Tianmen Mountain 天门山

Overview

Chinese Name: 天门山
English Name: Tianmen Mountain; Tianmenshan
Location: Hunan
Type: Ancient culture and art
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Website: https://www.tianmenshan.com.cn/index.php?&m=Index&a=indexcn

Brief Introduction

Tianmen Mountain, formerly known as Songliang Mountain嵩梁山, is located in Zhangjiajie City张家界, Hunan Province. The total area of the tourist area is 96 square kilometers, and the peak area is 2 square kilometers. Tianmen Mountain has a profound cultural heritage. There are relics in Shennong神农, Chisongzi赤松子(ancient god), and Guiguzi鬼谷子. There are also many poems praising Tianmen Mountain

Since the Tang Dynasty, Tianmen Mountain has been in full bloom with temples. There are seven levels of the temple. It is quaint and quiet. There are precious Sakyamuni Buddha relics in the temple. It is the cultural holy land of Zhangjiajie and is honored as “the soul of Zhangjiajie” and “the first sacred mountain in Western Hunan”.

Tianmen Mountain is surrounded by clouds and mist all year round. The scene of the sea of clouds is endless. It integrates peaks, rocks, springs, streams, clouds, and forests. It is known as the “original garden in the sky” because it integrates magnificence, strangeness, beauty, danger, and seclusion. Tianmen Mountain is a typical karst landform喀斯特地貌, with an elevation of 1518.6 meters. It belongs to the Neocathaysian system and Wuling uplift belt. It is the remaining vein of the Wuling mountain range武陵山脉 entering the Dongting Lake Plain洞庭湖平原 eastward.

In July 1992, Tianmenshan was approved as a national forest park. In 2007, Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain scenic spot was approved as a national AAAA scenic spot by the Ministry of tourism. On September 5, 2011, Tianmenshan officially obtained the qualification of 5A scenic spot and was officially awarded the license in Beijing on September 6.

What are worth visiting and seeing？

Architectures

Mount Tianmen cableway, one of the longest mountain Cableways in the world, connects the urban area of Zhangjiajie and the top of Tianmenshan. The total length of the ropeway is 7455 meters, and the horizontal height difference is 1279 meters. It is the world’s first air mobile viewing gallery. It takes nearly 35 minutes for a one-way trip. On the way, you can enjoy the urban scenery, rural scenery, dangerous peaks, and deep gullies. It is one of the “four wonders” of Mount Tianmen.

Tianmenshan belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate亚热带季风气候. The forest on the top of Tianmen Mountain belongs to the primitive sub-forest, with a variety of precious trees and abundant wildlife resources. Tianmen Mountain has distinctive tourist traffic characteristics, including the Mount Tianmen cableway, Tongtian Avenue通天大道, and glass road.

To the west of the cableway station is the Lingxiao platform凌霄台, which is known as the “first station of immortals”. The ups and downs of the peaks are like waves, rolling furiously, and the vision is vast. During the summer thunderstorm season, there are many wonders of lightning strikes on the Lingxiao platform.

The glass plank road of Tianmenshan is suspended on the west line of the top of the mountain. It is 60 meters long, 1430 meters above sea level, and 1.6 meters wide. The whole line is made of transparent glass. On a sunny day, the reflection of blue sky and white clouds covered the whole plank road; In foggy weather, the glass trestle road looms in the fog. In order to let tourists see the beautiful scenery through the glass bridge without defects, tourists on the bridge are required to wear shoe covers to keep the glass bridge transparent and clean.

Yunmengxianding云梦仙顶, located at the highest peak of Tianmen, with an elevation of 1518.6 meters, is the highest geographical coordinate of Zhangjiajie. It is a natural observatory. Tianmen Mountain was originally known as Yunmeng Mountain. It is said that it is a sacred mountain between heaven and the earth. It was left behind by the “Qin Shihuang秦始皇 driving the mountain to reclaim the sea”. The mortal world is one step away and the nearest to the fairy world.

Tianmen cave, located in the middle of Tianmen Mountain, is an underground karst cave at the edge of the platform. Due to the compression, collapse, and dissolution of the syncline structure, the rock strata at the north and south ends collapse and expose Tianmen.

Tianmen cave is 131.5 meters high, 57 meters wide, and 60 meters deep. It is on the Qianxun plain wall facing the north and south. It is rocked and the sky is open. The weather changes are myriad. It is like a bright mirror inlaid on the azure sky. It is white clouds and purple fog all year round. It is a rare high-altitude natural karst cave in the world.