Ctourus -- 7-day Tour of Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China
Day 4 - Fenghuang to Zhangjiajie, November 9, 2017
Breakfast at the restaurant next door to the hotel was quite hectic this morning. We all got up early with the 6:00 am morning call but by the time we got to the dining hall it was already crowded with many tour groups there. The buffet lines were long and massive, and there were not enough tables for everyone there. Not sure if its because of the inexperience of the hotel/restaurant or they just didn't care, it was not a very pleasant experience.
As scheduled, we left the town of Feng Huang at 8:00 am for the drive to Zhangjiajie. One of the items listed on the itinerary was passing through the Aizhai Bridge (矮寨大橋). I figured that I should pay attention if they put that on the itinerary even though we will just have a glimpse of it driving through. Our guide did announce it when we were getting close to the bridge so we were prepared.
The Aizhai Bridge is a suspension bridge built as part of an expressway from Chongqing to the city of Changsha completed in 2011 and opened to traffic in 2012. It is the 7th highest bridge in the world and the world's 15th longest suspension bridge. Out of the 400 or so highest bridges of the world, none has a main span as long as Aizhai and it is also the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge. Now, that's incredible! It would be nice if we had a chance to get out and take some pictures but I assume there was no parking space on the bridge for us to do that.
Driving on the Aizhai Bridge.
Looked like a huge elevator built next to the bridge.
A stop at the rest area in Bao Jing.
We all got some snacks from the supermarket at the rest stop.
Arriving at our first shopping stop--mattress shop in Zhangjiajie.
This seems to be a newly developed area with high-rise apartment buildings nearby.
Entrance to the mattress shop. We were in there for close to two hours. That was about the average time we spent in each shopping places in the days to come.
Now I don't remember where I took this picture of the salamander. Probably at the restaurant we had lunch after the mattress shop.
Tianmen Mountain (Heaven's-Gate Mountain 天門山)
After another simple and quick lunch, we came to the cable car station near downtown Zhangjiajie for the long ride up to the top of the mountains. I remember when we were here the last time it was very busy and crowded. Fortunately, it was not the case this time around. It didn't take long for us to get on the cable cars with the short line. For those who may have problems with height, better prepare yourself for the 'scary' ride!
The line up was quite OK that day.
Quick and easy!
Here we go!
Each cable car holds eight passengers.
It was fine at the beginning of the ride.
Then it got higher and higher up.
Now we are above the very winding road that leads to the top of the mountain.
Almost to the top.
Getting ready to walk through this "cliff-hanging walkway". We did not do this the last time we were here because of the weather. It was rainy and cloudy with very low visibility. Fortunately, we have great weather this day.
Tickets $5.00 RMB
To walk across the 'glass' section of the path, we had to put on protective 'socks' over our shoes.
If the piece of glass broke, you know what will happen...!
If you can handle this 'view' under your feet you will be OK.
The problem for me was not the height, it was more about getting through the people who were posing along the walkway. They would be sitting or laying down on the glass panels causing 'traffic jam' for those who just wanted to walk by.
Looking back at the 'glass panel' section of the cliff.
"Cliff-hanging walkway"
I think that's the jumping platform at the top of the mountain on the right.
The hole - 'Heaven's Gate' of the mountain.
After the walk around the cliff, we were ready to take the escalators down. There are 13 escalators, one after another, built inside the mountain. They weren't there the last time we were here.
Reaching the 'hole' at some point.
More to go...
I believe they hold these 'flying' competitions/demonstrations every year for the dare devils. They would jump from a platform at the top of the mountain wearing these specially made suits to fly through the 'hole'.
That's the gate (hole)! Walking up those steps was the only way to go the last time we were here. We did not take the challenge though.
"Ladder to Heaven"
After a few more photos it was time for us to get back down. This time instead of taking the cable car, we took the 'roller coaster', sorry, the shuttle, down. It went very fast down the curvy road which has 99 hair-pin turns. I was thinking if we would be on the news the next day...
Snapped a picture of the 'gate' while on the bus.
Yep, that's the road where the 'roller coaster' traveled.
At one of the turns.
Happy to be alive! A distant view of the "Heaven's Gate".
Dinner was like a feast that evening with a big bowl of steaming noodle in the middle.
To celebrate life, maybe?
Zi Yu Hotel, Zhangjiajie (紫御大酒店)
Checked into our hotel for the night, ZiYu Hotel, after dinner. I had to skip the 'optional' show that we paid extra for that evening because I was not feeling well. Stomach problem. I thought it was best for me to stay and rest while the others went to the "Tianmen Fox Fairy Musical Show" which cost $80 USD per person. There was a total of five 'optional' add-ons, each costing $80 USD for a total of $400 USD per person on this trip on top of the cost of the tour. We were aware of that from the get go, so it was no big deal.
Even though I missed the show, it was nice that I got to spend a relaxing evening at the hotel. At our age, sometimes not doing too much is just what we need.
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