Fantastic film "Avatar": where it was filmed and interesting facts. Pandora's Flying Mountains in Hunan Province. Zhangjiajie National Park, China Where Avatar Soaring Mountains Was Filmed

In China, in the north of Hunan province, Zhangjiajie National Park is located, which was one of the first in the country. It included the protected natural areas of Tianzishan, Zhangjiajie, Sanzhi, Xuoxiu, Yangjiajie, as well as Lake Baofeng.

Zhangjiajie National Park (Hunan Province) can be visited throughout the year. Spring gives this unique nature reserve the aromas of tropical flowers and magnificent greenery, summer - stunning vegetation and mountain coolness, autumn fascinates with a riot of colors, winter wraps it in a fluffy snow cover, turning the park into a fairy tale.

Zhangjiajie: history

Thanks to several photographs in popular publications and paintings by artists that were painted in Wulingyuan, the world learned that there was a natural pearl located in the mountains of China. The Chinese government has officially recognized the forested part of the Wulingyuan region as Zhangjiajie National Park. It was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992.

Ten years later, the Ministry significantly expanded this territory, and in 2004 the huge natural geopark entered the worldwide network of national parks.

Description

Zhangjiajie is a national forest park, the territory of which is divided into several large zones, each of which has its own characteristics and picturesque landscape. The park consists of huge sandstone pillars located above the tropical forest, a labyrinth of karst caves, majestic waterfalls, amazing travertines, a picturesque lake, and powerful rivers.

Mount Tianmenshan

Local residents more often call it Tianmen. Its height is one and a half thousand meters. This mountain is famous for the “Heavenly Gate” cave located very high. Its height is one hundred thirty-two meters, length - sixty meters, width - fifty-seven. The cave was created as a result of erosion. During the collapse, a huge block of rock broke off from the mountain. Sometimes this cave is called fabulous due to the belief that it is connected with the sky.

"Yellow Dragon"

Zhangjiajie National Park, a photo of which you can see in this article, is famous for its caves. The four-tiered karst cave “Yellow Dragon” is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Its height is more than 140 meters, and its depth is about fifteen kilometers.

Inside there are thirteen halls, more than a hundred galleries, four waterfalls, two underground rivers and three lakes, thousands of stalagmites, stalactites, and stalagmates. The rarest stalagmite reaches twenty meters in height and only ten centimeters in diameter.

Yangjiajie

In the northeast, Zhangjiajie National Park neighbors this protected area. It includes the Xiangzhi Stream, the Longquan and Baihou valleys. These places are famous for the sheer steep cliffs and the Dragon Spring waterfall. It throws streams of water from a high cliff, which is very picturesquely entwined with ivy and amazingly beautiful flowers.

Elevator Bailung

Every year, more and more tourists are interested in Zhangjiajie National Park. We will tell you how to get here a little later, but for now we will continue to get acquainted with its sights.

For tourists, the park has all the conditions for a comfortable exploration of the unique reserve. Most tourist routes are connected by funiculars and cable cars, which greatly facilitate the ascent to the peaks.

The glass elevator “Hundred Dragons” (Bailong Elevator) was created to transport tourists to the three-hundred-meter mountain. It is located in the very center of the park and connects the upper and lower levels of the reserve. Before his appearance, tourists were forced to climb the stairs. The road was quite tiring and long. Today, most travelers prefer to quickly take a glass elevator. If you are lucky, you will be able to sit in the front row of passengers, allowing you to admire the stunning views that open up from the observation window of the lift.

It should be noted that this elevator is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest, highest, with an open view and also the most powerful - it can lift fifty people at the same time.

Glass Bridge

This unique structure was opened in the park in August 2016. Zhangjiajie National Park, whose photos are mesmerizing, has become the owner of the world's longest and highest glass bridge. The author of the unusual project was the architect Chaim Dotan. The cost of development and then implementation of the project amounted to almost three and a half million dollars.

The structure is located at an altitude of three hundred meters above a deep abyss. The length of the bridge is four hundred and thirty meters and the width is six meters. The glass bridge in Zhangjiajie National Park connects two cliffs and is made of extra-strong steel structures and ninety-nine slabs of triple-layer glass. This structure can support eight hundred people at a time.

