Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Tianmenshan Mountain,a famous mountain first recorded in the history of Zhangjiajie with an elevation of 1518.6 meters. It is 8 kilometers from the downtown and is one of the most representative natural sceneries of Zhangjiajie. For long time being,Tianmenshan Mountain attracts the attention of the people not only by its miraculous and unique geology and unparalleled landscape, but also well known for its profound cultural connotations and famous colorful humanistic site. It is revered as the soul of cultural and spirit of Zhangjiajie and reputed as Number One sacred mountain in Western Hunan Province.
Tianmenshan Mountain is uniquely skyscraping and domineering. Tianmen cave the natural mountain-penetrating karst cave with the highest elevation in the world, hangs on the towering cliff. The cave become the unique sight under heaven and breeds the profound and grand heaven culture of Fairy Mountain in the local area. Tianmenshan Mountain is the second national forest park in Zhangjiajie. On the mountaintop are intact sub-primitive forests with overflowing wild atmosphere in all the seasons. In addition, the densely populated karst hillocks and karrens plus the mating of strange rocks and graceful trees. create a grand garden of bonsai as if blessed by the God. Tianmenshan Mountain Temple, with an area of over 10000 square meters, has been honored as a pilgrimage site ever since the Ming Dynasty. It is the Buddhist center of Western Hunan. The six unresolved mysteries in the past hundreds of years such as Opening of Tianmen cave, shadow of Guigu(famous ancient Toaist), and Auspicious Unicorn have added the mysterious and elusive atmosphere for Tianmenshan Mountain.
The mountain winding bus road of Tianmen Mountain is worth the title of world-shocking masterpiece. It brings shocking and unforgettable experience for the tourists. Tianmenshan Mountain cableway; Heaven-linking Avenue, Tianmen cave and Bonsai garden are reputed as the four great wonders. Tianmenshan Mountain cableway, the longest one-way recycling passenger cableway in the world, has a length of 7455 meters and a height gap of 1279 meters. It takes the tourists from the atmosphere of modern city directly to the hug of the primitive garden in the air. Along the way to the top of the mountain by cable car, you see the landscape transforming into a kaleidoscope, experience a miraculous feeling of flying angels in the sky as well as of being blended into a long grand painting of landscape. The mountain-winding bus road of Tianmenshan Mountain, nicknamed as Heaven-linking Avenue, has a total length of less than 11 kilometers, starts from an elevation ..of 200 meters and winds up to 1300 meters within short range, paves its way painstakingly over the high valleys , along the breathtaking cliffs, zigzags with 99 sharp turnings like flying dragon, declares itself as another world engineering wonder. People couldn’t help marveling at it.
There are five top attractions in Tianmen Mountain,such as Tongtian Avenue, Tianmen Cave, Tianmen Temple, The Glass Skywalk and Bonsai Garden.
Tongtian Avenue in Tianmen Mountain
Tongtian Avenue, means “Avenue toward Heaven”, has 99 turns symbolizing that Heaven has nine palaces. It has a well-deserved reputation as a wonder highway of the world. Through Tongtian Avenue, one reaches directly the Tianti – a celestial ladder from the top of which a celestial-like scene comes into view.
There are altogether nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in the Tianti (a vocabulary originated from Daoism, comparable to heaven in Christianity) which runs to the Heaven Gate. It is also the religious site for praying for happiness.
Tianmen Cave
Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world. In the year 263 AD, the thousand-meter high cliff of Mount Songliang suddenly broke open into a door-like cavern which became a rare wonder of the world. This is why the name of Mount Songliang was changed to Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Cave runs south-north at a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. It is much like a gate pointing towards heaven. In 1999, the international stunt flying aces piloted planes flew through Tianmen Cave for the very first time with 800 million people watching the live show. In 2006, the Russian Air Force Aerobatic Flight Show was held in Zhangjiajie.
Tianmen Temple
Tianmen Temple, which covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, has developed itself as a location of pilgrimage and worship as the Buddhist center of Western Hunan since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was first built in the Ming Dynasty and the present Tianmen Mountain Temple was re-established on the original site. It is a cultural holy place of Tianmen Mountain.In this temple, you can sample Lenten meals.
Bonsai Garden
Tianmen Mountain is also the second national forest park in Zhangjiajie city, which boasts intact primitive forests. There are many rare trees and some precious medicinal herbs. It is also the paradise for animals. All these features shape the mountain into a “primitive garden in the air”.
The Glass Skywalk
The Glass Skywalk (Plank Road ) is built along the cliff in ghost valley of Tianmen Mountain. With a length of 800 meters, it hangs on a ghost valley which is over 1400 meters high above the cliff. An astounding and exciting experience awaits the visitor here.