Zhangjiajie Travel Guide

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is named after its natural wonder, Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave. When visiting the attraction, you can enjoy panoramic views of the winding Heaven-Linking Avenue and the stunning mountain scenery from the cable car. For the adventurous, walking along the cliffside glass walkway offers an exhilarating experience of walking in mid-air.

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is located close to Zhangjiajie city. The Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave is a natural karst cave formation, which locals believe leads directly to heaven. For regular visitors, Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave is not open year-round. During winter each year, due to snow and icy roads, both Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave and the access road (the 99-bend mountain highway known as Tongtian Avenue) leading to it are closed.

The lower station of the attraction's cableway is located in Guanliping, Yongding District, while the upper station isTianmen MountainTop. In 2020, the attraction opened an express cableway. The lower station of the express cableway is near the Tianmen Mountain entrance, while the upper station is atTianmen CaveNear the parking lot.

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park features ancient towering trees and winding vines throughout. The attraction is divided into several main areas including Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave, central route, eastern route, and western route. Visitors can choose different routes and areas to explore based on their preferences and physical condition.

The core attraction of the central route is Tianmen Mountain Temple. Near the temple lies the "Child-seeking cave," where folklore says the child-giving Guanyin appeared. Devout prayers here are believed to grant wishes for children. The highlight of the western route is an approx. 60 m long "glass walkway" built on a cliff face. With the entire path made of transparent glass, walking on it offers a thrilling experience as you gaze down at the seemingly bottomless valley beneath your feet, combining heart-pounding excitement with the joy of walking in mid-air. Currently, the eastern route and Panlong Cliff have also opened their own approx. 60 m long glass walkways respectively.

Accommodation is not available within the attraction, so it must be completed in one day. Near Tianmen Mountain Temple, there is "Cherry Bay Restaurant" which offers snacks and fast food.

Near the lower station of Tianmen Mountain cableway, there is transportation available to "Grand Canyon Theater", where you can watch the live show and magical musical "Tianmen Fox Fairy". Adapted from the mythological tale "Liu Hai cuts firewood", it tells a touching love story between a human and a fox. With live music, lighting effects, and captivating scenes like a giant moon, fox spirit transformations, falling snow, and high-altitude flying bridges, this legendary romance is vividly portrayed.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is where Zhangjiajie tourism originates.

"Everyone knows Zhangjiajie, but who recognizes Wulingyuan?" Many visitors are confused about the relationship between Zhangjiajie and Wulingyuan. Generally, Zhangjiajie refers to both Zhangjiajie City and the Zhangjiajie attraction. The Zhangjiajie attraction specifically means Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which—together with Tianzi Mountain, Suoxi Valley, and Yangjiajie—forms the Wulingyuan scenic area. Since Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was developed earlier and gained greater fame, even Zhangjiajie City was renamed after it. As a result, people commonly use "Zhangjiajie National Forest Park" or "Zhangjiajie attraction" to refer to the Wulingyuan scenic area.

"Three thousand spectacular peaks and eight hundred beautiful waters." The three thousand spectacular peaks, in particular, are world-renowned.

Wulingyuan's mountains stand apart from famous peaks around the world. Across its 398-square-kilometer area, over 3,000 densely packed sandstone pillars rise dramatically, with 243 exceeding 1,000 meters in height. When sea of clouds roll in, these pillars appear to float without foundation, soaring straight into the sky. Alongside North America's redwood forests and Greenland's glaciers, they form one of Earth's four great geological wonders. Located at low altitudes in the subtropical zone, Wulingyuan thrives with lush forests and abundant water sources, supporting numerous endangered plant and animal species. Each pillar teems with life. The natural pillars, bridges, canyons, waterfalls, streams, pools, caves, and dense broadleaf forests often shroud in mist and clouds, enhancing their breathtaking beauty. This unique landscape creates a spectacular scene described as "majestic mountains, elegant waters, peculiar peaks, secluded gorges, and exquisite caves," earning its reputation as "an enlarged bonsai and a miniature fairyland."

On December 14, 1992, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee unanimously voted to include Wulingyuan on the World Heritage List, filling China's gap of having no World Natural Heritage sites. Its recognized outstanding universal value lies in its exceptionally rare quartz sandstone peak forest landform, which possesses extremely high aesthetic value.

UNESCO states: "Wulingyuan's scenery can be compared to several national parks and monuments in the United States, such as the Grand Canyon, as well as the sandstone peaks of Western Australia's Purnululu region. However, due to Wulingyuan's lower elevation and subtropical location, it boasts lush forests, abundant water sources, and numerous towering peaks that display more vertical profiles than the heritage sites in the U.S. and Australia."

