Trip to Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China

[Big Boy]

No, I'm not doubting what you say. Just saying the photos depict a cave more like the Ha Long cave, rather than Ratchaburi. Beautiful cave, regardless.

[Bamboo Grove]

The long and thin stalagmite has even been insured.

[Big Boy]

I have been to the one in Ha Long Bay and I still think the one in ZJJ is the best I've seen. The Ha Long one is rather short compared to this one and I can't recall any river or lake inside the Ha Long cave.

Just checked my photos - your recollection is correct

[Bamboo Grove]

Day 6 and 7

Zhangjiajie town

The taxi came at 11.00 to pick me up as promised and it took about 40 minutes for the ride to Zhangjiajie city. I got into my room and noticed that the location was perfect. I could see from the window the place where the cable car and buses left for Tianmen mountain. I went for a walk to check how the tickets were sold and also to find an ATM to withdraw some Yuan so that I wouldn’t have that problem again.

I felt that I had a slight tummy problem so didn’t venture far away from the hotel. After finding out how to get the tickets and withdrawing some RMB, I returned to my hotel and spent the rest of the evening there.

I wasn’t in a hurry in the morning although, the websites had again suggested that one should start early and take the cable car up to the mountain as there would be long queues. It was raining a bit and as I could follow how things were unfolding from my hotel room window, I was in no hurry. I had decided to go the opposite way again.

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Around 11.00 the rain had stopped and there were no queues so I set out. I had a breakfast on my way and purchased a B-ticket, which meant a bus trip up the mountain and then the cable car back. No queues and I hopped on a minibus, which left in 5 minutes. It took about 10 minutes to get into the area where the buses where leaving to go up the mountain on the 99 curves road. Except that there were no buses. For some reason they were not running at all that day, as I was able to see from the cable cars.

There were tickets for A, B and C ways. The A was the long cable car up and then the bus down, B the other way round and C a shorter cable car up and the long one down. The C option started were the buses would have so I took that one and went up.

I was again the only one in the car so another good choice to do the trip the other way round than what the net had suggested. Up on the mountain there was a bridge built on the side of the mountain that led to the stairway to heaven. Great scenery and the visibility was good.

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I didn’t feel like walking up the 999 steps and luckily there were escaletors, seven all together if I remember correctly to take me up to the Heaven’s door. From there onwards I was inside the clouds and the visibility was just a few meters. More escaletors taking me even higher and naturally this didn’t improve the visibility.

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The strangest experience was taking a cable lift on the mountain when the visibility was just a few meters. It felt like travelling through total emptyness.

After the cable lift and elevator took me down to the place where the long cable car took me down.

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”Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the "longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world", with 98 cars and a total length of 7,455 meters and ascent of 1,279 metres. The highest gradient is an unusual 37 degrees.”

There were two glass bridges up on the mountain but even with poor visibility I skipped them, I’m just not made for these kind of things.

It was a nice cable car trip down the mountain and you can see the scenery changing from mountain to forests to agriculture and finally to the city life.

[Big Boy]

What a road. Looks more like a F1 race track.

[caller]

Everything looks incredible. More great pics!

[buksida]

Fantastic trip report and photos, the place looks truly otherworldly.

[Bamboo Grove]

Day 8

Return to Macau

I had to change trains in Guangzhou but my first train was more than an hour late so I lost my connection. This was a Chinese holiday so most of the trains going to Zhuhai were full, I got a no seat ticket to 20.10 train. As it was around 17.00, I went to see if there would be a bus to take me to Zhuhai. There was and they said, it would leave at 18.10 so I bought a ticket to it.

Mistake, it left 40 minutes late and although it took only 1,5 hours for it to take me to Zhuhai, the bus station there was 40 km. away from the border. It was nine o’clock with very empty street and no taxis around. It was hot and the mosquitos were eating me. I finally decided to walk into a Chinese hotel and asked the receptionist to call me a taxi. She tried but no taxis available. Then she checked from internet how I could go to the border and told me I could take two buses as they were still running. She even took me to the bus stop and showed me which bus to take first and were to get off. So I managed to do this and the other bus came after about 10 minute wait. But it took me another 1,5 hours to get to the border. I should have waited for the train in Guangzhou, I would have been in Zhuhai at 21.10. Now it was past 23.00 when I finally arrived at the border. Luckily there were not many people going to Macau and I could cross the border quite quickly. I then took a bus home, where I arrived at around midnight.

When I studied Chinese language in Guangzhou in 1987, the university's Chinese language students did a trip to Zhangjiajie. I didn't join them as I didn't fancy travelling in such a big group. Since then I have had a thought of visit this place and now I am more than happy that I didn't go then. They travelled on hard seats in old Chinese trains, there were no cable cars, elevators or lifts in those day. Much easier nowadays.

It was a great trip. I really enjoyed it besides the travelling days but even those ended well. This was my last A-class bucket list trip in China. There are still places I want to see such as the Yangze-river cruise and Huangshan but all in all, I’ve seen the things I really wanted to see. I will surely go to China in the future as well, if I get the chance.

[pharvey]

What a road. Looks more like a F1 race track.

Hell, F1 might then be truly boring.... 30 MPH

Loving the pics and the Reports BG!

[PET]

What a road. Looks more like a F1 race track.

Hell, F1 might then be truly boring.... 30 MPH

Loving the pics and the Reports BG!

You worked in China for some years but never went up this mountain?
My wife has returned back from the same trip this morning - she enjoyed going back and forth across the glass bridge - not for me!!

[pharvey]

You worked in China for some years but never went up this mountain?
My wife has returned back from the same trip this morning - she enjoyed going back and forth across the glass bridge - not for me!!

Hell no.. I lived and worked in China for 12 plus years... I had the privilege of working in places that no tourist (or anybody with sense) would want to be - chemical plants, mine sites, fabricators and a bleak office building. Work and travel was a nightmare - the only peace I had was to return home to my lovely wife (AKA the LHG) and my dear (now departed) Bob the dog. I did visit many areas in China, but despised the tourist traps - come Chinese Holidays, I was either working on site or if at home would lock the doors, close the curtains and enjoy quiet time.

There are certainly some sights to see in China, I however have no desire to return.

Apologies BG - didn't mean to put a damper on a great report....

[buksida]

It does look fantastic, shame the visa is such a ballache for certain passport holders.

[pharvey]

It does look fantastic, shame the visa is such a ballache for certain passport holders.

Getting a visa through places in HK used to be the way for many UK, Aus, US passport holders. For me, it's pretty straightforward for a visit for obvious reasons.

If you really want to go, I'm sure the LHG can offer advice.

[pharvey]

Once again BG, apologies for taking away from your great report - I do love the photo pointing out that the "largest" is insured for 100 Million RMB. Just trying to imagine what would happen to someone taking a chip off it and would the insurance pay out!!

[Bamboo Grove]

Pharvey wrote:

Apologies BG - didn't mean to put a damper on a great report....

I have no problems with this, all experiences are valuable. I personally would not want to go back to India, although I know many people who love it and I was there only for one month in 1988. Can't imagine what Pakistan or Bangladesh would be like but then again, I have no desire to find out. I'm happy in East- and South-East Asia.