Friday, August 8, 2008

Zhangjiajie Yellow Dragon Cave

The Yellow Dragon Cave has four layers and covers an area of about 20 square kilometers. With a vertical height up to 100 meters, the cave is composed of one storage, two streams, three waterfalls, four pools, 13 platforms and 46 corridors, as well as countless stalagmites. Among all stalactites in the Yellow Dragon Cave, the most miraculous are Ding Hai Shen Zhen and Long Wang Bao Zuo . Ding Hai Shen Zhen stands 19.2 meters high at a diameter of 10 cm. In 1998, Ding Hai Shen Zhen is insured for the value of one hundred million yuan.

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Zhangjiajie Tujia Folk Custom Park

With an area of over 5 hectares, Tujia Folk Custom Park is a large-scale cultural tourist attraction, which is mainly built to demonstrate Tujia people's folk custom in various aspects such as architecture, food, agriculture, military art etc. Most of the buildings here are constructed with wood and stone with the characteristics of carved girder and painted columns, upturned eaves, especially the exquisite workmanship and ingenious construction are greatly acclaimed by the tourists. What's more, tourists express much admiration on the programs held in the park of its splendid culture and magnificent folk custom. In April, 2001, former premier Zhu Rongji visited the park and gave a high appraisal of it. In September, 2002, the park successfully held a large-scale Maogusi Dance Party. This activity and the Nine-layer Diaojiaolou Building were listed in the Guinness World Record. The park was regarded as one of the 4A National Tourist Attractions in China in January, 2004.

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Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park

Tianmen Mountain, which is only 8 kilometers away from the downtown and with elevation at 1518.6 meters, is the holy place of Zhangjiajie City and revered as “Soul of Zhangjiajie” and the first fairy mountain in western Hunan Province.


Tianmen Mountain is a tourist and holiday resort integrating miraculous unique geological appearances, old-line religious culture, extraordinarily splendorous humanity relics and abundant precious natural resources.



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Tianmen Mountain Cableway, the longest passenger cableway in the world with a length of 7200 meters and a height gap of 1277 meters. It will give you an unforgettable memory in all your life.

Tongtian Avenue . Tongtian Avenue has 99 turns symbolizing that the Heaven has nine palaces. 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.



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There are altogether nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in the Tianti which runs to the Heaven Gate and is also the religious site for praying for happiness.

Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world. In the year 263, the thousand-meter high cliff of Songliang Mountain suddenly broke open into a door-like cave which became a rare wonder of the world. Hence Songliang Mountain is change to Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Cave runs south-northward with a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. It’s much like a gate towards the heaven.

In 1999, the masters of international stunt flying for the first time piloted the planes to fly through Tianmen Cave. There are 800 million audiences watching the live coverage.

In 2006, the Russia Air Force Aerobatic Flight Show was held in Zhangjiajie. It composed a new legend of Tianmen Mountain.

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Tianmen Temple, which covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, has enjoyed a booming scene of pilgrims’ worship since the Ming Dynasty, and is the Buddhist center of Western Hunan. It was first built in Ming Dynasty and the present Tianmen Mountain Temple is a rebuilt one on the original site.

Tianmen Academy, built in 1303, the seventh year of Dade Period in Yuan Dynasty. It was destroyed in a battle in 1352. The present one is a rebuilt one on the original site. It is a cultural holy place of Tianmen Mountain.

Tianmen Mountain is also the second national forest park in Zhangjiajie City. It boasts intact primitive forests. There are a flood of rare trees and some precious medicine herbs. Here is still the paradise of the animals. All these shape the mountain into a “primitive garden in the air” that can’t find in another place.

Zhangjiajie Yuanjiajie

Located in the northwest part of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Yuanjiajie is a naturally formed platform mountain, surrounded by higher summits which are divided by deep valleys. Added to this scene is an array of amazing lesser peaks and grotesque rocks. Each one stands in the valley and possesses its own peculiar shape. The foremost attractions in this area include: Back Garden, breathtaking Mihun Stage, and the First Bridge in the World.


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First Bridge in the World

Zhangjiajie Xiuhuashanguan

Xiuhuashanguan is the first Tujia people’s museum in China. The long mysterious culture and the rich special national customs are combined harmoniously, they were called as “the miniature of West-Hunan culture” and “the spirit of Tujia nationality”. The collections add up to 15,088 pieces, especially well-known for the Tujia bed carved with flowers and the colorful stone sculpture in Ming dynasty. It is worthy of the name “ Tujia dynamic museum” and welcomed by the tourists from all over the world.

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Zhangjiajie Junsheng Painting Institute

Sandstone Painting Introduction

Ancestors of Tujia nationality have lived on this quartz sandstone land for thousands of years and no one has ever expected that there is a son of Tujia people, who changes the sleeping sand into a new type of world recognized art — sandstone painting. Li Junsheng, born in 1963, grew up in a very poor family and likes drawing since his childhood. One day, he found people like to spread color cobblestones on the wall when repairing houses and it’s very pretty, which inspired his idea of painting with sandstone. Li Junsheng’s sandstone paintings break through the using of traditional painting materials and use nature materials by making use of the hue of natural plant creatively, are of great artistic values.

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sandstone painting

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park locates in the northwest of Wulingyuan, neighboring Suoxiyu and Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 4300 ha. with 97% forest coverage. The average rainfall of the national park is 1200mm to 1600mm and the average temperature is 16℃ year round. The forest park has 98 woody plant families which include 517 species, over twice of the total in Europe. Half of the gymnosperm species can be found in the forest park.



Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was a state-run forest farm several years ago. In early 1980s, the forest was found an attractive site and, upon the approval by the State Council, it was established as the first national forest park in China in 1982. It is famous for its unique natural landform of sandstone forest and the spectacle of virgin forest.



Huangshi Village and Jinbi Stream are the two most attractive spots in the forest park.



Huangshi Village

Located at an elevation of 1300 meters, Huangshi Village is the biggest sightseeing platform in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. There is a local saying that he who does not reach Huangshi Village does not pay a true visit to Zhangjiajie. There are a couple of distinctive spots along the sightseeing route, such as Tian Shu Bao Xia , Nan Tian Yi Zhu , Front Garden, Jin Gui Tan Hai , etc. The sunrise is another marvelous spectacle in Huangshi Village. Visitors can climb up from the front gate or take the cableway to the peak.


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Jinbi Stream

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are prominent on a world map, but even on a small-scale map of Zhangjiajie, Golden Whip Stream appears as just a fine thread. In the opinion of many tourists, this is the most beautiful and memorable waterway. When visiting Golden Whip Stream, vice governor of Colorado, USA, Nancy Dick, remarked these words: "People commonly say that the Great Canyon is very fantastic, but I think Golden Whip Stream is even more fantastic. It is the most beautiful place in the world, and I'll remember this place forever."



With a length of 7.5 kilometers, Golden Whip Stream is famous for its pristine water, its verdant mountains, its steep cliffs and its serene valley. As a veritable "paradise" for plants, its pathways are adorned by an abundance of flowers, trees, and grasses. And it is also a kingdom of animals.

Golden Whip Stream is named after Jin Bian Crag, its landmark spot, and runs from Laomo Bay to Shui Rao Si Men. The major spots along the stream include Yingbin Crag , Jinbian Crag, Zicao Pool, Qian Li Xiang Hui , Shui Rao Si Men.

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Jinbi Stream

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Qian Li Xiang Hui


Shui Rao Si Men