2 days in Zhangjiajie- 10/31/2023-11/1/2023

Tianmen Mountain-11/1/2023

Tianmen Mountain or Heaven’s Gate Mountain is a scenic and historic mountain in Tianmen Mountain National Park, in Zhangjiajie.  The mountain has been a site of wonder for Chinese for thousands of years because of the famous arch in the mountain. It was originally a cave, until the back of the cave collapsed in the year 263, forming the arch. The mountain's name was then changed to reflect this "gate" through which the heavens are visible.

There are about 4 square miles of trails along the edge of the mountain, including three glass-bottomed bridges and is listed as one of the "50 worthwhile visiting places for foreign travelers. A cable car was constructed in 2005 for an easier and faster access to the top and to visit the Tianmen Cave, one of the most famous Zhangjiajie sights.  It is claimed to be the longest aerial tramway ride (4.5 miles) in the world and it takes about 30 minutes to get to the top.

Our tour guide Wendy decided to take us to a tiny local village so we can see the famous natural hole in the mountain called Heaven's gate from the distance.

This area is only known to locals so we were the only people there.  It is such a nice spot to admire the beauty of the surroundings.

The view of Heaven's gate from here is simply awesome.

Closer view of Heaven's gate.

Panoramic view.

There is a lake and lust forest surrounding the mountain.

Wendy encouraged us to eat wild berries along the way.  She said she used to eat them when she was a child.

We did a bit of walking in the area.

Our car is the blue van in the center.  Our driver told us that he used to climb this mountain with his friends for fun when he was a boy.

We are now headed to the main park.

The Ticket booth station is really close to city center and really easy to get to.

Taking the cable car that will take us to the top of the mountain.

View of the city as we barely got up.

The city is surrounded by mountains and forests.

The ride is about 30 minutes.

We are getting higher up.

See how small the cable cars seems to be small from where we are.

View of Heaven's gate from inside the cable car.

Panoramic view of the city from above.

We have reached the Upper Station of the Cable car.   The last part of the cable car is very steep going over 37 degrees over sheer cliffs to one of the mountain peak.

Tourist Map.  Wendy is taking us to the Cliff-Hanging walkway first.

Getting off the cable car and heading into the Cliff-Hanging walkway

Entrance of the  Cliff-Hanging walkway

The walkway was built along the side of the mountain.  The walkway offers stunning views of the surrounding landscape.

View from the walkway

View of one of the mountain top.

The walkway is so beautiful

They did such a marvelous job at blending the railway with the environment.

Here you can see the cable station (on the bottom right side) that we got off recently.

We are so in awe at how they were able to built this walkway.

The walkway is about a mile long and stand about 1,312 ft. high off the ground. The Cliffside loop takes about 1½ hours to explore.

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Group picture

I really like the way they designed the railway along the path.  It looks like branches.

Trees growing on the side of the mountain.

Beautiful background.

There are so many areas to take pictures of the surrounding.

Ahead is the one of the glass bridge.

Bridge leading to the glass bridge.

Looks very scary!

Next...West line glass skywalk