We caught a train from Yishang to Zhangjiajie, it was a short 5 hour journey, which went fine. However, when we arrived at Zhangjiajie, that's when things all started to go wrong. Our hotel is located in Wulingyuan scenic area, which is around 40 kilometres from the railway station. I knew this when we booked the room, but it's better to stay in the Wulingyuan area. We went into McDonalds as it was right outside the station and we found a girl who spoke English. All the buses had stopped running, so we basically had to take a taxi or car to get to our hotel. The girl negotiated a private driver for us and it was cheaper than a taxi, so we went with him mistakenly.

Trouble in Wulingyuan

The driver picked up another girl in our private car and drove her into Wulingyuan, which seems to be the done thing here in China. The journey took around an hour to get there. He dropped the girl off first then had to ask someone where our hotel was. They told him it was far away from there, so he hadn't driven us to where we needed to be unfortunately. As he didn't have a clue where the hotel was, he tried to get us to go to another hotel. We said we'd paid for another one already, so declined. We asked to be taken to our hotel, so he put someone on the phone who speaks English. We were annoyed and tired by now as it was getting late and we need to be up early tomorrow to go to Zhangjiajie.

In the end, we asked if we could get our of the car so we could get a taxi with someone who knows where they're going. At first he wouldn't stop and I was a bit worried he'd taken us down some dodgy back road. But he stopped eventually. I didn't want to pay the full price. we'd agreed as he hadn't taken us to our hotel. We ended up having a disagreement in the street, us speaking English, him speaking Chinese. Then loads of people gathered all around us. Eventually an English speaking guy came out and tried to help. To cut a long story short, he found us another place to stay nearby for the night for free. We got put in a dorm, but we were the only ones there, luckily. The bed had no mattress, so was rock hard and uncomfortable, but at least it was a place to stay for the night. We ended up paying the driver to get rid of him, and I hoped we will never see him again!

Zhangjiajie forest park

The next morning, we decided to check out of the hotel early and find another one. There was nowhere secure to leave our bags, we just felt we couldn't really stay another night as it wasn't the nicest of places. We ended up staying at the hostel where the guy who spoke English worked at, however he wasn't there this morning. So we left our bags and went off to Zhangjiajie early morning. We had heard it's hard to get around Zhangjiajie by yourself and it's better to hire a guide. However, as we hadn't spoke to anyone in English about it, we had no choice but to go ourselves. Luckily the hostel had a map, so off we went.

I had done a small bit of research about the main sites of interest at the park, and about the bus links, so we weren't totally clueless. We originally planned to get a local bus to the Zhangjiajie park gate entrance, but there wasn't an easy way of getting there without us understanding some Chinese. So we gave up on that idea, and just decided to enter at the Wulingyuan east gate entrance. We took the local bus number 2 to the entrance and went to buy our entrance tickets. The good thing about entering these gates is that there was hardly any queues when we arrived. We had our fingerprints taken and were issued with a card that would be valid for two days, which is handy as we can only stay in the park for two days.

Bailong Elevator

Once inside, we basically followed the crowds and caught one of the many buses. It's a huge park, so just like Jiuzhaigou, the entrance ticket includes transport around the park. We took the bus to the Bailong elevator, where everybody got off the bus, so we headed in the same direction. At first we weren't sure if we wanted to go up the elevator as the weather wasn't so clear and it was overcast. However we just went along with it and got stuck waiting in a queue for around 40 minutes or so. We had to pay 72 yuan for the privilege too. The good thing about taking this elevator is that it connects the northern and southern bus routes, which would only be accessible by this elevator, or by walking up 3,000 steps. We can get to Yuangjiajie scenic area from here too, so it's worth taking it for that reason.

The elevator is 335 metres high and takes only two minutes to reach the top of the mountain. It's been in operation since 2002. It's set there Guinness World Records; worlds tallest outdoor elevator, worlds tallest double deck sightseeing elevator and worlds fastest passenger elevator with biggest carrying capacity. So we waited until we got to the front of the queue and were ushered into the lift, along with 20 other people or so. We were first in, so we stood right at the front. We shot up really quickly and as we got a bit higher, I could see some of the surrounding mountains. Then as we got even higher, the views disappeared, we couldn't see a thing.

