Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a unique national forest park located in Zhangjiajie City in northern Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. It is one of several national parks within the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. In 1982 it was recognized as China's first national forest park with an area of 4,810 ha (11,900 acres).
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is part of a much larger 397.5 km2 (153.5 sq mi) Wulingyuan Scenic Area. In 1992, Wulingyuan was officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was then approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources as Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest National Geopark (3,600 km2 (1,400 sq mi)) in 2001. In 2004, Zhangjiajie Geopark was listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark.
The most notable geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen throughout the park. They are the result of many years of erosion. The weather is moist year round, and as a result, the foliage is very dense. Much of the erosion which forms these pillars are the result of expanding ice in the winter and the plants which grow on them. These formations are a distinct hallmark of Chinese landscape, and can be found in many ancient Chinese paintings.
One of the park's quartz-sandstone pillars, the 1,080-metre (3,540 ft) Southern Sky Column, had been officially renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" in honor of the eponymous film called Avatar (2009 film). According to park officials, photographs from Zhangjiajie inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains seen in the film. The film's director and production designers said that they drew inspiration for the floating rocks from mountains from around the world, including those in the Hunan province.
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Tianmen Mountain is 1518.6 meters high (the highest one in Zhangjiajie). Many people may feel amazed that about 40 peaks inside the mountain area are over 1000 meters. Due to the high elevation of the mountain, the day time is longer than the night hours and the temperature on the mountains is about 10 degree centigrade lower than the Zhangjiajie city. The sunrise on the mountain is 30 minutes earlier and the sunset is 45 minutes later than in the city areas. Thus it is known as an endless sky without darkness.
The mountain is famous for its unique natural miracle, the Tianmen Cave. It was authorized as a national forest park in July, 1992. The door-alike cave was created after the cliff collapsed in ancient time. It is regarded as Top One Heaven Mountain in the west part of Hunan province and the spirit of Wuling (an old name of the county here). This place has absorbed essence of mountainous nature for thousands of years making visiting the holy temple on the mountain, the Tianmen Shan Temple, a popular way to pray for safe and healthy life.
In addition, the Tianmen Mountain Cableway is the longest mountain cableway in the world. The hypotenuse length of the cableway is 7455 meters, starting from the city centre of Zhangjiajie to the 'Hanging Garden' on the peak. The amazing man-made project will give you a memorable experience seeing the changing mountain views and landscapes during the ride.
Lastly, the most popular of Tianmen Mountain is its terrifying glass walkway slithers around the vertical cliffs of the mountain that bring adrenaline junkies to new heights. The skywalk sits 4,700 feet up the mountain, offering breathtaking views and spine-tingling thrills. The crystal clear bridge is 3 feet wide, 2 1/2 inches thick and winds around the mountain for 200 feet. While the landscape imparts a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, this is one scenic route one would not want to walk gazing downward. The skyway offers a unique vista of the mountainous summits that launch out of the dense foliage of the park underneath.
