Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, in China's Hunan Province, was recognized as China's first national forest park in 1982. It's famous for its pillar-like formations that were created by years of erosion.
The Chinese government is building Zhangjiajie up as the next big tourist attraction. The city actually renamed itself about 30 years ago to have a more appealing name to draw in tourists. Our tour guide truly believed that after we shared our pictures we would come back with all our friends and family in tow.
The Southern Sky Column was officially renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" due to Avatar director James Cameron being inspired by the area.
We saw many school tours in the park but the kids all seemed very young (2-4 years old) to be appreciating much of it. However, they did make adorable little lines and were always trying to hold onto the person in front of them, whether it be their backpack or their shirt collar, then choking their friend.
There wasn't much wildlife to be seen for it being such a dense forest. In fact, there were hardly any birds to be seen or heard. There were, however, monkeys! There were quite a few by the entrance and we came across some once later on during a hike. Of course there were signs up saying not to feed them but there was no one we saw enforcing that rule. It was surprising to see how close they would get to people We even got to see a brand new baby clinging to its momma.
To get up we rode in one of these cable cars. The views going up were breathtaking and really neat to see the tops of the trees and mountains.
The mountains were so amazing to look at. The panoramic view just went on and on...
It was surprising to see 'old-fashioned' means of hard labor.
We hiked 3.5 miles along the Golden Whip stream.
I loved seeing all the bamboo everywhere!
This is an example of vendors selling the exact same products. We had to go through a big L-shaped walkway and all the ladies were selling the same kind of nuts and all stretched out as far as possible.
We saw many spots like this along the way. Apparently it's either a sign of true love or arthritis. And apparently love doesn't mind if it's a branch, popsicle stick, toothpick, or corn cob.
There were also various sections to put a padlock on, depending on whether you wanted love, longevity, prosperity, family, etc.
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