Yuangjiajie scenic area

After coming out of the elevator at the top of the mountain, needless to say it was rather misty. Some sections where parts of Avatar were filmed would usually be here, but as there was too much cloud, we didn't stop at that section and continued walking around towards Yuangjiajie. This section is suppose to have some of the most scenic views in the whole park, so hopefully we can see some of it. We walked to the exit path and had to take a bus to the scenic areas. There was a queue of people waiting for the bus, so we had to wait a while before boarding.

Yuangjiajie used to be known as Qingyan Mountain. According to legend, Yuangjiajie's name comes from the late Tang Dynasty. A subordinate of Huang Chao (family name is Yuan) in order to evade pursuit, he buried himself in the Quingyan Mountain and named it as Yuangjiajie. It's a huge area covering 1,200 hectares and is an average elevation of over 1,000 metres. We won't be covering much of it, just the main scenic areas.

Avatar Hallelujah Mountain

The main reason for me wanting to come to this section was of course see where the inspiration of Avatar was filmed. Without actually realising at the time, we walked along an elevated path and saw it. It was formerly known as Qian Kun Column (The pillar between heaven and earth) or Southern sky column. In 2010, it was renamed Avatar Hallelujah Mountain as a tribute to the film. It's a tall vertical column and apparently has an invincible spirit. It was really picturesque here, we were surrounded by vertical pillars, some with vegetation sprouting out of them, others full of greenery and trees growing in the most random of places. I was mesmerised by this amazing scenery right before my eyes, and could appreciate where James Cameron found his inspiration from.

We continued walking around the platforms, carved out from the quartz-sandstone pillars, delicately hanging over the edge of the mountains. One aptly named Fascinate Platform; you will be fascinated by the stunning landscapes around you for as long as you stand on the observation platform. Luckily the weather improved, so we were able to see some spectacular views in front of us.

Statue of Na'vi woman Neytiri

We continued walking around the Yuangjiajie scenic area and I was continually impressed with the views all around me. There weren't even too many crowds of people, which was a bonus. Although we came to a section where there were a few people gathering around, so I went to see what it was all about. Then I realised that there was a statue of an avatar character, one of the Na'vi, overlooking the tall columns. It was a popular spot to pose for a picture, so we waited our turn and got a photo at that point. It was a place where you can really appreciate and take in all this amazing scenery around us.

No. 1 Bridge under Heaven

Afterwards, we continued walking around until we came to the No. 1 bridge under heaven. It's believed that walking on this bridge will bring you good health and longevity. It's a natural stone bridge, stretched in between two mountain peaks and rises over 350 metres above the valley floor. There's a sign warning people not to stop to take pictures along the bridge, but nobody heeded it, so it was jam packed full of people traversing it, trying to avoid colliding with each other. If you look down, you can see the valley below and a sheer drop, which was pretty scary!

Tianzi Mountain

We carried on walking past the bridge and saw loads of padlocks tied to the fences and it was quite crowded around there, so we continued towards the bus stop. We waited and got the bus up to Tianzi Mountain. It's named after Xiang Dakun who led the local farmers revolt and called himself Tianzi (son of heaven). We got to the top of the mountain, which was even higher altitude than we'd been before, the views were virtually non-existent. I was hoping to see a few of the main attractions up here like; Shen Tang Valley, Terrace of the Mustering Officers, Imperial Brush Peak, Fairies Spreading Flowers and Terraced Fields in the Air, but we couldn't see any of it.

As we decided to walk down, I was surprised to see a McDonald's in the Helong Park area. There are convenience food stalls set up along most of the trails in the park, but the need for a McDonald's in a national park is taking it to another level. It's a shame the natural beauty of such places can be destroyed. I digress, so as we ascended the mountain, we now have to descend over 3,000 steps. The route we are taking is ten-mile gallery, which is located at the foot of Tianzi Mountain.

Traversing the steps

So as we were descending the steps there were loads of people carefully making their way down all these steps. Some were listening to loud music, which was rather off putting. The steps near the edges were fairly slippery and I got a bit close and nearly slipped. Luckily a kind Chinese man grabbed me to stop me falling down the mountainside. I was eternally grateful, I shouldn't have tried to overtake the crowds and will think twice about doing it again. We also saw some men with chair carriages hoping to carry people down the mountain. Then a while later, we saw two men carrying a man down the mountain, which was quite amusing. It seems fairly dangerous to so something like this up a steep mountain.