The visually stunning Pandora planet in the globally popular 2009 movie "Avatar" captivated countless viewers, with its floating mountains inspired by Wulingyuan. Additionally, Wulingyuan served as the filming location for Chinese literary classics like "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Journey to the West," as well as movies such as "Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal" and "Monster Hunt."

In 2010, Wulingyuan's unique landform was officially named the "Zhangjiajie landform," becoming a globally recognized term and one of the few landform types in the world named after a specific region.

Attraction highlights

• Yuanjiajie: Step into Pandora from Avatar

Yuanjiajie served as the filming location for the "Hallelujah Mountains" in the movie Avatar. Here, you can explore the magical world of floating peaks scattered like stars across the landscape. If you're lucky enough to visit during a light rain or just after the rain clears, you'll witness the breathtaking scenery of mist-shrouded, layered mountain peaks. Mihun Terrace is the ideal vantage point, offering panoramic views of hundreds of towering stone peaks that create a majestic atmosphere. You can also see the renowned "World's First Bridge," a natural wonder spanning two mountains with a vertical drop of 357 meters.

• Tianzi Mountain: Where the Emperor's Return Makes Other Mountains Pale in Comparison

Exploring Tianzi Mountain, you'll encounter extraordinary geological formations and peculiar peaks like the Imperial Writing Brush, Fairy Presenting Flowers, Commander's Platform, Sky-High Farmland, and Immortal Bridge. Don't focus too much on how closely these natural shapes resemble their names - the true charm lies in the mountain's "primordial natural beauty." The misty atmosphere after rainfall creates an ethereal fairyland experience, while winter transforms the landscape into an even more enchanting silver wonderland.

• Huangshi Village: Reach the summit for breathtaking mountain views

"Without ascending Huangshi Village, your trip to Zhangjiajie is incomplete." Huangshi Village is a scenic viewpoint within Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, surrounded by sheer cliffs and lush greenery, with its summit often shrouded in mist. Reaching the top of Huangshi Village offers panoramic views that let you experience the majestic feeling of "seeing all other mountains appear small."

• Yangjiajie: Thrills Amidst the Peaks

Yangjiajie is primarily known for its pristine natural beauty, featuring towering mountains and narrow paths that make it famous for its "perilous" reputation, beloved by backpackers and adventurers. Within the attraction, Black Dragon Village is one of Zhangjiajie's most magical spots. Once inhabited by bandits from western Hunan, it was later renamed after the TV series "The Suppression of Bandits in Black Dragon Mountain." The village is built along the mountainside, with only one path leading up and down—requiring visitors to use both hands and feet to climb to the summit.

• Suoxi Valley: Nature's Ink Wash Masterpiece

Suoxi Valley, also known as Suoxi, gets its name from the rope-like shape of its winding streams. Unlike the more rugged areas of the forest park, this mist-shrouded valley features crystal-clear streams that flow year-round, surrounded by graceful peaks at every turn. The Ten Mile Gallery stands as the crown jewel of Suoxi Valley—a 5km-long canyon filled with fragrant wildflowers and extraordinary rock formations. Walking through this landscape feels like stepping into a living Chinese landscape painting.

• Golden Whip Stream: Filming Location of "Journey to the West"

Golden Whip Stream Canyon is the earliest developed area in the attraction, where a crystal-clear stream flows through the valley flanked by towering peaks and lush greenery. This location served as one of the filming sites for the classic TV series "Journey to the West," allowing fans to visit iconic scenes like the Water Curtain Cave and the Mountain-Splitting Rescue.

The Zhangjiajie Seventy-two Strange Towers Attraction is located at No. 1 Wuling Mountain Avenue, with a very advantageous geographical location. It is divided into three major sections: Tiangong Strange Towers, Fireworks Old Street, and Seventy-two Strange Villages. It is known as the "Zhangjiajie Cultural Landmark" and the "New Engine of Night Economy."

Tour Zhangjiajie and visit the Seventy-two Wonderful Towers! The Seventy-two Wonderful Towers deeply implement the core idea of ​​"host-guest sharing and industrial integration" of the whole-region tourism, restore the mysterious legend of "Nine Bows, Eighteen Villages and Seventy-two Wonderful Towers" in Wuling Mountain Area, and create an immersive local style national trend theme Attraction. The project takes the 109.9-meter Guinness World Stilt House and the 360° immersive real-life performance block as the core creativity, and the first food street in Hunan and the One Thousand and One Nights theme hotel as the core business format. It integrates a variety of leisure formats such as characteristic bars, national trend travel photography, intangible cultural heritage workshops, and "Eight Views of Wonderful Towers". There is everything for eating, drinking, playing, and shopping. With cultural empowerment, it creates a model of diversified night economy consumption formats! It has become a milestone in Zhangjiajie's transformation from mountain sightseeing tours to cultural leisure tours!

Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, located in Cili County, Zhangjiajie City, boasts lush vegetation and fresh air, with cascading waterfalls and babbling brooks everywhere, creating a natural oxygen bar. Beyond admiring the stunning natural scenery, the highlight of this attraction is the glass bridge—Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. Standing on the bridge offers a breathtaking view of the canyon floor 400m below, providing an exhilarating challenge for your nerves.

Both downtown Zhangjiajie and Wulingyuan Attraction offer direct buses to the Grand Canyon, taking approximately 20–30 minutes. Upon entering the attraction, the first sight that greets you is the glass bridge spanning the canyon. The middle section features fully transparent panels, perfect for photo enthusiasts to lie down and snap away. Continue forward through Shenquan Gorge and the Ladder Plank Walkway until you reach One-Line Sky, where you can get up close with the sheer canyon walls. Proceed further down via the slideway to the mountain base, then board a cruise to exit the attraction.

Located in the northwestern part of Hunan Province lies Wulingyuan. A part of the Wulingyuan District of Zhangjiajie City, this area is home to many natural attractions, such as the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park as well as three national Geoparks: the Suoxiyu, Tianzishan, and the Yangjiajie. There is spectacular scenery to be enjoyed, and all year round, at the Wulingyuan Scenic Spot; it's like a Penglai Wonderland. For those who enjoy long walks, they will not be disappointed by the abundance of dense forests and high mountain peaks that are ready to be explored. The changing cloudscapes provide an ever-changing view.

The Tianmen Mountain Cableway is located in Zhangjiajie's Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park. The cableway has three stations: lower, middle, and upper. The lower station is in Guanliping, Yongding District (within the city), while the upper station is at the mountaintop, providing access to attractions like the Ghost Valley Plank Walk and the Tianmen Mountain Glass Walkway. The middle station serves as a transfer hub where visitors can switch to eco-friendly shuttle buses heading to Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave. The cableway stations feature a white-and-green color scheme, symbolizing clouds and nature, creating a magnificent yet elegant structure. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park - Tianmen Cave during the cableway ride.

Located within the Suoxiyu Attraction Attraction , the Ten-Mile Gallery is one of its highlights. Along its five-kilometer-long valley, wildflowers and trees abound, while in the distance, unique peaks and rocks appear. Walking through it, visitors feel like stepping into a natural landscape painting, completely captivated by the pristine natural beauty.

The rocks Souvenir the gallery have formed many stone sculptures that resemble people, objects, birds and animals. Among them, "The God of Longevity Welcoming Guests", "Seniors Collecting Herbs", "Reading Books to the King" and "Conch Peak" are popular among tourists.

Tianmen Mountain Glass Plank RoadIt is the most distinctive tourist trail in Tianmenshan National Forest Park. The glass plank road is divided into three parts: the west line glass plank road, the east line glass plank road and the Panlong Cliff glass plank road. To play on the glass plank road, you need to pay a 5 yuan plank road service fee (i.e. shoe cover fee) on site.

Tianmen Mountain Glass Plank RoadThey are all built on cliffs, and the roads are all made of transparent glass. When you walk on them, you can see the abyss under your feet. While you are frightened, you can also feel the joy of walking in the air.On sunny days, the reflections of the blue sky and white clouds cover the entire plank road, making people feel nervous about the transparency of their feet, but also enjoy the pleasure of walking on the clouds; on foggy weather, the glass plank road appears and disappears in the fog, and the beautiful scenery of heaven on earth is even more amazing.

The glass plank road is another daring masterpiece created by Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain Attraction after the Guigu plank road hanging on the cliff, the glass observation deck extending out of the air, and the wooden suspension bridge across the canyon. In order to allow tourists to see the beautiful scenery through the glass plank road without any flaws, tourists playing on the glass plank road are required to wear shoe covers to keep the glass plank road transparent and clean. The excitement and shock of the glass plank road can be compared with the world-famous "Sky Road" glass corridor in the Grand Canyon of the United States, so it has the reputation of "Sky Road" in the East.

