Before going to the Tianmen Mountain National Park, The Wandelgek was first checking in in his new hotel in Zhangjiajie City. My next blogpost will show you more about my new hotelroom. But after that short break he went on.

I was so happy with my travel guide Gaby who always came prepared and had these tiny chinese snacks to try in between travel distances. Snacks on top of the mountain in the shops are more expensive so it is wise to bring snacks. This time she had these little jelly cups which I had seen in many shops, but didn’t try yet …

…and blueberry filled cakes…

Tianmen Mountain and Tianmen Mountain National Park, located just outside Zhangjiajie City, is known for its breathtaking views and dramatic natural features. The mountain is famous for the Tianmen Cave, a natural archway formed by erosion, and the thrilling cliffside glass walkways. Visitors can take the world’s longest cable car ride to the summit, which offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The winding 99-Bend Road leading to the mountain is another highlight.

Taxis and busses can get close to the entrance of the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car Station from where you can make a ride to the top of Tianmen mountain with the longest cable car in the world.

It is an over 7 kilometer long cableway (7455 m.) and it brings you via the Middle cable station to the Upper cable station.

Spanning a distance of 7,455 meters, the Tianmen Mountain (Tianmen Shan) cableway is considered the longest cable car ride in the world. It departs from downtown Zhangjiajie and takes you directly to the mountain’s summit. The entire journey lasts about 28 minutes, during which you can enjoy panoramic views of Zhangjiajie City and its stunning natural surroundings. You’ll glide over rooftops, fields, lakes, forests, and hills. A round-trip cable car ride is included in the Tianmen Mountain entrance fee.

The lower station of the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car is located in downtown Zhangjiajie, about 1 kilometer from Zhangjiajie Railway Station (张家界站), and is easily accessible by foot. The upper station is situated at the edge of the mountain summit.

Tianmen Mountain cable car has three stations: the upper, the middle one and the lower. The lower cable car station is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Dayong Road and Yingbin Road in Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City, near the transportation hubs such as Zhangjiajie Railway Station and Zhangjiajie Central Bus Station. From Zhangjiajie Hehuo International Airport, there are transit buses including route 4 and route 402 running directly to this lower cable car station.

The middle station of Tianmen Mountain Cableway is basically a transfer station. Tourists who do not want to go directly to the top of the mountain can alight here.

 

The upper cable car station locates on the mountaintop. It is very convenient to go from here to such attractions including the Heavenly Summit between Clouds and Dreams, the glass skywalk and the ghost valley plank road.

On top you can choose different routes.

After arrival at the Upper Tianmen Cablecar Station, there were several options for a very beautiful walk …

The cablecar ride is 20 a 21 minutes, which means it has an average speed of 6 meters per second, covering a distance of 7,455 meters.

There was quite some mist which makes the views beautifully eerie…

The mountains change into silhouettes …

Tianmen Mountain is another landmark of Zhangjiajie. Unlike the hiking trails leading up and down the hills in Wulingyuan Scenic Area, the trails in Tianmen Mountain are much more challenging. It is not said that these trails are steep or never-ending, but because most of them are narrow and embedded in vertical cliffs high above the air. Besides, some of them are paved with transparent glass! You can’t imagine how thrilling it is until you get there! So if you are adventure lovers or big fans of hiking, hiking along the breathtaking trails on the cliff there simply can’t be missed!

A pity the cable car windows are not spotless and clean …

This road is amazing. The Wandelgek took it going down the mountain …

It has 99 bends!!!

It must have been hell to work on this as a builder …

Beneath you can see the theater which The Wandelgek was planning to visit in the evening …

But now for the most spectacular part of the mountain walk. The glass plated paths …

These were glued to the mountain side or at least looked like they had been. I was quite puzzled by this message and I hoped it was meant for illegal base jumpers and not for suicide jumpers, but tge sad truth is that it probably is meant for both.

In April 2023, four people died in a group suicide on one of the skywalks at Tianmen Mountain. Three men jumped to their deaths from the west line skywalk at a height of roughly 1,430 m (4,691.6 ft). The fourth person, a woman, was stopped from jumping but had already swallowed poison, causing her death…

As I said, glued to the mountain …

Beneath an impression of walking on glass with nothing but thin air beneath me …

But lets also talk about the views. Gradually there had been more incoming mist, which didn’t deminish the beauty of the landscape one bit…

It probably improved the views which got a lot more mysterious …

Next was maybe the most breathtaking walkway of them all, the Cliff hanging walkway …

It looks crowded, but actually it was outside the high season and thus not crowded at all, but there are probably all year people around.

The views kept being astonishing …

The Wandelgek now teached the area from where he could see the Heaven’s gate from above …

Still a bit obscured by mist …

… but there it was …

Near Heaven’s gate, the cliffs were really rising steep …

Let’s talk a bit more about my first experiences with minimalist photography…

… , often this is seen as synonymous to black and white photography,but in these misty circumstances color is reduced to only one specific color scheme, e.g. grayscales or like the ones overhere with mostly blue hues …

 

There is nothing except the mountain cliff, the white misty sky, an occasional tree  clinging to that cliff …

… it does mean you need to zoom in though to achieve this …

This lonely tree is clinging to the cliff wall like a mountain climber to Mount Everest, or better like an ant trying to scale that mountain …

… But however small they may seem, the ant, the mountain climber and the tree eventually do succeed.