Interestingly, on the day of its grand opening the number of people wishing to see the building with their own eyes was a record figure - eight thousand people. Everyone who was lucky enough to visit Zhangjiajie National Park that day left rave reviews. Nothing can compare to a walk over a bottomless abyss, which can be viewed through glass slabs.

Due to the huge influx of visitors, just two weeks later the park administration temporarily closed the bridge for reconstruction. However, management assured that this was not associated with any damage. After carrying out preventive work to strengthen the structure, the bridge was reopened to the public.

Golden Whip Creek

This area is considered the easiest to explore, as it is located at the foot of the mountains in a valley and does not have steep climbs. Along the stream, a walking trail stretches for almost eight kilometers. From this area you can climb to Yuanjiajie or walk to the Yellow Stone Village.

Tourists note that a walk here is very pleasant - one feels the much-desired unity with nature. Crowds of tourists are found only in some areas, so you can enjoy the sound of water in the stream, the cheerful chirping of birds, and picturesque views of the mountains to your heart’s content.

In this zone, at one of the stops, very insidious monkeys live. Tourists try to treat them with all sorts of sweets. Do not do that. These cute, at first glance, animals are very cunning and dexterous - they can completely unnoticed leave you without wallets, phones and other valuables. In addition, they often show aggression towards humans.

Vegetation

China's Zhangjiajie National Park amazes tourists with its diversity of flora and its beauty. Scientists believe that the tropical, humid climate and varied topography contributed to the appearance of dense forests in Wulingyuan. Vegetation here is developing much faster than in neighboring provinces of the country.

More than seven hundred and seventy species of plants grow in the park. Among them there are very rare samples. These include gingko biloba, chestnut (Chinese), pigeon tree, and on the plains travelers can see compact tangerine groves.

But visitors to the park are especially impressed by the large white stipules of the pigeon tree swaying in the wind, which resemble a huge flock of white doves.

Animals in the park

Zhangjiajie National Park is home to more than five hundred species of different animals. Twenty-eight of them are rare and therefore are under constant protection. These include:

• giant salamander;
• big panda;
• golden snub-nosed monkey;
• leopard

• In the 20th century, a waterfall unexpectedly collapsed into the gorge from the top of Mount Tianmen. This happened four times. The flow of water broke down for fifteen minutes, and then just as suddenly stopped.
• The staircase, numbering 999 wide steps, leads to the Heaven's Gate Cave.
• Along the top of the massif, at an altitude of 1500 m, there is a pedestrian path. Above particularly picturesque and steep cliffs, it was made of high-strength glass.

China, Zhangjiajie National Park: how to get there?

If you want to see incredibly beautiful landscapes, then you need to visit this unique place. To see Zhangjiajie National Park, you must first get to the city of the same name, and then get to the small villages located at the entrances to the park. There are several ways to get to the city: by plane, train, bus. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

By plane

If you are planning to visit Zhangjiajie National Park and spend as little time on the road as possible, then this option is more suitable for you than others. You can fly by plane from other major cities in the country. The airport is located five kilometers from the city center. Aircraft fly here daily from Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin and other cities of the country.

From the airport to the city you can take a bus or taxi, which will take you to the park entrance for 100 yuan ($15).

By train

Zhangjiajie National Park is of great interest to all tourists coming to the country, so many trains go here. We would like to warn you that this option is suitable for those who have a supply of free time and patience. A little information: the road from Beijing to your destination takes about twenty-six hours, and a ticket will cost sixty dollars (reserved seat) and one hundred (compartment). Zhangjiajie Railway Station is conveniently located, close to the city center and the airport.

By bus

There are several bus stations in the city. They receive flights from different cities in China. The departure schedule, cost of travel, travel time must be checked at bus stations.

When you arrive in the city in a way convenient for you, all that remains is to find Zhangjiajie National Park (China). How to get to the territory of the reserve? You need to go to one of the entrances, where small villages are located. You can stay there for the night.

