Nature has crafted an incredible and picturesque canvas in China’s Zhangjiajie National Park and the greater Wulingyuan Scenic Area, located in the Hunan province. The landscape is seemingly otherworldly, imbued with mystery and beauty. Wulingyuan was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, while Zhangiajie holds the honour of becoming China’s first national park (1982) as well as a UNESCO Global Geopark (2004), encompassing an area of 4,810 hectares / 11,900 acres.
Nature is amazing, and this park has been blessed with much beauty. At Zhangjiajie Park, the aspect that provides this splendour and awe is numerous rock columns that reach skyward as if trying to touch the clouds. These pillars, lush with vegetation, are the result of weather and time stripping down the stone, creating an almost mystical landscape filled with inspiration. So much so that it acted as the muse for the planet Pandora in James Cameron’s film Avatar. However, in the film these pillars were transformed into floating rocks with the help of CGI and movie magic.
To experience this breathtaking natural beauty, a visit to the park is a must. It is certainly a place I would enjoy wandering, feeling as though I am on another planet. Despite the almost alien terrain the park itself has many convenient offerings, making it easy to explore, as I have learned online. For years the park has been a popular locale to visit and therefore has a variety of opportunities to immerse yourself fully and from every vantage point – blend of nature meeting modern ingenuity. It is suggested to plan several days of visits to maximize your experience. It is a very large park so it is always a good idea to research what to expect beforehand as well as how to get there.
Among the park’s most popular activities and features are:
- Huangshi Village offers trails, lookout points, and the Huangshizhai Cable Car to admire the scenery from every corner
- The Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge is a glass-bottomed pedestrian bridge reaching a length of 430 m / 1,410 ft, spanning a canyon floor at a height of approximately 300 metres / 980 ft
- Bailong Elevator is the world’s tallest outdoor elevator at a height of 326 m /1,070 ft and is carved into the side of cliff allowing visitors to avoid a lengthy hike to the top of one of the parks amazing pillars
This park and surrounding Wulingyuan area appears to provide much exploration and wonder seeking for its visitors. A popular place and one I think would be wonderful to wander about.
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