Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, located 8km away from Zhangjiajie city center, is the highest mountain in Zhangjiajie, with the main peak of 1518.6 meters (4982.3 feet) high. The world marvelous scene called Tianmen Cave, meaning a door to the heaven in Chinese, makes this mountain famous. The comparative plat mountain top, the well-preserved original forest, the rare plants and species, the natural bonsai in everywhere form into a splendid picture. People entitle this mountain as the most beautiful flower garden in the sky and the fairy land in the boundary of heaven.
For a long time, Mount Tianmen not only attracted attention because of its miraculous and unique geographic landform and unparalleled natural landscape, but it also became well-known for its profound cultural connotations and famous colorful humanistic site.
What to See on Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Tianmen Cave
Tianmen cave is a natural mountain-penetrating karst cave hanging on the towering cliff, with a height of 131.5 meters (431.4 feet), a width of 57 meters (187 feet), a depth of 60 meters (197 feet).
Research shows that Tianmen Cave was formed no later than 48A.D. It is a natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world (at an altitude of 1300 meters or 4265 feet). It is actually a big hole in the mountain but people call it a cave and it has become a major attraction on Tianmen Mountain.
In 1999, pilots from Russia, America, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Republic of Lithuania performed an extremely thrilling midair acrobatic show. They flew three airplanes through the cave. The live telecast drew an estimated audience of 800 million people worldwide. In 2011, Jeb Corliss transcended the limit of humans and flew through Tianmen Cave in the wingsuit. The cave becomes the unique sight under heaven and breeds the profound and grand heaven culture of Fairy Mountain in the local area.
Tianmen Cave in Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Tianmen Mountain Cableway
- Tianmen Mountain Cable Car is the longest passenger cableway in the world with a length of 7200 meters (23,622 feet) and a height gap of 1277 meters (4,190 feet).
- It is running at a speed of 6m / s, with a maximum capacity of 1000 passengers per hour, one way, and a biggest gradient of 38 degrees.
Tianmen Mountain Cable car will give you an unforgettable memory in your life. It is one of the few cable cars within China with a height gap over 1000 meters. The local gradient from the middle station to the upper station is as high as 38 degrees, which is rare in the world. It is the cableway with the largest local gradient as well as one with most brackets in China.
Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven)
It is so named because this winding road connects with the Tianmen Cave, the gate to the heaven.
Tongtian Avenue is very steep. It is only .77 meters long, but has 99 turns symbolizing that the Heaven has nine palaces. The elevation rises from 200 meters to 1300 meters. It is worth the title – ‘wonder of highway in the world’. Through Tongtian Avenue, one reaches directly the Tianti - celestial ladder. The grand celestial-like scene came into view.
Tianmen Mountain Temple
Tianmen Mountain Temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty as a center of Buddhism in the area of western Hunan.The present Tian Men Mountain Temple is rebuilt on the basis of the original site with a plot area of more than 10,000 sqm. It adopts an official style of the Qing Dynasty and the buildings in the Temple compare well with the famous classical houses at home. The Temple is located in the mountain hollow with a broad vision. If one gazes into the southeast, all the hills seem to be so small that the Temple is really like an overlord.
Tianmen Mountain Academy
Tianmen Mountain Academy was built in 1303, the seventh year of the Dade Period in Yuan Dynasty. It was destroyed in a battle in 1352. The present Academy is newly built on the original site. It is a cultural holy place of Mount Tianmen.
Ghost Path or Guigu Plank Road
Situated in Mixian Wonderland Scenic Area of Tianmen Mountain, Guigu Plank Road is embedded in the vertical mountain cliff and hangs above the Ghost Cave, hence its name. The length of the path is 1600m (5249 feet) with an average elevation of 1400m (4593 feet). Part of the plank road, there is a 60-meter-long (197 feet), 1.6-meter-wide (5.2 feet) glass skywalk with a glass-bottom viewing platform for the intrepid travelers to try.
The path starts from Yihong Pass and ends at small Tianmen Gate. The path is different with others as it is located neither on the top of the cliff, nor at the side of the cliff, but in the middle of bottomless cliff, giving tourists a feeling of excitement and surprise.
Standing on the Ghost Path to overlook the mountains, you will get a bird's-eye view of the Tianmen Mountain. As Tianmen Mountain is a national forest park, it has a variety of plants, adding its typical Karst landform, you will feel as if you are flying across tropical rain forest valley in a helicopter, just like the movie scene.
Influenced by the elevation and airflow, birds can’t reach the parallel positions of the path. Hence, standing here, the cliff s away at our feet and we can see borderless green field and playful birds and eagles flying in the valley. Closing you eyes with heart’s beating and opened arms, you will experience a most wonderful and exciting ‘natural SPA’.
If it is before or after raining, the path will be full of mist and cloud, just like walking in a fairyland. There is a suspension bridge between two cliffs in the end of the path which has a length of 160 meters. Also, there is a glass platform on the highest point of the path, where if you dare to draw yourself up and stretch your arms, you will be a real warrior.
“Coiled Dragon Cliff” Skywalk
“Coiled Dragon Cliff” is the newest skywalk on Tianmen Mountain after the glass-bottom viewing platform and Plank Road.
Ever since its opening on August 1st, 2016, ‘Coiled Dragon Cliff’ has been praised as ‘the oriental skywalk’. It is located on the west sightseeing route of Tianmen Mountain, 100 meters (328 feet) long, 1.6 meters (5 feet) wide, and 1430 meters (4,690 feet) high. Visitors are asked to wear shoes covers before walking on the ‘Coiled Dragon Cliff’, so as to keep the glass skywalk clean and completely transparent.
Tianmen Mountain Tunnel Elevator
The first mountain tunnel elevator in the world, Tianmen Mountain Tunnel Elevator was officially opened to the public on April 25, 2015. The total height is 897 meters (2943 feet), with a lifting height of 340 meters (1115 feet). The one-way maximum capacity is 3600 persons per hour. Thanks for the elevator, visitors now can go from the Tianmen Cave to the top of Tianmen Mountain, and have a stunning panoramic view of the mountains.
How to Get to Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Visitors can take Bus No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6
from the Central Bus Terminal or Zhangjiajie city center to Tianmen Mountain, and
get off at the City Garden Cable Car Station. The takes less than 10 minutes. The bus fare is 1 yuan.
From
Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport (the only airport in the city), visitors can take taxi barreling to Tianmen Mountain directly. The fare is RMB 20 – 30. Or you can take the airport shuttle bus or Bus No. 4 to get to the Central Bus Terminal first, and then transfer for another bus to Tianmen Mountain.
Upon arrival, you can choose either take the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car or the shuttle bus to get to the top and Tianmen Cave.
The Entrance Fee and Validity
For adults: RMB258 p.p in peak season (March to November), and RMB235 p.p in low season (from December to the end of next February), including the cable car and sightseeing shuttle bus.
For children below 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) tall: free of charge.
Note: The entrance fee does not include the small cableway on the mountain top (RMB25 p.p one way), and the tunnel elevator (RMB32 p.p one way).
Ticket validity: the ticket entitles you a single-time entry to Tianmen Mountain Forest Park.
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