As we arrived quite late the night before due to delays, we had a late start to the day therefore we choose an easy day at the tianmen mountains. we first took a bus towards the mountain as the line for the cable car up the mountain was very long. we then walked up the large flight of stairs to the tianmen cave (you can take an ESCALATOR if you don't want to walk up). it felt like we were in the clouds as you could only see the fog. once on top we then walked over the glass road, i actually thought it was going to be a lot worse as i am a bit scared of heights but only part of the walkway is covered in glass, the other part you can still walk on if you are too scared. after that we walked around, took a small cable car, explored an old temple then took the long cable ride back down, which is supposedly one of the longest cable rides in the world. I think taking the bus up then taking the cable car down as we did is the best option. less lines and less people.
Now for some delicious local Hunnan food.
Day 2 April 3 2016
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (张家界国家森林公园)
today we then headed to the Yellow stone village at the zhangjiajie park, however the weather wasn't very kind to us. as we ascended up to the mountains on the cable car the rain and fog got heavier. and once we arrived at the top all of it was covered in fog, so we "had to use our imagination" as most of the scenic spots well we couldn't see anything.
we then took a stroll around the golden whip stream where we saw some of the large rock formations from below. it was a very nice and peaceful walk through nature.
Next stop an early simple dinner of local specialities then off to charming xiangxi show, a variety show depicting stories and ancient folklore from the local region. I usually don't like chinese variety shows but this one was actually quite interesting as there were many different folk stories that showed different traditions and ancient myths.
Day 3 April 4 2016
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (张家界国家森林公园)
Today we Finally headed to the Avatar mountains. we took the bailong elevator up to yuanjiajie to see the inspiration for the hallelujah mountains in the avatar movie. then we walked around the park to see the first bridge under heaven, lover peaks, and other scenic spots. after that we went to the tianzi mountain to get a very nice view of the whole park and back down the long cable car.
the Last meal with some local specialities. different tastes but all was quite good and not too spicy.
it was a great trip and i am glad i went and saw the famous avatar mountains. of course because of the movie, it has now become a huge tourist trap even offering pictures to take home with the avatar characters on it. but the mountains and the scenery around is quite amazing and definitely worth the trip even with all the crowds.
