Tag Archives: Tianmen Mountain

The Overwhelming Trip Continues

29 Apr

On the fifth day of our trip, we visited Wulingyuan, a different historical and scenic site of Zhangjiajie National Park. We see so many rock formations that I have lost track of what is what and where. My knowledge of this place is terrible, as I didn’t do any research before coming.

There was another queue for a cable car to the peak to see more rocks! Hahaha. Another long trek day. I was hitting all sorts of records on the Fitness app in my AppleWatch. Yay!

Wulingyuan

That evening, we decided to attend the large-scale musical, the Fox Fairy Show. The live musical performance was very entertaining and colorful. I was most impressed by the outdoor theater setup at the foot of Tianmen Mountain. Costume and character changes were instantaneous without glitches with AI technology. Very impressive!

The Fox Fairy Show

The next day, we queued again (what else is new?) for the Bailong Elevator. Although we paid for VIP tickets to cut down our time waiting in line, it was still an hour before we could go up to the top. The Avatar Mountains were the highlight of this trip, but again, for me, the crowds marred the experience of seeing the floating mountains. I think the depth of the terrain was hardly visible, with so much greenery below. It was hard for me to grasp the sheer beauty of the place.

The floating Avatar Hallelujah Mountains

At all the attractions we visited, it felt like the whole world was there to see what we wanted to see. And if I thought it was the last of the long queues at Bailong, the next day’s attraction at the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge was another one for the record!

At the Glass Bridge

We gave up the last tour to visit Orange Isle when we saw the queues again. Hahaha. After so many days of long queue experience, we could not handle another long queue to see the statue of Mao Zedong. Everyone agreed we should go shopping instead.

Mass crowds from every attraction we went to!

All in all, this trip was all about nature, crowds, and queues. I have never been so overwhelmed surrounded by people. The trip culminated in the final two days at Changsha with a colorful cityscape skyline, more people, interesting food, and shopping.

So colorful!
Array of street food. Bottom right: bowl of cut chili is called a dipping sauce

Nine days were rather long, and although there were more downsides of crowds, queues, and packing the wrong clothes as far as the weather was concerned, I am taking the positives from this trip, checking off my bucket list, and cherish the time I had with the friends I grew up with.

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The Overwhelming Trip, Part 2

25 Apr

Day Two began with our visit to the Phoenix Ancient Town. The girls decided to do the photoshoot in Miao costumes, and I couldn’t opt out! It was quite an overwhelming experience for me, but I survived. After that session, we explored the vibrant night lights of the town, went on a boat cruise, and enjoyed some delicious street food.

On the third day, we visited a Miao Village. Although the walk was not too draining, it was the beginning of more challenging walks and paths. The steps and distances we covered increased daily as the terrain became more difficult. Having strong knees is essential when visiting China, especially if you plan on visiting all the natural parks. Another challenge is the public toilets, which are the squat type.

Miao Village

By the fourth day, the feeling of being overwhelmed kicked in. The crowds, the queues, the waits, and the walking! Our guide took 15 minutes to purchase the cable car tickets for Tianmen Mountain, and we then stood in line for almost two hours for the ride. It was the start of many long queues and waits. Such situations bring out the worst in a person or persons. There were some uncouth individuals—older women, mind you, and not young adults—who hopped over the barriers to cut in line without any shame. We could only look in disbelief.

Tianmen Mountain

From the cable car—at quite a distance—we could see the large hole known as Heaven’s Gate, or Tianmen Cave. It’s a natural archway formed by a cave that runs through the Mountain. And below the cable car, the 99 Bends road was a breathtaking sight. I was more impressed by the road than the gap in the Mountain, to be honest.

Spectacular!

After all that time and effort going up, it’s time to come down! The 999 steps await us. Dang, it’s a long way down. I kept my focus, looking at the steps going down, as I didn’t want any mishap to happen. I’m proud to say I took 18 minutes. What a day.

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