Zhangjiajie National Forest Park & Tianmen Mountain Self-Guided Travelogue
Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain self-guided travelogue. Our group of 16 from Zhejiang just returned from Zhangjiajie. At home we checked fellow travelers' journals and guides online, did plenty of homework, found a self-guided tour guide online, and chose our route. Day One: Golden Whip Stream to Yuanjiajie, strolling along the clear mountains and waters of Golden Whip Stream.
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain self-guided travel notes. A group of 16 of us from Zhejiang had just returned from traveling in Zhangjiajie. At home we checked travelers' travel notes and guides online, did plenty of homework, found a self-guided tour guide online, and chose the route.
Day One: Golden Whip Stream ---- Yuanjiajie. Along the Golden Whip Stream tour route, with clear mountains and clear waters, we advanced deep into the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area. Above our heads were towering grotesque peaks, around us ancient trees blocked the sun, rare flowers covered the slopes, beneath our feet a stream flowed gently, and breathing the fresh air in the fine rain, people and nature had become one. Golden Whip Stream is 15 li long in total, and the environment is extremely quiet and secluded. Many rare flowers and unusual trees grow on both sides. Guide Yang constantly introduced to me the varieties of various flowers and trees. Unfortunately, I did not know much about this field; I only knew that many of them were precious plant species, such as dawn redwood, dove flower, lobster flower, and so on. The tallness of Golden Whip Rock, the smugness of Zhu Bajie, the affection of Meeting After a Thousand Miles, and the golden whip fish of Purple Grass Pool made me walk into a fairyland on earth. At Meeting After a Thousand Miles, this place is named because two peaks look very much like two lovers reunited after a long separation, standing embracing each other. Here we turned onto the road up to Yuanjiajie. Yuanjiajie is more than 1,100 meters above sea level. From Meeting After a Thousand Miles, going up requires climbing the very steep Luanchuan Slope. After much hardship we got up to Yuanjiajie. The Back Garden is one of the best viewing spots, facing Huangshizhai from afar. Here before our eyes clouds rolled and mist surged, peaks appeared and disappeared, and all kinds of strange peaks were magical and elegant in the mist, with myriad scenes. No matter from which angle you looked, it was a perfect Chinese landscape painting. The magical scene excited me endlessly, and the fatigue of climbing was swept away. I finally had a glimpse of one side of Zhangjiajie's 'fairyland on earth.' Afterward, I also saw sights such as Mihun Terrace and Number One Bridge Under Heaven. Urged on by Guide Yang, we left the viewing platform looking back again and again. That night we stayed at an inn near Number One Bridge Under Heaven.
Day Two: Yangjiajie ---- Tianzi Mountain. We took a bus to Yangjiajie, got off after about ten minutes, and walked into the scenic area. This is an attraction that tour groups do not visit. The scenery gradually improved along the way, and after about thirty minutes we reached Wulong Village. Wulong Village was built on an isolated peak. Entering the village requires passing through three passes, each incredibly perilous. Especially the last pass, people can only squeeze sideways through a narrow slit between huge rocks, called the 'weight-loss' pass, also called Slimming Valley. Because obese people find it hard to pass here and must first lose weight. Wulong Village was once occupied by bandits for a long time. The TV series 'Story of Suppressing Bandits in Wulong Mountain' was adapted from the fact that the People's Liberation Army suppressed bandits here, and many scenes were filmed on location here. Guide Yang kept telling us stories of the former bandits along the way. Western Hunan has many mountains and dense forests and has always had bandits appearing, which I had long heard of, but after seeing the beautiful scenery near Wulong Village, I could not help sighing to the guide: 'With such beautiful scenery, how could bandits choose a place like this?' Tianbo Mansion is just southwest of Wulong Village. If you have seen Tianbo Mansion, you too will say: I love beauties, but I love the mountains and rivers even more! From Yangjiajie we took the eco-bus to Daguantai in Tianzi Mountain. South of Tianzi Mountain is a large crescent-shaped valley, containing Shentang Bay, which is part of Suoxiyu. Visitors view the scenery around the canyon from Tianzi Mountain. Below Tianzi Peak you can see the whole panorama of the Tianzi Mountain Scenic Area. Looking out, the blue sky stretches for thousands of miles, clouds are light and the wind gentle, and in the valley are towering strange peaks and jagged rocks. The peaks here are smaller than those in Zhangjiajie Forest Park, and most are not connected to each other. They are mainly concentrated around Shentang Bay and Helong Park. Looking into the distance from below Tianzi Peak, it is like a sea of stone forests. There are more open areas in the middle of the valley. Whenever there is rain and fog, it becomes a sea of clouds, called West Sea. Although I had no chance to witness the wonder of the sea of clouds, after hearing the description, the Penglai fairyland scene in which small peaks appear faintly in the sea of clouds like little islands quickly appeared in my mind. Walking along the valley for about forty minutes, we reached attractions such as Immortal Bridge and Tianzi Treasure Seat. Tianzi Treasure Seat is like a stone wall extending from the mountain into a deep valley, with bottomless abysses on both sides of the wall. Standing at the end of the wall, with bright sun above my head, deep ravines below my feet, and listening to the pine wind, the peaks of West Sea opposite seemed closer and more beautiful because there was no reference object, and felt almost within reach. At that time, I really wished West Sea were a real sea, then I would plunge into the sea, swim freely in Shentang Bay, and embrace these peaks that seemed both real and illusory and full of spiritual energy. Legend says that Xiang Dakun once cultivated himself at Tianzi Treasure Seat for three years, and later led the Tujia people to rebel and proclaim himself king. Xiang Dakun was a Tujia peasant uprising leader in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, regarded by the local Tujia people as a national hero and Son of Heaven. Countless legends related to him circulate in the scenic area, and Tianzi Mountain is also named in memory of him. Although these legends are mostly bizarre and exaggerated, they still add much cultural color to Zhangjiajie's strange natural landscapes. After seeing One Step Is Hard and Divine Chicken Pecking, we stayed overnight in Yangjiajie.
