Zhang Jia Jie National Park: Misty Mountains

Hi all,

A few days ago, we visited one of the most naturally beautiful areas in China, Zhang Jia Jie National Park, which is located in Western Hunan Province. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the sun was not shining, but in its place was a giant, white cloud. However, we said to ourselves, "We've come this far. Lets see how it goes." And this is how it went:

We decided to take the (pretty expensive) cable car up to the top of the first mountain, which would provide incredible views of miles and miles of spire-like mountains. On a good day. Instead, we were almost completely enveloped in a dense cloud, where visibility was extremely limited. When we arrived at the pinnacle of the first mountain, the situation had not improved. It took us about a microsecond to decide to take a bus over to the much lower second mountain in hopes of actually seeing anything.

The most remarkable thing that we saw on the second mountain was a large natural bridge connecting one spire to another. People were walking across it, but Melissa and I just took a picture of it (above). The weather on this mountain was only slightly better than on the first mountain, but it did get better as we walked down (I guess we were walking out of a cloud?).

We walked down the mountain and encountered more and more interesting things. Or maybe they seemed interesting in comparison with the cloud? Anyways, the above photo is from a small path that shot off from the main path, which hugs the sheer side of the mountain. A number of people are indigenous to the mountains and help run the park, and I believe that the small path led to one of their buildings. However, we did not investigate. Sorry!

On the way down, we passed a number of small waterfalls that were pouring off of the side of the mountain. The above picture is of an area that was carved out by one of these waterfalls a long time ago. The park operators built a very narrow and winding staircase down, which we explored a little. We had to be careful though, as it was really slippery, and the thought of falling down it was more than a little frightening.

We had asked a bus driver how long it would take to get to the bottom of the mountain, and he had told us that it would take thirty minutes. He must have been an Olympic stair-walker, because it took us at least an hour and a half. After the first hour, our knees were shaking!

I think Melissa sees the end of the staircase! What could possibly be beyond this, I wonder...

Cullen