For Natural Scene Lovers

If you aren’t afraid of heights and love seeing incredible views, you must visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park located in Hunan Province.

I remember visiting there for the first time in May, I thought trekking was a horrible decision for my family but surprisingly, the place was not hot at all. The tour guide told us that it is because Zhangjiajie has a special geographical feature. The weather here is spring all season meaning that there is no severe cold in winter and no scorching heat in summer. The iconic scene created by nature has attracted many tourists around the globe, especially Koreans who believe their ancestors originated from here. Also, when I was doing my research I realized that the national forest park was an inspiration for the movie, Avatar.

The Hallelujah Mountain the movie scene was based off from the views of Zhangjiajie. The movie did not take place in Zhangjiejia but the Cameron took shots and videos of Zhangjiajie for inspiration.

For people who like to hike, like me, I recommend hiking the whole way from the bottom to the top. It is worth it because you can see one of the most distant and stunning views of all time. The hike time takes me approximately about two hours. Yes, it is quite a hike, but trust me, it will be worth it.

Because you get to see views like this:

But for people who don’t like to walk and elders, the place has an elevator that takes you all the way to the top.

Going up is much tiring than going down but avoid running down or going too fast because your limbs and legs will hurt the next morning. (I learned my lesson from that)

 

 

Along the way, you get to see monkeys. They don’t bother people unless you bother them and don’t swing a banana around them. They will jump over and grab it (don’t ask me how I know). Also, don’t try to feed them anything because doing so is violating the policy of the national park.  While I was talking to the tour guide, she told me that the staff here are taking great care of the park to make sure the place is tidy and clean to match the magnificent scenery. Because of the distinct views, Zhangjiajie has become a national pride of China. It was also nominated in the first batch of national 5A tourist attractions in China (2007).

The Grand Canyon

Another great place to visit is the national park. This is also the second place I went to visit the next day. My family was planning not to go because they believed that it was unnecessary to visit the place twice after one day. But I think it was necessary because the Grand Canyon looks different from the sky views of Zhangjiajie. It was also a great place to escape from a hot summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did some research before I came here and they show that the best time to come to visit is between April and August. But it also means that there’s a lot of people. Despite, visitors from the locals, there are more people all over the world coming to Zhangjiajie just to take screenshots of this remarkable place. So be prepared to wait in the line but also enjoy the time there.