Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was established by the State Council in 1982 as the first National Forest Park of China. It was listed into the World Heritage Directory by UNESCO in 1992, and in 2004, Zhangjiajie was listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark. It is among the first scenery spots that were recognized as the China’s Class AAAAA Scenery Spots in 2007. Two years later, it was awarded as the National Civilized Scenic Tourism Area.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is known for its unique cliff mountains, deep valleys and the greenery woods. The splendid sceneries crown the park as “three thousand peaks, and eight hundred miles of clean water”, thus it is praised as the “expanded bonsai, and the shrinked heaven.” It is also famous for abundant animal and plant resources. Its forest coverage rate reaches to 98%. An extraordinary biological treasure and natural oxygen bar, it is entitled as the “Nature Museum” and “Nature Botanical Garden”. Animals and plants breed and grow with the peaks and waters together, forming a perfect natural ecological system in the park. 

Zhangjiajie is in the subtropical climate zone. The mountains and valleys and the lush forests form there a unique small forest climate. As an ideal summer resort, the average annual temperature in the Park is 12.8℃, and the average maximum temperature in the summer is 16.8℃. The Park has currently developed four scenic areas including Huangshizhai, Yaozizhai, Golden Whip Brook and Yuanjiajie, and six tour lines involving 468 viewing spots (platforms).

 
Huangshizhai (Huangshi Villiage)

Huangshizhai is the largest viewing platform of Zhangjiajie. At an elevation of 1300 m, the platform can provide an overall panorama of the Park. A common saying goes that: “it is no avail of you trip to Zhangjiajie, unless you come to the summit of Huangshizhai.” There’s a tale about ZhangLiang (250-186 B.C.), a famous officer of the Han Dynasty. It’s said that Zhang Liang practiced Taoism here and met with a mishap, and was rescued by Huangshi Taoist, who became his master later. Thus this place was named after the Taoist. In the ancient times, many hermits lived here to avoid wars and chaos. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Qing Ping Temple was built over the summit by monks. In the republic of China (1911-1949), it was occupied by the mountain bandits, and none of the official troop’s attacks to conquer it succeeded. This helped to spread the fame of Huangshizhai to a further and wider extend. There are various concentrate spots along the Huangshizhai tour line, among them, the Treasure Case of Heavenly Books, the Magic Sea-suppressing Needle, the Southern Pillar of Heaven, the Front Garden, and the Golden Tortoise Watching the Sea, etc. Sunrise is another splendid view in Huangshizhai. Tourists can start from the front gate to climb to Huangshizhai, and it takes nearly 40 minutes to the summit; or they can take the ropeway which costs eight minutes to reach the summit. The Yaozizhai stands just facing Huangshizhai, with numerous peaks rising as forests. There are over one hundred scenery spots such as Flyover, Rock Surge Tower, Eagle Beak, Fairy Cave, Spears Rock, Pointing Mountains and Waters and so on. There’s no ropeway now, but it is full of interests of wildness. It is an ideal place for camping.

Golden Whip Brook
It is named after its representative attraction Golden Whip Rock. The canyon stretches seven kilometers from Laomo Bay to Water around Four Gates. Rock columns and peaks stand along the banks; the stream runs smoothly among them, laces together pools and waterfalls. Ancient trees and flowers as well as the rare fowls and strange animals grow and flourish together, forming an extremely beautiful and elegant ecological environment. Many famous Chinese TV series and movies including “Journey to the West” were filmed here. It is known as “the most beautiful canyons in the world”. The main scenic spots in this area include Greeting Rock, Golden Whip Rock, Purple Weed Pond, Thousands of Miles’ Meeting and Water Around Four Gates, etc.

Nature Reserve of Mountain Tianzi
 Mountain Tianzi is located at the northwest of Wulinyuan, forming a triangle with Zhangjiajie Park and Suo Xi Valley. The altitude of the highest point in this area reaches to 1500m. It is the remarkable representative of Zhangjiajie landforms, with fully developed mesa, stone pillars, stone walls, stone peaks and stalagmites with elegancy. It was named after Xiang Wang Tianzi (Xiang Dakun), the hero of Tujia people who led them fought against the feudal central government in the Ming Dynasty in Hong Wu years (1368-1398). There are over hundreds of nature viewing platforms, two thousand stone peaks and various streams and waterfalls, among them, the Cloud Sea, stone peaks, snow in the winter and sun in the glow are the most magnificent. By overlooking the Mountain Tianzi, one can get a panoramic view of all the cliff peaks which are like a powerful army. The main scenic spots of Mountain Tianzi include Peaks of Royal Writing Brush, West Sea, Tianzi Pavilion, Shen Tan Wang, the Grand Stage, Fairy’s Bridge, General’s Rock and God's Force Rally etc. Tourists can take ropeway to the summit of Mountain Tianzi, or climb from the South Gate. It is one of the best tourist routes combining multiple functions of scientific research, nature tourism and adventure tourism.

