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Zhangjiajie Tour of Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve
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Located in the northern part of Wulingyuan
Scenic Area in Hunan Province, Tianzi (Son of Heaven) Mountain
Nature Reserve is one of the four scenic spots in Wulingyuan (three
other spots are the Zhangjiajie National Forest
Park, the Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve and the Yuanjiajie Scenic
Area). It covers an area of 67 square kilometers (about 16,550
acres), and the highest peak is 1,262 meters (about 4,140 feet)
above the sea level.
Tianzi Mountain provides stunning views of peaks, which
rise one after another. It is known as 'the Monarch of the Peak
Forest'. At the top of the mountain, visitors can see the full
extent of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Beautiful scenes of the
mountain greet visitors in different seasons. There are four
wonders: the Sea of Clouds, the Radiance of the Moonlight, Rays of
Sunshine and the Snow in winter.
Tianzi Mountain takes its name from a man-Xiang Dakun.
He was the leader of Tu ethnic group during the last years of the
Southern Song Dynasty (1127 -1279). Xiang Dakun led a revolution and
avowed himself as Tianzi (Son of Heaven). Visiting the Tianzi
Mountain Area, visitors can see many sights about his story. And the
most impressive sights are: the Yu Bi Peaks, the Xian Nv San Hua,
and the Shen Bing Ju Hui.
With pine trees on the top, the Yu Bi (the imperial
brushes) Peaks rise upward into the sky. Legend goes that they are
brushes the Tianzi-Xiang Dakun used. They disintegrated into stone
peaks after his martyrdom. The Xian Nv San Hua (floral tributes by
fairies) is slightly opposite the Yu Bi Peaks. A legend goes that
Xiang Dakun and his army were defeated to fall back on the Tianzi
Mountain. He fought to the finish, and finally could not help but
jumped off the cliff. A girl in love with him went across the
mountain to search for him. She strewed flowers over the cliffs and
turned into a stone statue in the end. Shen Bing Ju Hui is a forest
of soldier-like peaks that arrayed for a review.
Visitors can take a cable car to see these charming
sights. With 692 meters' (about 2,270 feet) difference in elevation,
the aerial tramway is 2,084 meters (about 2,279 yards) in length.
The minimum running time is six minutes and twenty two seconds for a
single trip. Visitors can keep the wonderful scenery of the Tianzi
Mountain in view on it.
The yearly average temperature of Tianzi Mountain is 12
degrees centigrade, and annual average rainfall is 1,800
millimeters. There are around 240 frost-free days. The best time to
explore this mountain is April, May, September and October.
There are two other notable people from the town worthy
of mention. The first is Xiong Xiling the famous philanthropist who
was the first premier of the Republic of China (1921-49) following
the fall of the Manchu. The other famous citizen is Huang Yongyu, an
outstanding contemporary painter in the traditional Chinese style.
His frescoes illustrating Buddhist stories in the Zhunti Nunnery are
a major tourist attraction.
Feng Huang Cheng does not rely entirely upon natural
beauty to attract the visitor for this ancient town with a history
spanning 1300 years has a number of remarkable old gardens as well
as distinctive residential buildings, elegant bridges and mysterious
towers and pagodas. These architectural delights date from the Ming
and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). Those of special interest are the
Wengchen Pavilion, Huang Si Qiao Castle, Tian Wang Temple, Da Cheng
Hall, Chao Yang Palace, and the tomb of Shen Congwen and the
residence of Xiong Xiling. Here too there are the North Gate and
South Great Wall both excellent examples of municipal fortification.
In many ways, life has not changed here for centuries
and this is typified by the tough, hard working yet simple-hearted
people. Feng Huang Cheng offers the visitor from both home and
abroad a view of a quite different China from anything experienced
in the modern cities and large conurbations that are more widely
known. We are sure that the opportunity to travel in such a
picturesque region will be remembered as an experience of a
lifetime.
Tour Zhangjiajie
with Great Wall Adventure Club, the best
Zhangjiajie
tour agent to help
you with your hotel booking and transfers.
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