Left Nanjing at 2040 last evening and had a fun flight with a little girl sitting in front of me who spent the whole flight practising her English....seems you can never escape "teaching" along the way. Arrived in Zhangjiajie in the early hours of the morning and with very little sleep we were up bright and early to start our touring of this often talked about magical place. We have a fantastic guide - Pan Hong - who is full of knowledge about the area so I'm guessing we are going to learn a lot in the next few days.

A little bit about where we are or where we begin our magical journey.......
Zhangjiajie City, historically called Dayong, is located in the northwest part of Hunan Province, with a population of approximately 22,000 people so its a tiny town by Chinese standards. It is famous for its unique mountainous regions, upland areas, plains, and Karst rock areas. There are 243 pillar-peaks, each over 1,000 meters high that are often shrouded in mist and drizzle. Together, the peaks form several "peak-forests" that are rarely found anywhere else.

In ancient times, Zhangjiajie was regarded as remote and inaccessible. The earliest human activities can be traced to 100,000 years ago and the legendary god of Agriculture was said to live a reclusive life here. Local story also indicates that Zhang liang, a lord in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), lived here in seclusion and was buried below Qingyan (now Zhangjiajie) Mountain. Zhangjiajie is home to major three ethnic groups—Tujia, Bai and Miao people, which together make up approximately 70％ of the local population. Our tour guide belongs to the Tujia minority group. Up to now, these people still follow much of their traditional culture, including the language, festivals, clothing, and architectural styles as well. The long history of many minorities and their folk customs such as marriage custom, singing and dancing together with modern culture all contribute to the charm of Zhangjiajie.

Zhangjiajie is honored with such titles as "the most fantastic mountain under heaven" and “a living Chinese landscape painting”. Have to say they are well deserved titles from the little bit we are seeing.

We started today with a drive to the Tianmenshan Nature Reserve where we embarked upon the worlds longest cable car to take us to the top of the mountain. 7455 metres long with a height gap of 1279 metres for those of you who are technically minded. Began by touring the Biyeyaotai Scenic Area enjoying the breathtaking views and holding our breath for the big moment........oh little did we realise just how much walking we were going to be doing for the rest of the day!!!!!!!

Tianmenshan- Heavenly Door Mountain- a famous mountain first recorded in the history of Zhangjiajie with an elevation of 1518.6 meters. It is 8 kilometers from the downtown and is one of the most representative natural sceneries of Zhangjiajie. According to historical accounts, in 263 A.D. (the Three Kingdoms period), a cave in the mountain suddenly opened and was regarded as a lucky sign by the Wu Emperor Sun Xiu. He named the cave as Tianmen, which later became the name of the mountain. Tianmenshan attracts the attention of the people not only by its miraculous and unique geology and unparalleled landscape, but also well known for its profound cultural connotations and famous colourful humanistic site. It is revered as the soul of cultural and spirit of Zhangjiajie and reputed as Number One sacred mountain in Western Hunan Province.Tianmen has its 'four wonders' - Tianmen Mountain Cableway, Tongtian Dadao (Avenue Leading to the Sky- winds its way around the mountainous terrain like a snake. The engineering on some parts of this 11 kilmetre stretch of road is stunning with its 99 bends rising from 200 metres to 1300 metres high), Tianmen Cave and Bonsai Garden on Air.

On November 9, 2011, China unveiled the glass walkway of the Tianmen Mountain. Standing at roughly 4,700 feet above sea level, it is one of the world's highest observation platforms. This was really the inspiration for our trip to this beautiful area!!. The glass path hangs on the west side of Tianmenshan Mountain along the “Sky Road” and offers an unobstructed view of the nearby scenery as well as an unusual panorama straight down the cliff. It is 60 meters long, and the highest altitude of the path is about 1,430 meters. Not for the faint hearted!!! When walking across the glass path, visitors are required to wear shoe covers, in order to keep the path clean so everyone gets an uninterrupted view below. I admit I started off with a dgree of hesitation....was I really prepared to trust my life to a piece of glass!!!! For someone who does not like heights I did amazingly well to walk along this path but the views were so awesome I almost forgot just how high up I was on a thin sheet of glass......Besides the glass path, there are many other inspiring sightseeing points in Tianmenshan Scenic area, including Guigu Path (Tianmen Mountain Ghost Valley Wooden Walkway). Of roughly half a mile in length, it is much longer than the glass walkway. Here we met some of the local minority people and had photos taken with them and then of course all the Chinese tourists got in and wanted photos with us as well. Shirley tells me I looked like a queen with the crown atop my head!!! The ghost valley plank raod is suspended from the clifrf more than 1400 metres in the air so I am rather chuffed with myself today for overcoming my feaar of heights to actaully make it across these walkways AND keep my eyes open on the cable car ride!!!

We then rode the cable car down to the halfway station to visit Tianmen Cave (aka Heavens Gate) which is considered a major attraction. Formed naturally in the year of 263 AD, this giant and formidable-looking hole in the middle of the mountain has fascinated poets, emperors, and other dignitaries throughout history. With misty clouds traveling through it freely, the cave possesses a mysterious aura too. To see the cave up close one must do it on one’s own - there is a long flight of stairs (999 to be precise!!) to be overcome before one arrives at the bottom of the cave…….BUT it is worth it for the awe-inspiring views from the top. We had our photo taken with so many people.....the novelty of foreigners has not worn off even in this high tourist spot. In front of the cave is a huge lock with thousands of little locks attached to chains. The story goes that people come from all over China to put their "lock" on the chain so that they will be together forever or at least until they reach heavens gate.....seems to be highly popular!!!

After walking around the mountain as well as the 999 steps up AND down it was time to head off for lunch. So much already done and we are only half way through the day. I fear my legs are going to be very sore tomorrow.

After an enjoyable lunch and a bit of a rest it was time to hike through the Baizhang Xia - Grand Valley - to reach the sleepy Baofeng Lake. Well at least I hiked and Shirley hitched a ride aboard one of the sedan chairs......sitting up on the men's shoulders like a queen as she was carried up and down the hills. We then enjoyed a boat cruise (yeah I got to sit down!!) around the lake which included singing traditional songs and admiring the wonderful scenery. I'm sure my photos don't do justice to any of this area......it is simply too stunning for words.

The Baofeng Lake Scenic Area is part of the larger Wulingyuan Scenic Area. It is situated at the back of Mount Baofeng, with an area of 274 hectares. The natural beauty of the lake and the mountain complement the human culture and landscape. Green trees and stone peaks of various shapes surround the lake. There are also marvelous running waterfalls pouring out like troops from heaven descending to the world. Mount Baofeng, at a height of 1,212.8 meters, is nearby and points straight up to the sky. Lake Baofeng lies calmly, like a goddess, outstanding and pure, projecting a sense of peace. As you boat around the lake, you can see the reflection of the marvelous stone peaks and green trees in symmetric display, creating great pleasure and a wonderful serenity.

We were then taken to our "new" hotel in the Wulingyaun area where we will stay for the next 2 nights. Despite having the same rating as last nights hotel this one came as a bit of a shock - grubby, paint peeling off walls, no bathroom amenities etc etc What a let down but at least we wont be spending much time in our room. We did manage to get a booking for a massage each after dinner and so we are hopign that might ease our aching muslces before we crach for the night......lets see what tomorrow brings!!