Yuanjiajie Scenic Area
Yuanjiajie Scenic Area is located at the Northwest of the Zhangjiajie Forest Park. It was named after a clan with “Yuan” as their family name. It covers a total area of 1200 hectares, and thus is commonly named as “forty-eight Li (one Li equals to half kilometer)” Yuanjiajie. The sceneries in this area are known for its steepness and wonderful views. The air path set over the 3500 m’s steep cliff connects many wonderful sights together, including the Back Garden, breathtaking Mihun Stage, Magic Turtle Asking Heaven, Five Women Go on an Expedition and the First Bridge under the Sun, and thus forms one of the most wonderful and unique picture scroll in Zhangjiajie.

Baofeng Lake
The core scenic area of Baofeng Lake covers the whole lake surface which is 2.5 kilometers in length, with a width of 200m to 1000m, and an average depth of 72m. It is the only scenic area with the water as its scenes in the area of Wulingyuan World Natural Heritage. Baofeng Lake is located among the mountains, receiving natural waters all over the mountains. The water is pure and clean, free of pollution, thus it is awarded as “Holy Lake”. Around the lake stand dozens of cliff and steep sandstone mountains. If one boats to the center of the lake, one can feast one’s eyes with the reflection of tress and peaks over the mirror-like lake surface that forms a splendid and wonderful landscape painting with charm and artistic conception. There are over twenty scenic spots including One-line-sky, Plank Road over the Clouds, Yingwozhai, and South Sea and so on. It is especially famous for Baofeng Waterfall which falls from a height of over one hundred meters and hangs down the mountain as a white curtain, as sound as the thunders. It was taken as the natural performance set of Zhangjiajie International Festival of Forest Protection and appeared for several times on CCTV and Hunan TV, which made it one of the ideal places for visitors home and abroad. At present, it is the show place of “Soul of Wulin-TIMA God Song”.

Huanglong Cave (Yellow Dragon Cave)

Huanglong Cave covers an area of 20 hectares. It contains four layers with the total vertical height of more than one hundred meters. There are one cave, two rivers, three waterfalls, four pools, thirteen halls, forty-six verandas, and numerous Stalagmites, stone columns, stone curtains, stone flowers and stone waterfalls in it. The most amazing stalactites are the Magic Sea-suppressing Needle and the Dragon King’s Throne. The height of the Magic Sea-suppressing Needle is 19.2m and reaches up to the roof of the cave, and its diameter is 10cm. The whole body of the Needle is transparent. In 1998, it was insured for RMB 10million.

The Second National Class AAAAA Scenery Spot in Zhangjiajie- Mount Tianman

Tourists can ascend on the top of the Mount Tianman by taking the touring ropeway, and experience the excitement of flying over the clouds. They can feast their eyes with the panoramic viewing of Zhangjiajie, and experience the proud and freedom of standing at the highest peak. They can also take the smaller ropeway from the top of the peak to the Cherry Bay, flying over the trees and enjoying the natural garden in the air. The Mount Tianmen Temple shall take the tourists close to the Buddhism and experience the solemn of the Temple which has witnessed thousands years’ time. For tourists who like challenge and excitement, the west tourist route of Ghost Plank Road where they can scream heartily is a good choice. Lingxiao Platform (Platform over the Sky) is the place where the tourists can enjoy city scenery and the magnificent landscape. When they get to the Middle station of the ropeway, they can transfer to the sightseeing bus to experience the unique road with 99 turnings. The following destination is Tianmen Cave where the tourists can experience the unique heritage of the nature. Then they can take the sightseeing bus back to the Middle Station of the Ropeway and take the ropeway to return to the city.

Main Scenic Spots:

Rainbow-Ropeway over the Clouds On Sep.6, 2005, Mount Tianmen Ropeway, the longest passenger ropeway over high mountains in the world started operation. It also marked the formal open of Mount Tianmen National Forest Park. The length of Mount Tianmen Ropeway reaches to 7455m, with a latitudinal level distance of 1279m between the Upper and Middle Station, and its maximum gradient reaches to 38 degree. It is rare both home and abroad. It starts from the Lower Station located at the northern side of the mountain, ascends along the peak. There are hundreds meters of green lands under the ropeway, and if one looks toward to the south, the Tianmen Cave is waiting there, hanging over the sky.

Winding Road to the Heaven The Road to the Sky climbs up to the top of the mountain, winding and bending along. It connects the Tianmen Cave which is known as “the Door to eh Heaven”, thus it is named as “Road to the Heaven”. The total length of the road is 11km, stretching between the latitudinal level distances from 200m to 1100m. 99 turnings are a real task and test for one’s driving skills. Both sides of the road are deep valleys and cliffs. Bending points with 180 degree’s angle follows one by one. The road looks like a castle or the Great Wall floating over the clouds if it is looked up, while it appears as a romantic ribbon and a curve if overlooked.

Passing Through the Tianmen (Heaven’s Gate)  Tianmen Cave (Heaven’s Gate Cave) locates at the cliff of 1264m in height. It is 131.5m in the height and 60m in the depth. The narrowest point at the gate is 28.3m. In December 1999, world aerobatics masters flied over the cave for the first time, which attracted the whole world’s attention to Mount Tianmen. In March 2006, Russia-27 heavy fighters and heroes from Russian Air Force wrote another wonder over the sky of Mount Tianmen.

