Date of Visit: 5-7 Nov 2019
The Hallelujah Mountains (meaning “Floating Mountains”) – the floating islands – in the blockbuster movie Avatar gave moviegoers a superb cinema experience and long-lasting impressions. The floating islands scenes were inspired by the quartzite sandstone pillar formations of Zhangjiajie Scenic Area 张家界风景名胜区. You have to be here to be amazed how the work of nature and the power of water and wind erosion of the land could create such spectacular landforms consisting of stone pillars, deep valleys, peak forests, natural bridges, and more.
Zhangjiajie Scenic Area is divided into four major areas: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park 张家界国家森林公园 (China’s first national forest park), Yangjiajie Nature Reserve 杨家界自然保护区, Tianzishan Nature Reserve 天子山自然保护区, and Soxiyu Nature Reserve 索溪峪自然保护区. Collectively they are known as Wulingyuan Scenic Area 武陵源风景名胜区. However, visitors are probably more familiar with the name Zhangjiajie 张家界 than Wulingyuan 武陵源.
Wulingyuan Scenic Area has a huge total area of 397.5 square km, and more than 3,100 quartz and sandstone peaks, of which over 1,000 have height more than 200 metres.
I had 3 days in Zhangjiajie and I thought the most efficient way to view these scenic sights and dramatic peaks was by taking the cable cars. I set my 3-day itinerary as follows:
Day 1:
Start at Wujiayu Ticket Station 吴家峪门票站 > Visit Tianzishan Nature Reserve 天子山自然保护区 Sights > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Take Tianzi Mountain Cable Way 天子山索道 > Visit Tianzi Mountain 天子山 > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Visit Yuanjiajie 袁家界 within Zhangjiajie National Forest Park 张家界国家森林公园 > Visit quartzite sandstone pillar formations that inspired movie Avatar’s floating mountains scenes > Visit First Bridge Under Heaven 天下第一桥 > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Take Bailong Elevator 百龙天梯 down from Yuanjiajie > End of Day 1
Day 2:
Start at Wujiayu Ticket Station 吴家峪门票站 > Take public bus > Visit Yellow Dragon Cave 黄龙洞 > Take public bus > Visit Baofeng Lake 宝峰湖 > End of Day 2
Day 3:
Start at Luoguta (Forest Park) Ticket Station 锣鼓塔（森林公园）门票站 > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Take Yellow Stone Village Cable Way 黄石寨索道 > Visit Sights at Top of Yellow Stone Village 黄石寨 > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Take Yangjiajie Cable Way 杨家界索道 > Visit Yangjiajie Nature Reserve 杨家界自然保护区 Sights > Take Free Shuttle Bus > Visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park 张家界国家森林公园 Sights > Visit Golden Whip Stream 金鞭溪 > End of Day 3
Tianzi Mountain 天子山 and Tianzi Mountain Cable Way 天子山索道
The Wulingyuan Scenic Area entrance ticket is valid for 4 days with multiple entries, and free shuttle buses run on the main routes between some scenic areas and the entrances are included in the entrance ticket. Making full use of the shuttle buses will save you a lot of walking. However, be aware that some of the shuttle bus routes may be popular and busy with a long queue.
Tianzi Mountain Cable Way has a length of 2,084 metres and a height difference of 692 metres. A single trip takes about 7 minutes. There are 41 single-line automatic cycle carriers, each carrying 6 people, operating at a speed of 5m/s. At this speed, there is no problem with taking good photographs or shooting nice videos.
The highest peak of Tianzi Mountain is 1,260 metres above sea level. There are many viewing platforms at the top of Tianzi Mountain to admire these quartzite sandstone pillar formations. Many of these formations are identified by names based on their look, or a historic or legendary character or event.
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Yuanjiajie 袁家界, First Bridge Under Heaven 天下第一桥, and Bailong Elevator 百龙天梯
Yuanjiajie, located within the northern part of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, is a huge naturally formed mountain platform with an average altitude of 1,074 metres. The mountain platform is surrounded by higher peaks and deep valleys, allowing visitors good views of the quartzite sandstone pillar formations of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. One of these peaks was featured as the Hallelujah Mountain in the film Avatar.
First Bridge Under Heaven is a naturally formed promenade connecting two peaks, forming a bridge hole. The bridge is about two metres wide, more than 20 metres long, and 350 metres in height.
Bailong Elevator has a height of 335 metres. It is said to be the world’s highest glass elevator built on the side of a cliff. There are three separate glass elevators, each of which can carry up to 50 people at a time. It takes just about 2 minutes to go up or down one-way, whereas hiking up to the Yuanjiajie mountain top would take you hours.
Yellow Dragon Cave 黄龙洞 and Baofeng Lake 宝峰湖
Yellow Dragon Cave
Yellow Dragon Cave and Baofeng Lake are located within the huge 180 square kilometres Soxiyu Nature Reserve 索溪峪自然保护区. You may take a public bus or a taxis to get to Yellow Dragon Cave and Baofeng Lake.
