of www.travelgumbo.com. Thank you.