Holiday in Zhangjiajie

What makes Zhangjiajie special as a destination?

Zhangjiajie is a landscape so surreal that it served as inspiration for the film Avatar — and indeed, when you see the over 3,000 sandstone pillars rising like fingers from the mist, you feel like you are on another planet. The national park in the Chinese province of Hunan is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark and offers natural spectacles that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. The sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie were formed over millions of years of erosion — quartz sandstone shaped into slender towers by water and wind, some over 200 meters high. The 'Avatar Hallelujah Mountain' (officially Qiankunzhu, 'Southern Sky Pillar') was renamed after the film catalog and is the most photographed rock in the park. The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is the longest and highest glass-bottom bridge in the world: 430 meters long, 300 meters above the abyss, the transparent floor reveals a view into the depths. For those without a fear of heights, it's an adrenaline kick; for everyone else, a challenge of courage. The Bailong Elevator (Hundred Dragons Elevator) is the highest outdoor elevator in the world. In less than two minutes, it transports visitors 326 meters up a sandstone cliff — with a view that, in good weather, stretches to the horizon. Tianmen Mountain, the second main part of the park area, features the 'Heaven's Gate' — a natural rock opening that is climbed via 999 steps. The ride on the world's longest cable car (7.5 km) and the winding access road with 99 hairpin turns are attractions in their own right. Zhangjiajie is less crowded than the Great Wall of China or the Terracotta Army, but offers nature experiences of an intensity that is unparalleled. Mist swirling around the sandstone pillars, the sound of birds singing in the gorges, and the boundless expanse of the landscape make every visit an almost spiritual experience.