Mount Tianmen Temple 

The temple was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It was originally built at the east side near the Holy Pool (Ling Quan), and called as “Holy Pool Temple” (Lingquan Temple). It declined due to the reason of being out of repair. In the Jin Dynasty (265-420), a hermit named Zhou Piao lived here. Till the Song Synasty, a monk named as Sijue begged alms and pooled money to rebuild a temple near the Dan Ding Zao peak at the west part of the top of the Mount Chisong, and named it as Songliang Temple. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a Mount Tianmen Temple was built at the Nanyan Mount, two Li at the east part of the Songliang Temple. The towers of the temple still stand among the ancient trees, elegant and quiet, yet the temple has been long abandoned. In 2006, a new Mount Tianmen Temple was built near the original location of Mount Tianmen Temple. It is close to the Cherry Bay, and covers an area of over 10,000squre meters. It was built in the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911), elegant and splendid, consisting buildings including Bell and Drum Tower, Heaven King’s Hall, the Great Hall, Guanyin Pavilion and Depository, etc

Sceneries in Different Seasons 

The winter still lingers, but the mountains have been covered with green trees full of spring air. The spring in this area has plenty of rainfalls, thus it is the best season to visit Mount Tianmen and experience the wonderful sights of the clouds. Mount Tianmen is cool and fresh in the summer, the temperature in the mountain is comparatively lower for 10 ℃ than that of down the feet of mountain, which makes it one of the best summer resorts. In the autumn, the temperature in Mount Tianmen is warm and comfortable, with yellow leaves and colorful flowers, and natural fruits such as kiwi berries, litchi chinensis, and chestnuts and so on. In the winter, Mount Tianmen is more beautiful than a northern kingdom. Mount Tianmen in a sunny day after snow is even more attractive than any time. The blue sky, white snow and the shinning branches of the trees in the sunlight; all these natural beauties help to build the Mount Tianmen a heaven in the legend.

Garden in the Air The forest at the top of the Mount Tianmen is the primeval forest, in which grow many rare species, among them, the Davidia involucrata, incense trees, dyeriana, Dayong Carpinus and Mount Tianmen azalea. Davidia involucrate is called as “Dove flowers” by the local people; Rare it is, it is regarded as the “Panda of the plants”; yet the Davidia involucrata group that contains more than one hundred strains growing over an altitude over 1500m are even rarer all over the world.  As a natural community with more than 530 species of wide plants, Mount Tianmen deserves the name of Garden in the Air. Besides, Mount Tianmen is full of wide fruits, in January there is “Wine-ice fruit”, in February there’s “Bang Milk berry”;strawberry follows in the March, and in April, it comes the loquat, and then comes the cherry in May. Peaches are ripe in June, and pear in July; In August, carambola is ready and in September, Chestnut and wild litchi become ripe. In October, Laba melon is eaten; and when the winter comes in November, there’s lilac persimmon, and in December, a local berry called “Jiu Bing Liang” (Reinforcements’ Brain Berry) are ready for eat.

Ghost Valley Plank Road
Ghost Plank Road is located in the wonderland of fairy-seeking. It is hanged over the cliffs over the Ghost Valley Cave, and so it is named after the cave. The altitude of the plank road is over 1400m, which ranks it to the most difficult plank road built in China. Its total length is 1600 m. Standing on the plank road, one can see the birds flying below. The broad view on the plank road can be vividly expressed by a line from a Chinese ancient poem, “Reach the top of the mountain, and all mountains are held in a single glance”. It shall become a wonderful memory that one can never forget.

In 2007, the famous French Spiderman broke the myth, and successfully climbed over the Tianmen Cave bare-handed. The beautiful flower of courage and braveness blossomed over the life-and-death cliff, and Tianmen Cave, even since that moment, has become the birthplace of miracles.

The Third Asia Cup Rock Climbing Competition was held on November 5, 2007. Four items of male and female difficulty and speed were set. The artificial rock wall, 15m in height and 14m in width, was set on the famous scenic area Mount Tianmen whose latitude is over 1300 m. Players from more than one dozen countries and regions participated in the competition, including those who came from South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China and Hongkong, Macao, China Taipei and so on.

In 2001, Huang Yongyu, the world famous master of painting and calligraphy and essayist splashed ink and painted a picture of Mount Tianmen with its magic, spectacular and elegant sceneries. He wrote down the 435 characters inscriptions in a spontaneous yet free and smooth style, expressed all his attachments, praise and wishes towards his hometown.  

In 1997, Li Na, the Chinese famous singer, visited the undeveloped Mount Tianmen, and lived there for several months in a cabin built on the top of the mountain. During her stay, she fully embraced the grace of the Buddha in the Mount Tianmen, and determined to leave the mortal world. She became a Buddhist nun in Wutai Mountain with the monastic name of “Shi Chang Sheng”. She is living in the United States now, yet her heart still goes to Mount Tianmen. She promised that when the Mount Tianmen Temple is built, she will come back to visit this place of her “Conditioning Cause”.