Tianzishan (天子山) mountain, Zhangjiajie, China – Day 2

We went shopping for crystal after our lunch and in the late afternoon we came to Tianzishan (天子山) mountain, Zhangjiajie, we shouldn’t make this journey to this mountains due it about 4.30 p.m. and they close at 5.30 p.m.  We have been able to view most of the features in this Tianzishan but missed the most beautiful scenery at the top of the mountains where we have to take  another cable car to this mountain peak.

Source from China Guide:

Located in the northeast of Wulingyuan Scenic Area in the city of Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, Mt. Tianzishan is a splendid vista of bizarre rock formations, precipitous cliffs, misty clouds and cascading waterfalls

It is one of the four scenic spots in Wulingyuan National Park, together with the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the Suoxiyu National Resource Reserve and the Yangjiajie Scenic Area. In 1992, Wulingyuan National Park was officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mt. Tianzishan is a typical sandstone formation, characterized by a multitude of densely gathered peaks, enjoying a reputation as “the king of all mountains.” Most notably, almost half of the 3103 peaks of Zhangjiaje can be viewed from this lofty stage. It is not just an ordinary place: it is a “forest” of mountains, a “kingdom” of peaks, and a “sea” of summits.

A saying about Mt. Tianzishan goes: “Being not Yellow Mountain but better than it.” The landscape here varies in different seasons and also in one day, which makes Mt. Tianzishan a very interesting destination.

In bygone days, the elderly would say, “Once you have seen the five holy mountains, you will lose interest in all others, but once you have viewed Yellow Mountain, the five holy mountains will lose their allure.” However, today’s experienced travelers exclaim, “Once you behold the awesome face of Mt. Tianzishan, it is unnecessary to venture elsewhere!”

Ascend Mt. Tianzishan by cable car and you may think you have entereda fairyland. Four wonders for the breathtaking sceneries will catch your eyes: the Sea of Clouds, the Radiance of the Moonlight, Rays of Sunshine and the Snow in winter. Cloud and mist in the Mountain enjoys high reputation nationwide, especially just after the rain, which adds much charm to Mt. Tianzishan. Clouds and mists are the most common and wonderful sights here. It also has the largest bronze statue in China, the Statue of Marshal He Long.

At these mountains peaks there is a mirror bridge where we can see the bottom of the canyon, it is scary experience and it need the bravest person to walk this glass bridge that surrounded the mountains.  My daughter has height phobia and after walking these bridge and it has cured her height phobia.

This is a wonder out of these world and it is a must to see when you are in Zhangjiajie. The fare for the cable car is expensive but it worth every pence for it.

Golden Whip Brook, Zhiangjiajie, China – 金鞭溪 (中国) – Day 2

Once we came out  of  the Huanglong Cave, Zhiangjiajie, -黄龙洞,   our guide Tung met us at the entrance.  He explained to us that our day was full of trekking and sightseeing so to save time he had order the local dishes for our lunch.  We had a wonderful lunch and time for our walk.

Our next destination was “Golden Whip Brook, Zhiangjiajie, -金鞭溪. The entrance fee is 245 RMB which included the Zhiangjiajie National Park and the ticket is valid for 2 to 3 days. Golden Whip Brook was situated at the Wulingyuan Scenic  Area -武陵源 of Zhangjiajie. The brook meanders its way through 5.5 km (3.5 mi) of mountains and valleys. It is about 2 mile from the entrance to the waterfall where we stop for half an hour to soak our feet and enjoying the fresh mountain water.

After busy soaking our foots and taking photos our guide lead us to the densely forest where lot of monkeys asking for foods from the tourists – we were advice not to feed them. I had a great time enjoying myself taking photos of them especially one of the monkey who face keep changing with different emotions and I couldn’t resist to take a serial photos of him/she.

