Tianmen Mountain - Symbol and Spirit of Zhangjiajie

It is located in the middle and upper part of Tianmen Mountain with an elevation of 1300m. This scenic area includes Tianmen Cave (Heavenly Gate Cave), Ladder to the Heaven, Tianmen Mountain Cableway, Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven), etc.

Mixian Qijing Scenic Area (觅仙奇境)

It is located in the west of Tianmen Mountain. This area is the birthplace of Reclusion Culture and Immortal Culture. The sights mainly include Seek Son Cave, Viewing Guigu Cave, Cliff-Hanging Walkway, Glass Skywalk, Lingxiao Platform, etc.

Biye Yaotai Scenic Area (碧野瑶台)

This area has a complete primitive forest. There are more than 20 spots including Divine Spring, Overlook Heavenly Gate, Cherry Bay, etc.

Tianjie Foguo Scenic Area (天界佛国)

This scenic area is the center of Buddhist culture, located in the south of Tianmen Mountain. The most typical sight is Tianmen Mountain Temple.

(Cableway is also available for getting down from upper to lower station.)

Tianmen Mountain Cableway is the longest one-way recycling passenger cableway in the world, with a total length of 7455 meters and a height gap of 1279 meters.

This longest cableway car takes travelers from the atmosphere of Zhangjiajie city downtown directly to the primitive park in the air. During the about 40 minutes’ journey of the cableway, the landscape changes a lot, making travelers experience a miraculous feeling of flying angels in the sky as well as of being blended into a long grand painting of landscape. Overlooking from the cableway, you can see the 99 turns toward the heaven.

Tongtian Avenue, also called Avenue toward Heaven, has 99 sharp turns of about 180° symbolizing that heaven has nine palaces. It is the wonder of highway in world. The road has a length of 10.77km and its elevation rising from 200meters to 1300 meters. Traveling through Tongtian Avenue by sightseeing bus, travelers can reach directly Tianmen Cave within 25 minutes.

Please Note: the ride is full of sharp turns along the vertical cliffs. For those who easily have carsickness, please take some carsick medicine or choose not to go by bus. And you can view it from the cableway instead.

Experience the Cliff-Hanging Walkway

The Cliff-Hanging Walkway is about 1600m, with an altitude of 1400m. It starts from Yihong Pass to Little Tianmen Gate. This cliff-hanging walkway is very thrilling. It seems that you are walking by the cliff and in the air. The breathtaking Glass Skywalk is part of the Cliff-Hanging Walkway, about 60 meters long. There is a glass platform for travelers shooting amazing photos. If you like, you can stand on the glass platform to appreciate the breathtaking scenery. At the end of the Cliff-Hanging Walkway, travelers can walk through the 160-meter Hanging Bridge.

Breathtaking Glass Walk

The glass skywalk is 60 meters long and 1.6 meters wide, with the highest elevation of 1430m. It is part of Cliff-hanging walking, and is the highest section. Travelers should put on shoe cover to pass through the glass skywalk. The walk is challenging, giving a thrilling feeling like walking in the sky. An unforgettable lifetime experience, isn’t it?

Please note: It will not be so thrilling during foggy days. And it will be closed during the rainy, icy and snowy days. You are advised to check the weather forecast before going to Tianmen Mountain if you want to get the best experience of the glass walkway. For the detailed info, you can also feel free to contact our experienced travel consultants to meet your needs and requirements.

Travel through Tianmen Cave

Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave, with the highest elevation in the world. It runs south-northward with a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. Tianmen Cave rises above the ground and closes to the sky with a lofty and towering posture. It is much like a door to the heaven. In 1999, the masters of international stunt flying piloted the planes to fly through Tianmen Cave.

Travelers should walk 999 steep and narrow steps to climb the “Ladder to the Heaven” and reach Tianmen Cave and enjoy fantastic scenery from above.