Day Three: Shentang Bay ---- Ten-Mile Gallery. The Shentang Bay viewing platform is the best viewing spot in Tianzi Mountain. In the bay, forests are dense and ravines deep, with grotesque rocks standing like knives and halberds. When the wind rises, it is like rolling thunder and ten thousand horses galloping. Legend says Xiang Dakun did not die after jumping off the cliff in defeat here and continued to train troops in the bay. In front of the nearby Dianjiang Terrace, a row of peaks stands in formation. Legend says they were Xiang Dakun's generals who refused to submit after his death, turned into peaks, and are still being reviewed by Xiang Dakun. After seeing Shentang Bay and the nearby Helong Park, we went down the mountain along Wolong Ridge and reached the middle section of Ten-Mile Gallery. Ten-Mile Gallery refers to the beautiful scenery on both sides of Ganxi. Here you can view the peaks of Tianzi Mountain from below upward, similar to Golden Whip Stream. However, the trees here are sparser, and the peaks on both sides are a bit farther away. Overall it does not feel as good as Golden Whip Stream. After Ten-Mile Gallery we also saw Water Surrounding Four Gates, known as the original model of Chinese landscape painting. Accompanied by Guide Yang, we left the Wulingyuan Scenic Area and arrived at Xiuhua Mountain Hall in Zhangjiajie city. Ticket: 33 yuan, self-paid. Xiuhua Mountain Hall was founded by the famous artist and founder of sandstone painting Chen Chuhua. It is China's first Tujia private museum, gathering a large number of carved wooden furniture, embroidered clothing, bronze and porcelain, jars and pots, cross-stitch brocade, daily ornaments, including the carved large bed of Xiangxi noble figures, stone carvings and woodcuts treasured by native officers, embroidered purses of old women who had seen prosperity, and the ivory and bone smoking pipes of dark, sturdy sailors at the river docks, and so on. That night we stayed at Laitun Hotel in the city.
Day Four: Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park. Scenic area through ticket price: 258 yuan per person, self-paid (includes: Tianmen Cave and summit area tickets, Tianmen Mountain cableway round trip, eco-bus transportation). Taking the Tianmen Mountain cableway up the mountain for sightseeing is the most convenient and also the most special transportation route for touring Tianmen Mountain. The diagonal length of the line is 7,455 meters, making it the longest high-mountain passenger cableway in the world. It starts from Zhangjiajie city and goes directly to the primitive sky garden at the top of Tianmen Mountain, like a rainbow crossing between the human world and heaven. Tianmen Mountain is a mesa-shaped isolated mountain with cliffs on all four sides, with the main peak at 1,518.6 meters above sea level. Because of the high altitude and dangerous terrain, it is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. Since ancient times, Tianmen Mountain has been said to be a sacred mountain standing at the boundary between the immortal and mortal worlds. There are many traces and miracles of immortals on the mountain. In the hearts of local people, Tianmen Mountain has always been a spiritual mountain for praying and making wishes. Even the singer Li Na became a nun here. On Tianmen Mountain, the more representative features are the Sixteen Peaks and Sixteen Caves. Among them, the most famous is Tianmen Cave, known as the world's highest mountain-piercing karst cave. The 1999 World Flight Competition and the 2006 Russian Air Force Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain flight performance, these two astonishing feats of mankind challenging the limits, once made Tianmen Cave the focus of worldwide attention and made more people yearn for it. At around ten o'clock in the evening we flew from Zhangjiajie back to Shanghai. People often say that after returning from the Five Great Mountains, one need not look at other mountains; after returning from Huangshan, one need not look at the Five Great Mountains. I say that after returning from Zhangjiajie, there is no need to go to Huangshan either. It is a fairyland on earth!!
This trip plus airfare cost less than 2,000. This trip was the happiest and most enjoyable I have ever had.