Yuanjiajie scenic area: Avatar Hallelujah Mountain
Informations collected from Internet and Travel websites.
By Sóng Việt Đàm Giang
Photos by GNT.
*

On day 02 at Zhangjiajie, we visited The Zhangjiajie scenic area of Wulingyuan which is called the Yuanjiajia Scenic Area with mountains recently called Avatar Hallelujah Mountains.

First, from city, take bus to the center with Bailong Elevator.

Yuanjiajie Scenic Area
Chinese name: 袁家界 (Yuan Jia Jie)
Location: In the north part of Zhangjiajie Forest Park in Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province.
Ticket: -It is included in a through ticket (CNY 248) of Zhangjiajie Forest Park.
-A single fare for Bailong Elevator is CNY 56.

The Bailong Elevator or Hundred Dragons Elevator is a glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff in the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area of Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area that is 335 m high (Oct 1999-2002). At the cost of 120 million yuan or $19 million, the elevator can take 48 passengers at once to the top, a journey that takes about 2 minutes.

This Bailong 335 meters high elevator is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. The Bailong Elevator has set three Guinness world Records - World's tallest full-exposure outdoor elevator, world's tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator and world's fastest passenger traffic elevator with biggest carrying capacity.

Thang máy Bailong ở Công viên rừng quốc gia Trương Gia Giới, Tỉnh Hồ Nam, Trung Quốc là thang máy quan sát có cao độ lên tới 326m, hành trình đi lên hay xuống vào khoảng thời gian 2 phút. Để du khách có thể vừa sử dụng thang, vừa có thể ngắm toàn cảnh hùng vĩ, vách cabin thang máy toàn bộ đuợc làm bằng kính cường lực thay vì inox như các loại thang máy thông thường.

Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. Yuanjiajie, originally known as Qingyan Mountain, is situated in the north part of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, with a total area of about 1,200 hectares and an average elevation of 1,074 meters. According to the legend, the name of Yuanjiajie comes from the late Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). After the failure of Huang Chao’s uprising, the court put up notices to catch the rebels. A subordinate of Huang Chao, whose family name is Yuan in order to elude pursuit, he buried himself away in the Qingyan Mountain and then named there as "Yuanjiajie". Yuanjiajie covers a large geographical area, and tourists only visit a small part area of the Yuanjiajie.

Yuan JiaJie Rock

In short, Yuanjiajie Scenic Area is situated in the northwest of the National Forest Park of Zhangjiajie. It got the name after a people whose surname is Yuan in Tang Dynasty, the total area is more than 1,200 hectares.

Taking the Bailong elevator, then trekking through the Baizhang Valley. When the elevator reaches the mountain top, Fields and Gardens in the Air will come into view. The mountain trail invites you to walk around the area and enjoy vistas. Major highlights in Yuanjiajie Scenic Area includes Bailong Lift, Fields and Gardens in the Air, No.1 Natural Bridge under Heaven, Hanging Waterfall, Mihun Bridge and Tujia Village.

Avatar Hallelujah Mountain
The Southern Sky Pillar in Yuanjiajie is formerly known as "Qian Kun Column" (The Pillar between Heaven and Earth). In January 2010, it had been officially renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" in honor of the well-known film Avatar. The mountain has a strange shape, it arises 1072 meters above sea level, over 150 meters in vertical height.
In the shape of a pillar connecting heaven and earth, this peak serves as a defining geographical landmark of Yuanjiajie Scenic Area.