It was a long walk and along the forest the stream flow and we even can go down to the waterfall or the stream but due to our shortage of time and we still have a long way to trek up to the mountains so our guide just gave us time to rest and carry on our trekking uphills.  The youngsters will take about 1 or 2 hours to trek uphill but unfortunately, the guide Tung didn’t aware our  group of 7 people some at the age of 60+, 50+ and 2 youngsters, both myself and my 2nd sister weren’t so fit so it took us longer to trek uphill. There is a easier way to go uphill is  by the cable car but due to the tour guide know our interest in forest and wild life so he choose the trekking and we will get to see more of the wild life in Golden Whip Brook.

There are also more scenic place near Golden Whip Brook but we do not visit them as the guide only lead us to the most beautiful one and other almost similar so we don’t have to waste our times and have more times for other sight-seeing. The other scenic places nearby are Golden Whip Rock- 金鞭岩, Purple Grass Pond – 紫草潭, Jumping Fish Pond  跳鱼潭) and Zhangliang Tomb – 张良墓.

Please note that in my photos there were not a lot of crowds and the reasons for this is our guide Tung trying his best to avoid those crowds by taking us to these scenic places at a different timing so that we will not clash with the lot which meant we must rushed to take to last cable car or we might missed one of the bigger and scenic spot which is a must to visit but we can’t due to they are going to close  and we can’t go there.

Day 2 – Huanglong Cave, Zhiangjiajie, China -黄龙洞, Furong Town Zhiangjiajie, China ( 中国)

Our hotel was at Wulingyuan district in Zhiangjiajie which is near the Zhiangjiajie National Forest. The hotel room cost about £20.00 to £30.00 gbp per room. We had our breakfast at the hotel, the driver and tour guide Tung came to sent us to Huanglong Cave, 黄龙洞.   Been told by the local that these mountains had shifted the directions of the front entrance were due to the feng shui effect that caused this movement.

It was 20 minutes walk to the front entrance and along the way to the entrance surrounded by a garden with windmill machines operating the water movements.  Our entrance fee for this place came with a guide to explain the history of this cave,  a boat trip around the inside cave and then trekking into different chambers of the caves.

Source from Wikipedia:

Huanglong Cave (simplified Chinese: 黄龙洞; traditional Chinese: 黃龍洞; pinyin: huánglóng dòng; literally: “yellow dragon cave”) is a karst cave located near the Wulingyuan district of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan, People’s Republic of China and a national 4A rated scenic area. As of 2010, the cave has over a million visitors per year.^[ Since 1997, the Huanglong Cave scenic area has been managed by Beijing-based China Datong Co. Ltd. It was previously managed directly by the Hunan provincial government.

In addition to the cave itself the Huanglong Cave scenic area includes Huanglong Cave Ecology Square (simplified Chinese: 黄龙洞生态广场; traditional Chinese: 黃龍洞生態廣場), completed in 2009 by restoring the landscape of the area adjacent to the cave entrance. In 2010, the Zhangjiajie government ordered the construction of the “Hallelujah Concert Hall” (simplified Chinese: 哈利路亚音乐厅; traditional Chinese: 哈利路亞音樂廳) as the centerpeice to the Ecology Square, not far from the cave entrance. The hall has a grass-planted roof and cost 160 million Chinese yuan.

Covering a total area of 48 hectares (120 acres), the cave system extends to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) in length and is divided into dry and wet levels. The re are four levels, thirteen chambers, three underground waterfalls, two underground rivers, three pools, ninety-six passages, as well as an underground lake. The largest chamber in the cave is 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) and the highest of the three waterfalls is 50 metres (160 ft) high. The guided tour through the cave lasts about two hours and includes a boat ride down one of the underground rivers.

We were so happy and enjoying ourselves at this beautiful Huanglong Cave and thank to Guide Tung who know when there weren’t lot of crowds/tourists so that we enjoy the scenic view and take photos of this beautiful place. We spent half of the day at this beautiful spot. This is a beautiful national scenic spot and it is value for money which a must to see when in zhiangjiajie.