The closest entrance to the city is 32 km away, and is called Zhangjiajie Village. Forty kilometers from the city there is an entrance in the Wulingyuan area. The third is the furthest from the city. It is located near Tianzi Mountain and is not very popular among tourists.

Where to live?

The city of Zhangjiajie offers a good selection of hotels, but if you stay here, you will have to spend money and time on the road every day. And this is about two hours a day. It is more advisable to stay in a village at the entrance to the park - you will save time on the road.

Almost all of these villages have several comfortable hotels. If you wish, you can stay in a hotel on the territory of the park, unless, of course, you are not afraid of the spartan living conditions: there are frequent interruptions in electricity, water, and Internet outages. After the park is closed, residents are not allowed to leave its territory, which, you see, is not very convenient.

Opening hours and cost of visiting

Zhangjiajie National Park can be visited throughout the year. Opening hours depend on the season:

• in summer - from 7.00 to 19.00;
• in winter - from 7.30 to 17.00.

In summer it is not at all hot here, and in winter there are no severe frosts.

Entrance tickets can be purchased in two types:

• for seven days - 298 yuan;
• 4 days - 245 yuan.

• It is better to come to the park early, then you will have the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty in relative silence.
• If you want to use the Bailong elevator, it is also better to do this in the morning and go down before 16:00. Otherwise, you can spend about four hours in line.
• You will have to walk a lot in the park, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes to prevent chafing. The same can be said about clothes: they should be comfortable.
• To save energy for exploring the park longer, combine walking with the use of cable cars and a ski lift.
• When going to the park, be sure to bring a map (you can buy it at the entrance), sunscreen, cash, water and food. You can buy food in the park, but the prices are excessively high. The most affordable items in these shops are fruits, corn, and fried potatoes (about 10 yuan).
• Chinese and international students studying in China can purchase tickets at half price. But this applies to young people under 24 years of age. When purchasing discounted tickets, you must present your passport.
• Keep purchased tickets separate from those of friends or family. The fact is that each of them has a number stamped on it, to which fingerprints are attached. If you take the ticket of your husband or friend, the system will refuse to let you through the turnstile.

One of the most popular films in recent years is James Cameron's sci-fi drama Avatar. The mountains in China where this film was filmed actually exist. This is not computer graphics, but nature, which anyone can see on planet Earth with their own eyes.

National Park

They are located in which they have now even begun to call Avatar Park. The mountains in China where the filming took place are located in the southwest of the country; they are a truly unique natural wonder. They are located in Hunan Province, which is approximately three hundred kilometers from the provincial capital Changsha. Where Avatar was filmed, the mountains in China belong to the Wulingshan system.

The main asset of this national park is the rocks. Bizarre mountains in the form of peculiar pillars rise to the sky, creating an amazing natural landscape, which is formed as a result of leaching of rocks and prolonged weathering.

Many admit that this place becomes a favorite place to visit as soon as they learn about its existence. It is worth noting that even living in China, going to the mountains (Avatar impressed many viewers) is not so easy. You need to figure out the time and weather, calculate your finances.

Tourist boom

It is said that Cameron was inspired to create the famous floating mountains on the fictional planet Pandora in Avatar by photographs of mountains in China. This became the most powerful advertisement for the national park in its entire history, because after the film was released, the flow of tourists here increased significantly. In gratitude for this, the Chinese even renamed one of the mountains “Avatar-Hallelujah”, installing several figures of “avatars” in the park, near which there are now constantly long lines of people wanting to take a memorable photo.

While walking around the Avatar filming locations in China, through the mountains in Zhangjiajie National Park, you really get the impression that you are on some other distant planet - such incredible landscapes open before your eyes.

Features of Zhangjiajie

It is worth noting that it is not only the mountains that attract so many tourists to this national park. A certain role is played by the diverse fauna and flora, amazingly beautiful and picturesque landscapes. For example, certain species of birds, plants and animals that are found in these places are so rare that they are listed in the Red Book. These include the civet, giant salamander, clouded leopard, pangolin, rhesus macaque and many others.