Yellow Dragon Cave is China’s largest karst cave. It is a huge complex cave system of more than 100,000 square metres consisting of a large number of chambers, pools, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and hundreds of thousands of stalagmites, stalactites. The total length of the cave system is about 7.5 kilometres long and 140 metres high.
These underground caves are given beautiful names, such as Dragon Dance Palace 舞龙厅, Dragon Palace 龙宫, Fairy Palace 天仙宫, The Maze 迷宫, etc. The main attraction has to be a tall and thin stalagmite with a height of 19.2 metres. It is given the name Dinghai God Needle 定海神针. The name can be literally translated as the “ocean stabilising needle”. The shape of this stalagmite is very unique. The ends are thick, the middle is thin, and the thinnest part is only 10 cm in diameter. It is the tallest stalagmite in the Yellow Dragon Cave. According to cave scientists, it would have taken at least 200,000 years for Dinghai God Needle to grow to its current height. The upper end of the Dinghai God Needle is 6 metres from the top of the cave. Cave scientists estimated it would take another 60,000 years for Dinghai God Needle to reach the top of the cave. The Yellow Dragon Cave tourism authority has purchased a 1-billion RMB insurance for the Dinghai God Needle.
The full tourist route through the cave system would take 2–3 hours, including a 10-minute boat ride on a 2,800-metre river in the cave.
Baofeng Lake
Baofeng Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir that was created for irrigation purposes. So, you can say Baofeng Lake scenic area was developed by chance. The lake is 85 metres above ground and is a mountainous lake with an altitude of 585 metres.
The lake has a square shape, with a length of 2.5 kilometres and a width ranged from 200 to 1,000 meters. The average depth of the water is 72 metres. The water of the Baofeng Lake is absolutely clean and without pollution because the surrounding mountains feed water to the lake. The lake is like a mirror with green mountains on all sides. The 30-minute boat ride on Baofeng Lake is an enjoyable experience being surrounded by clean air, clear water, reflections of the mountains and peaks, and green trees.
Yellow Stone Village 黄石寨 and Yellow Stone Village Cable Way 黄石寨索道 Golden Whip Stream 金鞭溪
Yellow Stone Village Cable Way has a length of 1,000 metres and a height difference of 430 metres. A single way journey takes 6 minutes. Walking up Yellow Stone Village mountain top will take hours so riding the cable way will save you physical strength and time.
Yellow Stone Village has an elevation of more than 1,200 metres and is the largest sky observation deck within the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The observation deck has over 10 scenic viewing platforms from where you can enjoy the magnificent sandstone formations and peak forests. Walking around the ridge of the yellow stone village takes around 2 hours (around 3 kilometres in distance), so pace yourself to see the most sights you can.
Golden Whip Stream is a 7.5-kilometre boardwalk trail by the stream, allowing a unique perspective of the mountains and peaks on both sides of the stream. You would notice the further you walk upstream, the fewer people you’ll see. You don’t have to walk the whole 7.5 kilometres as it would take you at least 2 hours.
Yangjiajie Nature Reserve 杨家界自然保护区, Yangjiajie Cable Way 杨家界索道
Yangjiajie Cable Way has a length of 1,876 metres and a height difference of 517 metres. A single way journey takes 5.2 minutes. Yangjiajie Cable Way is the third Cable Car System in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area.
A newly discovered area, Yangjiajie Nature Reserve is the least crowded area. Touring Yangjiajie Nature Reserve requires a lot of hard and steep climbing. The rock formations include many natural stone walls, roughly parallel to each other. The rock formations are spectacular.
My Travel Experience
My travel experience in Zhangjiajie Scenic Area had shown me the importance of sticking to a planned itinerary. This is because I was an independent traveller in China and had already made onward travel, accommodation, and transport arrangements.
Be prepared to walk a lot, so wear suitable footwear, bring with you water and snack, and pace yourself as you walk up and down the steps to go to the viewing platforms. Obviously, if you are fit and are willing to walk, you will be rewarded with seeing more stunning sights.
Also, the official travel websites very often do not have adequate travel information to plan the itinerary, especially if you do not read Chinese. You would have to read multiple official travel websites as well as commercial travel websites to piece all the information together to plan your itinerary.
Want to explore more?
If you have more than 3 days to tour in Zhangjiajie 张家界, you should explore more scenic sights of Wulingyuan Scenic Area 武陵源风景名胜区. Check out the official Wulingyuan Scenic Area 武陵源风景名胜区 website and other travel websites for more information.
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The Hallelujah Mountains (meaning “Floating Mountains”) – the floating islands – in the blockbuster movie Avatar gave moviegoers a superb cinema experience and long-lasting impressions. The floating islands scenes were inspired by the quartzite sandstone pillar formations of Zhangjiajie Scenic Area 张家界风景名胜区.