Spectacular Scenery from the Cable Car

For just half a day of exploring Tianmenshan, it sure feels like I already spent a whole day there. However, this is different from the kind of walking we had back when we were walking up the mountain to Yuanjiajie. That one took a whole three hours to reach the top. While the walk around Tianmenshan was like a nice stroll along the park. In fairness, there was an easier way up to Yuanjiajie, we were just too ignorant to know about it.

Terraced Fields Along the Way

So which one will I recommend? I would have to say Zhangjiajie over Tianmenshan. Tianmenshan doesn’t feel like a wilderness, and with the tour group chasing us, the experience there wasn’t very good. The Tianmen Cave was impressive, but not as impressive as seeing the hundreds of limestone peaks of Yuanjiajie. In good viewing conditions, the view would be spectacular.

Tianmenshan has an air of artificiality about it, though it is not lacking in natural sights of its own. The limestone cliffs and views from the top of the mountain are truly outstanding. But with the promotion of Tongtian Avenue and the Tianmen Temple. It feels much more touristy. In fact, Tianmenshan even has a theme song! It sounded like one of those patriotic Chinese songs.

Over the Train Station

The way back to Zhangjiajie is much more relaxing than the way up, there were much less people going down this time of the day so we had the cable car all to ourselves. We went out taking shot after shot of the spectacular scenery. More so my friend, since this will be his last day in Zhangjiajie. He will be leaving that afternoon by train to Guangzhou.

Cable Car Station in Zhangjiajie City

It is also fortunate that we are heading back now, since I left my good camera battery charging at the hotel. The one I was using was a three to four year old battery, and I do no know how long it would last. Lucky for me, the battery lasted me this long, and I didn’t get to miss any wonderful shots.

As the cable car station at Zhagjiajie City loomed ever closer, I thought that I will be speaking Chinese the rest of the trip. I guess it would be a good way to sharpen my Chinese.

Related Posts:

Cableway to Tianmenshan 天门山

Tongtian Avenue 通天大道

Tianmen Cave 天门洞

Tags: cable car, China, Hunan, mountain, Tianmenshan, Zhangjiajie, 中国, 天门山, 张家界, 湖南