Zhangjiajie 01: Tianmen Mountain
Informations collected from Internet and Travel Websites.
Photos by GNT
*
From Changsha, we went to visit Changde with Poem wall, then FengHoang with beautiful Phoenix Old Town, then to Zhagjiajie.
By Sóng Việt Đàm Giang
Tianmen Mountain
- Chinese: 天门山 Tiānmén Shān /tyen-mnn shan/ ‘Heaven's Door Mountain’
- Location: just south of Zhangjiajie city, NOT in the National Park, north of the city —
- Height: 1,519 meters (4,983 feet)
- Mountain Tourist Area (above 700m, 2,300 ft): 10 square kilometers (4 square miles)
The mountain is best reached by
cable car. The aerial tramway ride is the longest in the world, taking
about 30 minutes for over 7 kilometers. The last part of the cable way is very
steep, going up at 37 degrees over sheer cliffs to one of the mountain peaks.
The cable car starts close to the bus station and railway station. The
scenery viewed from the cable car is fantastic: lush mountain peaks, the 99
Bends (99 sharp curves on a road up to the mountain peak), and deep valleys.
One cable car holding eight people.
The
Cliff-Hanging Walkway
The walkway was built along the edges of this mountain's summits, clinging
to the vertical cliffs.
The
Glass Skywalk — "the Walk of Faith"
The glass walkway (or "the Walk
of Faith") is part of the cliff-hanging walkway, and is the highest
section. The skywalk is 60 meters long, with a width of 1.6 meters. On a clear
day, walking on it, a sheer drop of thousands of feet below can be clearly
seen. It gives a thrilling feeling like walking in the sky. It is
interesting to see people (scared of the height) leaning against the cliff as
they cross it. On foggy days, it is easier to walk across as you
can see nothing below, however the thrilling feature of the walkway is lost. If
it rains the day before, there is usually heavy fog at the mountain top.
The
99 Bends
There are 99 sharp curves on the
road up to Tianmen Cave, the famous 99 Bends. The best place to see and take
photos of these bends is from the cable car.
The road is built for tourist use, taking tourists from the mountain foot to
the top of the mountain and Tianmen Cave. Tourist buses take travelers from the
midway cable car station along some of these 99 bends to Tianmen Cave. The bus
doesn't stop on the way. It takes about 20 minutes to the cave. The ride, full
of sharp turns along vertical cliffs, is not recommended for those who are
easily carsick.
Tianmen ('Heaven's Door' 天门 Tiānmén) Cave is a large (30 meters
or 100 feet wide) water-eroded hole between two peaks, like a huge doorway in
the cliff face. It's the highest hole of its sort in the world.
Tiamen Cave/Gate
To reach the cave, take a tourist
bus (usually a mini-bus) on the 99 Bends, then steps up to the cave. Then, there
are 999 steep and narrow steps up to the cave — "the Stairway to
Heaven". It is a hard and tiresome climb (about 30 minutes).
Or easy way is to take escalators
from cliff-hanging walkways area down to the cave.
99 bends
Our itinerary goes this way:
Take cable car
from town (Zhanjiajie City) up to a
lesser peak (about 30 minutes) Walk around the cliff-hanging walkways (and the glass walkway).
Walk on the way (a little) to escalator station.
Take several escalators down to the Tiamen cave .
Enjoy view on Tiamen cave, then take escalator down to a Bus station where we take a tourist bus driving on the 99 bends down to another bus station then take the regular bus back to cable station in the city (Zhangjiajie city).
It was one of the most wonderful days of the trip.
Sóng Việt Đàm Giang
