I had always wanted to visit Zhangjiajie after watching the movie Arvatar. But first week of April should be avoided at all costed as 4th of April is Qingming festival in china. Qingming is tomb sweeping day and it is a public holiday meaning the scenic areas will all be crowded with locals on holidays. Furthermore, 清明时节雨纷纷, it always rain around Qingming and we Chinese even had a famous poem on the rain.
Stupid me for not remembering that and off I went to Zhangjiajie Forest Scenic Area 张家界森林景区. I spent 980rmb to get a guide for 2 days upon the taxi driver's advice that this place was not safe to travel alone for lady. Personally after 2 days, I realised that it was not as dangerous as I was told. Yes it may be a little confusing since the area was not as organised as Jiuzhaigou. But with ample research, it should be possible to travel alone. Anyway I got a guide and companionship for 2 days with accommodation and entrance fees included. Furthermore, the route planned was more adventurous and definitely more exciting then what I had initially researched on so I did not have any complaints. The guide was friendly and reliable. He took me into the Golden Whip Brook 金鞭溪. Since it rained the night before, everywhere was misty and magical. The forest and river stream were covered with trees, grasses, bushes and flowers give off negative ions, just a few breaths and I felt totally rejuvenated.
Midway along the stream came the challenging part. I was informed that I needed to climb up the hill to Huangshizhai 黄狮寨 instead of taking the cable car. Of course I grumbled and whined all the way up but the guide was patient and encouraged me along the way. It was definitely worthed the climb as it was off the beaten track and a new experience to me. After 30 minutes, we were on the top. I had never felt such victory before. I had conquered a hill. Ha. We took a shuttle bus on top of Huangshizhai to an inn where I will be staying for the night. The inn was on one of the last few operating farmlands on the mountainous village. The room was simple but comfortable enough to sleep in.
The freaking restaurant was a murderer. A whole chicken pot for 288rmb, seriously expensive in China but compared to Singapore, it still considered cheap. Since I was alone, I invited the guide to join me for lunch and we chatted over the meal. I learned a little more about the local's living in Zhangjiajie. Obviosly the locals did not need to paid the freaking expensive entrance fee to get into the scenic areas. So shiok, they can come anytime to enjoy the fresh air and the magnificent mountainous scenery. But being a guide in this place sure was tough since they had to climb the same mountains almost everyday with the tourists.
Jinbian Brook
This is supposedly Tang Shan Zhang 唐三藏, with his 3 disciples..uh huh...
This forest area is a karst formation and was below sea level long long ago so you can see marine fossils buried in the rocks.
Crying Marriage. Tujia bride-to-be will cry to show gratitude to her parents up to a month before marriage. Dehydration to the max..! Actually it sounded more like a out of tune song.
After lunch, came another challenge as we will visit the famous bandits' hideout 乌龙寨 up on a mountain in Yangjiajie 杨家界. I had a hard time climbing up and down the steep and narrow stairways. The bandits sure knew how to hide in those days. The scenery on top of their hidout was beautiful and since this place was far away from the tourist main crowd, it was quiet and serene. Along the way, we made quite a few pit stops and got to know each other more. I really admired my guide's life as he got to see such magnificent mountains throughout the year in all four seasons but I also understand that it was not always fun as they might encounter difficult customers and bad weathers as well. Finally after much encouragement from my guide and a lot of squeaking from myself, I managed to climb up a almost vertical metal ladder to the highest peak, Tianbo Mansion 天波村. The view from the peak was spectacular and to think that I had overcome my inner fear to climb this far. THIS gave me a sense of achievement I had never felt before. I pranced around the peak like a Queen in victory. When it was time to descend the vertical ladder, I turned back into a whining guniang again. Haha. I definitely think I have reached a new pinnacle of my personal physical record that day.
Tianbo Mansion from far.
Me is proud. I made it this high..
By the time we ended our trip, it was evening and I was dead tired. I slept really well that night even though there was a huge spider hanging outside my window and a crazy rooster below who crowed every 15 minutes since the break of dawn.
The next day's weather was bad. Fog was heavy and we were unable to see the main highlight of Zhangjiajie, the Tianzi Mountains 天子山 which the Hallelujah mountains in Arvatar were modelled after. It was such a pity and I guessed early April was not a good time to visit Zhangjiajie after all. Perhaps I will visit another time.
Misty-rious Mountains.
Misty-rious First Bridge of the World 天下第一桥. Use a little imagination.
Admiring the flowers in the fog 雾里看花. Some skills required.
同心锁. Couples or friends would add a pair locks along the railings to symbolise everlasting love or friendship.
Cave of the Silken Web 盤絲洞 from the movie, Journey to the west
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