See the Heaven's Gatein Zhangjiajie, China

There is a good reason to call China "Celestial Empire" - the Heaven's Getaway leads from here.

In the National Park of Tianmen Mountain, you can see the Heaven's Gate. Its geographical name is Tianmen Cave, but Chinese call it "The Magic Cave of Western Hunan".

Arch in a rock, of natural origin, is the largest in the world - 131 meters in height and about 57 meters in width. Due to the frequent atmospheric precipitation,here is a thick haze in the form of clouds - hence the name "heavenly" or "magical" arch.

1. The starting point of the route (at the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car Company Station) to the Heaven's Gate is located in 8 kilometres southward from the city of Zhangjiajie by the 104 Country Road, in Yongding District. From here, take a cable car to the top of the Tianmen mountain.

Photo: © mkang_iamadreamer | Flickr

• You may get to the top of the mountain on the world's longest cable car (7455 meters) - 35 minutes uphill, then a few meters down the path.
• Or take a bus on the 99 Bending Road which is 9 kilometres in length (one more adventure!). Than, go upstairs of 999 steps.

Photo: 99 Bending Road


Photo: 999 steps before the top of the Tianmen Mountain, © Kuruman | Flickr

2. The mountain is surrounded on its right by a glass walkway (The Glass Sky Walk) at an altitude of 1430 meters and 60 meters in length - go down the path, buy shoes' covers at the entrance for CNY5 and go for a walk over the abyss (look down if you dare).


3. An escalator leads to the Heaven's Gate (admission cost is covered by the ticket price), followed by an escalator for 35 yuan inside the mountain or the same ladder of 999 steps (this time downhill).

4. To go down "from heaven to earth", to the beginning of the route, take a return bus on 99 Bending Road.

Location: in Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie

March-November
Uphill - from 7:30 am to 4 pm, downhill - from 7:30 am to 6 pm.
December-February
Uphill - from 8:00 am to 4 pm, downhill - from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The escalators works by 4:30 pm.

Admission cost for adults - CNY 258, for children aged 6-18 - CNY 148, free admission for children below 1.3 meters and under 6 years old.
The traffic includes single-way cableway, shuttle bus, and the upper escalator between Tiammen Cave and the mountaintop.

Try to avoid the high season, or you may wait in line for several hours. Grab the warm clothes - at the top of the mountain, scarves and capes sell for extortion prices.