All nature lovers will find many amazing things here; they will especially like the local landscapes.

When to go on a trip?

To get the full experience of visiting a mountain park in China, you need to choose the right time at which you plan your trip. Of course, the national park is open to visitors all year round, but the weather does not always allow you to fully enjoy the beauty of the local nature. Therefore, when planning a trip, you need to decide what you expect from this visit, what landscapes you want to see.

The optimal time to visit the mountains in China, where Avatar was filmed, is considered to be autumn. The best period is from mid-September to early November. During these months, the weather here is almost always exceptionally warm and sunny, and the temperature is comfortable enough to spend the whole day in the national park. At the same time, experienced travelers claim that it is in the fall that these mountains can be seen best.

Other seasons

If you go here in winter, be prepared that it will be too cold. In addition, due to bad weather, some trails may be closed for safety reasons, and fog and snowfall can cause poor visibility, so it will be very difficult to see anything.

But even this does not stop tourists; many go to take photos of mountains in China in winter, trying to see fantastic snow-covered landscapes and admire these views almost completely alone. An undoubted advantage of winter travel is the fact that tickets at this time of year are much cheaper.

In spring, the rainy season begins in these places, which lasts from March to June. Agree, it is unpleasant and uncomfortable to go along the trails and explore the mountains when the sky is constantly dripping. True, it is at this time that fogs cover the entire valley; many people go to enjoy the effect of the soaring peaks. At moments when the fog hides the bases of the mountains, it seems that the mountains are simply hanging in the air. However, there is a possibility that you won’t be able to see anything at all behind the veil of fog.

But the amount of time you need to allocate for visiting the park is strictly individual. It's best to still allow an extra day to visit the Avatar filming location in China, the mountains in Zhangjiajie National Park, in case the weather turns bad.

If you're lucky, you'll be able to visit other local attractions. Among them are Huanglong Cave, Baofen Lake, and Tianmen Mountain. In order to enjoy the beauty of the mountains themselves, one day is enough for some, while others need at least two to explore the main beauties without haste, and another couple of days to travel to other remarkable places that also deserve the attention of travelers, since they we've come this far.

If you want to avoid large crowds, then it is better not to plan a trip for the first week of May and October (at this time many local tourists come to the park due to holidays); during the summer holidays, do not be overcrowded due to holidays and holidays.

Route options

How to get to the mountains in China? "Avatar" has inspired many travelers to visit this unique place. To visit the national park in which they are located, you first need to come to the city, which is called Zhangjiajie. After this, you should get to one of the villages directly at the entrance to the park.

There are several options to get to Zhangjiajie. You can take a plane, bus or train.

By plane

First, let's look at how to get there by plane. If you are faced with the task of spending minimal time on a trip, then this is an ideal option. The easiest way to get here is by plane from some other Chinese city.

The local airport is located five kilometers from the city center. It receives daily flights from Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Changsha, Qingdao, Wuhan, Tianjin and other cities. There are also several international flights. Airplanes from the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, and the South Korean city of Busan land at this airport.

The fastest way to fly is from Xi'an or Guangzhou - about an hour and a half. A ticket will cost approximately 70-80 dollars (5-5.5 thousand rubles). It takes about two and a half hours to fly here from Shanghai, you’ll have to pay $115, and from Beijing it’s almost three hours. A ticket will cost from 110 to 130 dollars (7.5-9 thousand rubles).

From the airport to the city itself you can take a bus or taxi. However, public transport is extremely rare. A taxi will cost from two and a half to five dollars, depending on where exactly you have to go. For a taxi to the entrance to the national park you will need to pay about 15 dollars (1000 rubles).

The main thing is not to forget to bargain with taxi drivers, since the distances here are relatively short, and drivers take advantage of the fact that tourists do not know the area and can ask for too much.

Train

Now, knowing where Avatar was filmed in China, where the mountains are located, you can get to your destination by train. Train service is established between Zhangjiajie and many major cities in the country. It’s worth noting right away that this method is suitable only for patient travelers, which is a lot of time.

