Travel Monday: A Photo Trip to Zhangjiajie

Alan Taylor
May 7, 2018
27 Photos
In Focus

In Hunan Province, in South Central China, sits Zhangjiajie, a large prefecture-level city containing spectacular landforms and parks. These include Tianmen Mountain and the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which encompasses the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, Yangjiajie Scenic Area, and more. The region is famous for its towering quartzite cliffs, said to have inspired the filmmakers of the 2009 film Avatar. While Wulingyuan was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, the area has seen recent development to accommodate and attract tourists, including the construction of glass-bottomed walkways and bridges, cable-car systems, and observation elevators. Here, a collection of images of the soaring landscape around Zhangjiajie.

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Switchbacks on the "Heaven-Linking Avenue," the winding road up to Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, China. #

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A naked man dances on the edge of a cliff in a performance on December 5, 2014, in Zhangjiajie. #

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Quartz sandstone pillars rise above the forested valley floor in Wulingyuan Scenic Area inside Zhangjiajie. #

Aaron Choi / Shutterstock

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A rhesus monkey family in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

Istvan Kadar Photography / Getty

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Weathered cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Water, ice, and the growth of the roots of the many plants are responsible for most of the gradual erosion and shaping of the pillar-like structures. #

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A unique mountain landscape in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province. #

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The "First Bridge of the World," a natural rock bridge in the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area. #

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Baofeng Lake, an artificial reservoir in Wulingyuan Scenic Area. #

Aaron Choi / Shutterstock

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A small farm field atop a cliff in Zhangjiajie. #

Feng Wei Photography / Getty

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Quartzite cliff formations in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

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Dancers from American Bandaloop dance troupe hang from the plank road on Guigu cliff to perform in the air at Tianmenshan National Forest Park on September 12, 2016, in Zhangjiajie. #

Basil Tsimoyanis / VCG via Getty

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A young macaque sits on a tree branch in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

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Autumn colors in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

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One of three cable-car systems that operate in Wulingyuan Scenic Area. #

Wanthida Jittayanantakul / Shutterstock

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A foggy overlook in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

Jie Zhao / Corbis via Getty

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The Bailong Elevator (far right), a glass-enclosed observation elevator that travels 1,070 feet (326 meters) up a cliffside in Wulingyuan Scenic Area. #

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Visitors cross the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge—when it opened, the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge—suspended 853 feet (260 meters) above a valley in Zhangjiajie in China's Hunan Province on August 21, 2016. #

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A girl looks through the glass on the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge on August 20, 2016. #

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A train arrives at Zhangjiajie National Park. #

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Tianmen Mountain, a famous mountain with a large naturally occurring cave called "Heaven's Gate" near its peak, photographed in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park on September 1, 2013. #

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Walkways line cliff walls at Tianmen Mountain. #

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The "Sky Ladder to the Heavens Gate" stairway is lined with obstacles that were set up for the Carabao Sky Ladder Challenge, an international parkour contest, to be held the next day on May 28, 2017. #

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The wingsuit flyer Carlos Briceno of Venezuela takes flight above Heaven-Linking Avenue during the 5th World Wingsuit Championship at Tianmen Mountain on October 13, 2016. #

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A cliffside walkway near the natural arch on Tianmen Mountain. #

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An aerial view of tourists walking on a 100-meter-long glass skywalk on the edge of the cliff of Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park on August 1, 2016. #

VCG via Getty

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A tourists hugs the wall as she walks on a glass walkway alongside a cliff on Tianmen Mountain on November 9, 2011. #

VCG via Getty

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Sun shines through mist among the many pillars of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. #

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