"At the beginning of the mountain, at the beginning of the water. The beauty of the strange peaks is at ease, and the mountains and rivers are like a book. Mandarin ducks coo, ducks coo. The goddess is lingering in the coo, and Baofeng enters Cuihu." Holy mountain, holy water, saint, holy love, holy song. Baofeng Lake, a holy lake in the sky, is a lake hanging on the top of Zhangjiajie's landform.

Baofeng Lake is the soul of Zhangjiajie's landscape, and is also known as the "classic of the world's lakes". It is located in Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie. It is one of the first national 5A-level Attraction and an integral part of the world natural heritage Wulingyuan Scenic Area. It is one of the first batch of China's world natural heritage sites and China's first batch of world geological parks. It is the real-life filming location for TV series such as "Journey to the West" Water Curtain Cave and "Xiangxi Bandit Suppression". It is one of the five boutique tourist routes promoted by the Zhangjiajie Municipal Government. It is a scenic spot dominated by mountains and waters in Zhangjiajie, and is known as the Fairyland on Earth.

As you step into Baofeng Lake, you will immediately see the magnificent Baofeng Waterfall. In front of the waterfall is a natural green landscape stage, the venue for the Chinese Folk Song Festival, and the large-scale landscape performance of the Tima Sacred Song. The performance uses music, dance and other artistic techniques to express the origin, war, migration, production and life of the Tujia people, a glorious national epic.

Go up the ladder, walk across the Happiness Bridge, climb up the Hero Slope, and you will see the high gorge and flat lake. The clear water is surrounded by strange peaks, lush trees, and small islands covered with green, like green pearls, adding a bit of magical charm to the mountains and lakes. "A mirror is hidden deep in the mountains, and moved around the Three Gorges. When the Cruise enters the high mountains, it startles the mandarin ducks to fly in pairs." This is a true portrayal of the scenery of Baofeng Lake. Surrounded by green mountains and a pool of clear water, it is clear enough to reflect people, peaceful and quiet. Boating here is refreshing. There is a saying: "The clear water dyes the mountains green, and the faces of peach blossoms are reflected in the water."

In addition to the beautiful natural scenery, the pure and authentic Tujia folk songs, like the sounds of nature, looming in the lake, mysterious and romantic, have become another beautiful scenery of Baofeng Lake. When the Cruise rowed to the center of the lake and approached A-mei's boat, tourists could invite the shy and delicate Tujia girl with warm applause. The sweet singing voice was pleasing to the ears, and the lingering love song duet kicked off. Tourists were also excited to sing folk songs with A-mei, conveying feelings with songs and establishing love with songs. This is a chance for single men to show their skills, because as long as they can sing three folk songs, they have a chance to win the beauty.

When boating on Baofeng Lake, you can also enjoy the peacock spreading its tail, the golden toad holding the moon, the half-faced Bajie, the mandarin duck bay and other scenic spots. Of course, the most amazing thing is the Baofeng Goddess. The masterpiece of the gods and the lifelike goddess interpret a touching love story - a long time ago, in the mysterious Greater Xiangxi, a pair of lovers fell deeply in love. Their love that transcended the secular world was punished by the "clan rules". The handsome brother was turned into a frog in Baofeng Lake by witchcraft and could never be a human being... The sister learned that she only needed a passionate kiss to turn the brother back into a human being, but the price was to exchange her own life. The sister came to Baofeng Lake without hesitation, but the brother would not allow the sister to sacrifice herself no matter what... The sister waited for the brother to change his mind, and the brother hoped that the sister could find her own happiness as soon as possible... In this way, they stayed together for a thousand years for each other... The Baofeng Goddess used her story to inspire people that true love is for each other and to make each other live better.

Tianmen Cave, located in the central part of Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, is an underground karst cave on the edge of a plateau. Due to the pressure, collapse, and erosion caused by the synclinal tectonic forces, rock layers at both the north and south ends collapsed. Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park was formerly known as Songliang Mountain. In the sixth year of Yong'an (263 AD) during the Three Kingdoms period, the mountain suddenly opened up a sheer cliff, forming a mysterious gate-like opening, creating a rare world wonder – Tianmen Cave. Emperor Sun Xiu of Wu considered this an auspicious omen and renamed Songliang Mountain to Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Cave is 131.5 meters high, 57 meters wide, and 60 meters deep. Opening from the north and south sides of a sheer cliff, it seems to soar into the sky, its appearance ever-changing, like a bright mirror inlaid on the azure sky. Year-round, white clouds and purple mist rise and swirl, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. It is a rare high-altitude natural karst cave in the world.