The journey from Beijing will take between 22 and 26 hours, depending on which train you choose. At the same time, a ticket for a reserved seat costs 60 dollars (4,200 rubles), and for a compartment - 100 (7,000 rubles). The train from Shanghai takes from 20 to 22 hours, ticket prices are 60 and 80 dollars, respectively (4-5.5 thousand rubles). You can get there from Guangzhou in 13-17 hours, paying 50 dollars (3.5 thousand rubles) for a reserved seat car and 77 (5500 rubles) for a compartment car. The closest is Changsha, which is only five hours away by train.

It is worth noting that the railway station in Zhangjiajie is located as conveniently as possible. It is close to both the airport and the city center. Within walking distance is the cable car station to Tianmen Mountain, which is considered another must-see place. From the central bus station you can get to the national park.

Bus

Another option is the bus. The city has several bus stations, which are regularly served by regular flights from neighboring large cities.

For example, from the central station buses go to Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuhai and several other smaller cities. Buses run quite often.

Path to the national park

The last leg of the journey to the treasured mountains will be from the city of Zhangjiajie to the national park of the same name. To get to the territory of the reserve itself, you will need to go to one of the entrances, near which there are small villages. You can stay in one of them for the night so as not to waste time returning to the city if you have allocated several days for this attraction.

The closest entrance to the city is located 32 kilometers away. The local village is also called Zhangjiajie. 40 kilometers from it there is an entrance in the Wulingyuan area, and 50 kilometers away there is an entrance directly at Tianzi Mountain.

Where to stay?

Once you reach your destination, you need to decide where you will stay for the night. The first option is to rent a room in one of the hotels in Zhangjiajie. There are quite a lot of hotels and restaurants here. There are options on how to spend your leisure time fun and usefully. But if you stay in the city, you will have to spend about two hours traveling to the park and back every day.

By stopping in one of the villages at the entrance to the park, you will save significantly more time. There are also hotels and cafes here. For example, in Wulingyuan there is a hostel just 10 minutes walk from the park entrance. Within walking distance is a market with souvenirs and fruits, several shops, a decent cafe and an ATM. In addition to hostels, there are also quite expensive hotels.

It is better to book accommodation in advance, as during high season all rooms are occupied. Housing is sold out in about a month.

Park opening hours

The park officially opens at 6:30 am. As a rule, the entrance opens around seven o’clock in the morning, by which time a fairly large crowd of tourists, mostly Chinese, has already accumulated.

In summer, the park is open until 19:00, and in winter - from 7:30 to 17:00. At the entrance you can purchase two types of tickets: for four days for 38 dollars/2700 rubles. and for a week for 46 dollars/3200 rubles. In the winter season, the cost of visiting will be only 22 dollars/1500 rubles.

You will have to pay separately for the Bailong elevator ($11/800 rubles), the cable car to Mount Tianzi ($10/700 rubles), the cable car to Huangshinzhai ($11/800 rubles), the cable car to Yangjiajie ($12/850 rubles). rub.), tourist mini-train (from six to eight dollars/400-550 rub.).

For children up to 120 centimeters tall, admission is free; for children up to 150 centimeters tall, only half the price is paid. With an entrance ticket to the national park, you can travel by bus between parking lots.

There is quite strict control at the entrance - fingerprints are attached to tickets. So do not buy tickets secondhand, even if their price turns out to be very favorable, and do not lose, otherwise you will have to buy new ones.

Experienced travelers advise coming to the park early to enjoy these beautiful views while there are very few people.

If you want to use the Bailong elevator, then it is better to go on it in the morning and go down around 15-16 hours, otherwise you may end up in a queue that will last at least an hour.

Keep in mind that you will have to walk a lot, so make sure you have comfortable shoes that won’t rub, comfortable clothes, and bring an adhesive plaster with you just in case.

Since the distances are large, it is better to combine walking with cable cars. If you rely only on yourself, you simply won’t have time to see a lot. The most convenient way is to go up by cable car and go down on foot. Be prepared to encounter wild monkeys on some trails. Some can be aggressive, so you shouldn't tease them.