Please Note: the Tongtian Avenue and Tianmen Cave may close during the frozen days in the winter time. For the detailed news, please contact our professional travel consultants beforehand for more weather and transportation information.

▶ 4 Days Zhangjiajie Tour to Yuanjiajie & Tianmen Mountain National Park

Take the 7455-meter cableway to get up Tianmen Mountain; Arrive at Tianmen Mountain cable station (Upper) and choose west route to travel through Mixian Qijing Scenic Area and experience Cliff-Hanging Walkway and Glass Skywalk, visit Tianmen Temple; Take Tianmen Mountain Peak Forest Sightseeing Cable Car from Cherry Bay to Yunmeng Xianding; reach upper escalator Tianmen Mountain to get down Tianmen Cave and visit the door to heaven; get down from Tianmen Cave to the parking lot and take sightseeing bus to experience 99 turns via Tongtian Avenue. (Note: If you don’t want to go 99 turns on bus, travelers can go up from Tianmen Cave by escalator and take cableway to get down.)

Route Two (in-depth hiking route)

Take the 7455-meter cableway to get up Tianmen Mountain; arrive at the upper cable station and choose the west route to visit Mixian Qijing Scenic Area and experience Cliff-Hanging Walkway and Glass Skywalk; visit Tianjie Foguo scenic area to Tianmen Temple; hike on the east route to travel through the primitive forest in Biye Yaotai Scenic Area and visit many sights along the way; get down from upper escalator to Tianmen Cave; visit Tianmen Cave and walk 999 steps to Tianmen Cave parking lot to take sightseeing bus to get down Tianmen Mountain by wandering through Tongtian Avenue with 99 turns. (Note: If you don’t want to go 99 turns on bus, travelers can go up from Tianmen Cave by escalator and take cableway to get down.)

Location & Transportation

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is located in south of Zhangjiajie, 8 kilometers from downtown area. It usually needs about only 5 minutes by local taxi or private car to get to Tianmen Cableway Lower Station to take the cable car up to Tianmen Mountain, and it is also the place to take sightseeing bus up to the mountain scenic area. You can take bus, taxi, private car etc. from airport, train station, and other tourist attractions in Zhangjaijie to get to the lower station. It transfers travelers between Tianmen Cableway Middle Station/Lower Station and Tianmen Cave.

Zhangjiajie is an incredible place with absolutely beautiful landscape under heaven. Travelers usually spend 3 to 5 days in and around Zhangjiajie. There is no doubt that Wulingyuan National Forest Park is the highlight of all the stunning attractions which needs to spend 2 days inside. If you have one more day, you should add Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon with Glass Bridge Experience or Tianmen Mountain into the trip. Some travelers choose to visit Yellow Dragon Cave or Baofeng Lake for one day.

If you want to enjoy the antique beauty of ancient town, Fenghuang Ancient Town is the best choice for one to two days' escape. And, you can also consider of Fanjingshan Mountain to see the mushroom stone and odd mountains.

Most travelers would add Zhangjiajie into their longer China trip and you can go with Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Yangtze River Cruise, Guilin, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing and more. To customize your China tour with Zhangjiajie, just feel free to tell us your likes and demands, and we are here ready to help you at any time! Tailor make your China tour with China Discovery now!

Travel Zhangjiajie with China Discovery

To help you enjoy a worry-free trip to Zhangjiajie and the whole China, we suggest you travel with China Discovery. Our experienced travel expert will help you arrange the accommodation, transportation and everything well to let you spend all your effort and time on the sightseeing. If you have any other ideas or questions about your Zhangjiajie tour, please feel free to contact us. We will help you plan your enjoyable trip with sincerity and professionalism!

We have helped many global travelers enjoy their memorable trips to Zhangjiajie for the past few years. Among them Mr. Elie & his wife from Belgium enjoyed 5 days in Zhangjiajie during their 69 days China trip customized with us and shared us their travel story. Travel with China Discovery to create your wonderful Zhangjiajie trip memories!