Ten-mile Gallery

Once we'd safely come down the steps, we arrived at a much preferred sloped path. There was also a scenic train ride that you could take for around £20.00, which we did not take. We've done the hard part walking down all those steps, so walking down a gentle slope is a breeze now. As we were walking down the slope, I turned back to look at the scenery and was surprised to see three peaks standing side by side; 'The Three Sisters'. The one on the left is the eldest sister, she has great hair and is carrying a child, ready to return to her family. The middle is the younger sister who takes her baby in her arms to look forward to the safe return of her husband, the right peak is a pregnant women, which is the little sister who is just married. Personally I didn't really stop long enough to see the resemblances.

Along ten-mile gallery there is some picturesque scenery, beautiful flowers, birds singing, and many beautiful quartz sandstone peaks to admire. The clouds change the views of these mountains a lot, but some are likened to people, god, immortal, forests, birds or beasts. Some of the main attractions we saw were Herb Collecting Old Man, which is a thin, old man, his head twined with silk handkerchiefs and his shoulders carry a basket of old herbs. This is also one of the top ten scenic areas in Zhangjiajie. While we were walking down the ten-mile scenic gallery, the paths were completely packed with people, it was probably one of the busiest spots we've been to today. We're both shattered, so we headed back down to the entrance to catch the bus to our hostel.

Golden whip stream

The next morning, we woke up and looked out of the window, it was raining. We did think about not going to Zhangjiajie today, but there was so much more to see, not that we'd see much of it anyhow. We set off in the rain and took the local bus to the Wulingyuan scenic area. We went into the same gates today because the bus takes us near to where the golden whip stream trail is. We hopped on the bus and got dropped off at the start of the trek. By now, the rain was much heavier and when we got off the bus, it was tipping down. I really felt like getting on a bus to the hostel. However, we're here now, so we need to see some more of this wonderful place. We put on our ponchos and took shelter for a few minutes. The rain didn't stop, so we just started walking in the rain.

Golden Whip Stream is the biggest brook landscape in Zhangjiajie. It's named after the 380-meter high Golden Whip Rock. There are many beautiful sceneries along the Golden Whip Stream; the pristine water, the verdant mountains, the steep cliffs and the serene valley. Golden Whip Stream is a beautiful, tranquil and natural ecological environment. There are many species of plants, an abundance of flowers, trees, and grasses. It's also a place with various fauna-birds, fish and land animals. The major scenic spots include Rock of Welcoming Guests, Golden Whip Rock, Reunion Rock and the Purple Grass Pond.

We walked along following the river upstream and it was a pleasant walk. We walked across a couple of bridges over the river, and for a while, we were the only ones walking along the path, which was like a breath of fresh air. Just that experience; to be the only ones here, was great. It was just the fact that it was raining for most of the walk, which put a bit of a dampener on things. We couldn't see as much of the wonderful scenery as we'd have liked to. Although the rain did stop for at least a few minutes and we could see the vertical pillars shooting up from the ground, covered in mist. It's a 7 kilometre walk, but it didn't feel like we'd walked that by the end of it, so we walked up to the entrance of the Zhangjiajie gate.

When we arrived at the main entrance gates, we were greeted by loads of macaques. They seem
to congregate around here, and for a good reason. We saw a man carrying a plastic bag full of food, his packed lunch; as soon as he walked into the park, the monkeys ran towards him and grabbed the bag. He tried to resist for a while, but monkeys don't give up easily, so he had to let it go. The monkeys had a fight amongst themselves and took all the food and left the rubbish behind. It was amusing to watch and all the locals were shouting and screaming!

After the commotion, we felt we hadn't done enough walking, so we madly decided to walk up around 3,000 steps. We walked up to a high view point, but there were no views due to the rain. We should've left when we got to the entrance gates. So we spent another few hours going uphill to reach the top, see the fog, and turn straight back down. I can't even remember the name of the path we took or what sites of attraction there were, but it was a pointless waste of time. The path that we took down must have been an old path as there were loads of broken steps and moss covered stones along the way down. We though we took a wrong turn, so were worried we went the wrong way. We didn't see a single person on this path, it was good in a way, but I was fearful we would end up going somewhere we could not get out of. There was no English signage at all. But we figured if we just keep heading down the steps, we'd at least be heading in the right direction. Eventually we got down safely and made our way back to the exit.

We've loved visiting this magical place, you really feel somewhere far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday China. The weather conditions can change so much in two days; from morning dew mist, to afternoon shine, to cloud covered mountains and the rain, it has it all. This all adds to our experience of walking around such an enthralling attraction. My only regret would be not having enough time to spend wandering around, but perhaps one day we will return.