James Cameron came up with the story about Avatar back in 1994, but for fifteen long years he could not start filming the film, since the computer graphics and special effects technologies existing at that time did not meet the director’s vision of the film. And I must say that the film was created when the time came for it.

And it came only in 2004. Technologies in the visual effects industry have stepped forward, and the director decided to start filming the film. Of course, all possible solutions to such a grandiose idea were taken into account. To do this, it was necessary to create a special design department to create the world of Pandora, hire a specialist to develop a system with which it would be possible to capture the movements of objects without rendering them frame-by-frame, and attract a specialist in visual technologies.

Although the planet Pandora was created entirely using computer graphics, the basis for its creation was Mount Jiankunzhu in Hunan Province. The local landscape made a strong impression on the director. When the province is covered in fog, the tops of the local mountains resemble the flying islands of Pandora.

The main sets of the film were first drawn on paper and then visualized using 3D technology. And if the fictional world was created with the help of computers, then for the technical base of people it was necessary to create real layouts in addition to digital models.

They didn’t use any ready-made ideas or templates for the film. Pandora was created entirely from scratch, and of the nearly three-hour film, 117 minutes were created using computer graphics. It is worth noting that the film was shot on special 3D cameras, which Cameron personally invented.

For the filming of the film, the newest technologies existing at that time were used, and some were created specifically. For example, a system was developed that allows, during the filming process, to observe on the screen not only human actors, but also virtual characters at the same time. This significantly saved time during editing when substituting frames.

A New Zealand company specializing in motion capture technologies, WETA Digital, whose pavilions were used for filming, developed a system for transmitting human emotions to computer characters especially for the film. This is a helmet with a mini-camera aimed at the face, on which control markers are located. The company also developed new software based on “spherical functions” technologies, which are used to produce computer games. This made it possible to create three-dimensional scenes with maximum realism.

As the director noted, when creating Avatar, he was inspired by a variety of sources, from books to simple drawings. But the artist Roger Dean had the greatest influence on the creation of the world of Pandora and its life forms. If you look at his paintings and illustrations, you can easily notice the similarities with the world of Avatar.

James Cameron saw very well in his imagination what the inhabitants of Pandora looked like even at the time of creating the script. However, the real prototype of the “avatars”, which satisfied the director, appeared only ten years later in the form of Neytiri. This is a sculpture authored by D. Schell.

As already noted, only the latest and unique technologies were used for filming. James Cameron himself participated in the development and creation of some of them. So, he developed Fusion 3d with his friend Vince Pace, which made it possible to use not six cameras, but only three.

It is impossible not to note the use of a landfill, the size of which was 21 by 12 meters. About 120 cameras were placed around its perimeter, which recorded the actions of all the actors involved in a particular scene, and immediately projected them onto the computer characters of the film...

In general, it can be noted that the work done was titanic. No standard programs or methods were used here. Almost all software for creating 3D graphics was modified in accordance with the requirements for the film; some were created literally from scratch. But despite the abundance of virtual opportunities, many actors were involved in the film. "Avatar" is a unique symbiosis of virtual technologies and human resources. It's hard to even imagine what we would have seen if Cameron had decided to make it in 1994...

China: Zhangjiajie (Avatar Mountains) National Park September 9th, 2015

Zhangjiajie is one of China's most famous national parks and has recently become particularly famous for being the inspiration for the film Avatar. You can also visit the planet Pandora, it’s not that difficult. First you need to get to Zhangjiajie city. There is an airport there, but the land connections are not so hot; you can get there from Yichang and Changsha, but from Chongqing there is only a long detour with a transfer. It is 20-30 kilometers from the city to the park. The park can be entered from several directions, but the two most accessible are Wulingyuan Village and Zhangjiajie Village (same name as the city). These villages have all the necessary infrastructure: many hotels where foreigners can easily be accommodated from 80 yuan, shops, restaurants. Prices are a little higher than in regular Chinese cities, but quite reasonable.

The entrance ticket costs 248 yuan ($50), a student ticket costs 148 (they also check your passport, which is no more than 25 years old). On a regular ticket it was written that it was valid for four days, on a student ticket - three. Such high prices are apparently intended to somewhat regulate demand - the more popular the place, the more expensive it becomes. You won't be able to cheat and use someone else's ticket, because the entrance is based on fingerprints. But the price divided into three days no longer seems so high, and it’s worth coming here for just three days. In principle, you can see the park in one day, but if you go further by train, it might work out. But if you want to fly, setting aside one day is very risky, because if it rains, you will see something like this “beautiful” landscape from all the observation platforms:

So I was incredibly lucky on the first day.

It rains frequently in this region and the climate here is very humid.

In the morning the probability of rain is lower, so it makes sense to set out early.

Now, actually, about what to see if the weather is good. There are several viewing platforms in Zhangjiajie from where you can look at the narrow and high cliffs sticking out of the ground. Firstly, Huangshi (yellow village), secondly, Yuanjiajie, thirdly, Tianzi Mountain (imperial mountain). The remaining places are, as they say, outside the main path, and there are mostly long walking tracks. There is a cable car leading to Huangshi, but you can only go there in a circle around the top of the mountain, and then back. Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain are connected by a road along the tops of the mountains, and free buses run there. There is also a cable car to Tianzi Mountain, and an elevator to Yuanjiajie (Bailong elevator). The entrance to Zhangjiajie village is very close to Huangshi, the Wulingyuan entrance is far from everything, but there are free buses from there to both the elevator and the cable car. There is no transport through the park between Huangshi and Yuanjiajie; you need to walk along the valley along the river.

The problem is that going up and down the elevator and any of the cable cars costs under 100 yuan ($15). So if you want to see everything in one day, you will have to spend another $60 for the ascent and descent in addition to the $50 entry fee. If you have two days, you can radically save on this by walking the entire route.

The climb to Huangshi or Yuanjiajie takes about an hour, walking along the stairs. Much easier than . They say that during peak times you can stand in line for an hour for the elevator, so it’s not even that slow.

You can also hire porters, but it’s not clear what the point is. It will be cheaper by elevator.

Ladder.

Path. Everything in the park is civilized and well-equipped.

The staircases are often lined with shops and eateries. One of them stores empty bottles.

And there are also many impudent, snickering monkeys living here.

DO WANT!

I read a lot of horror stories about having to stand in line to get to the railing to take a photo, but the reality was something like this:

Don't travel during the high season!

The only big group. Everyone was wearing raincoats, but it really didn’t rain that day.

Here they take selfies with caviar.

But the main thing is that they are watching this!

Millions of people who watched the sensational blockbuster, in addition to the impressive plot, appreciated the unreality of the landscapes of the planet Pandora.

The planet's landscape is based on Jiankunzhu Mountain, located in China. In January 2010, the mountain was named "Hallelujah, Avatar".

Mount Avatar in China (translated as “Southern Pillar of Heaven”) is located in one of the provinces - Hunan. Its height is 150 meters (about 1000 m above sea level). China's excursion programs have already added 2 new routes: “Avatar-Pandora Magic Tour” and “A Magic Journey to the Avatar Floating Mountains”.

Zhangjiajie National Park is an amazing place, rich in beautiful lakes, powerful mountain rivers and magnificent waterfalls. In the park you can also see about 40 caves with deep gorges, several beautiful natural bridges, as well as a large number of endangered plant species and rare animals.

In addition to the stunning landscape, the national park contains many species of plants and animals listed in the Red Book. In addition, Zhangjiajie Park is home to original inhabitants who remain faithful to traditions and rituals and communicate in their own language.

When James Cameron first saw this place, he was inspired. The mountains are a picturesque sight: huge stone pillars above the tropical forest, rugged sharp peaks, waterfalls, a giant cave system. They say that Cameron was inspired by them to draw the flying islands of Pandora.

Entrance to the park costs 158 yuan and allows you to visit the park for two days. The airport is located 10 km west of the city of Zhangjiajie, it is 33 km from the entrance to the park, and there are regular buses from there to the city. Minibuses stop opposite the train and bus stations, and the village and park entrance can be reached in one hour. Trains run to Zhengzhou, Guangzhou and other regional centers in China.