JIAN-HUA SUN 孙建华
Situated on the western boundary of the Hunan province,
the ancient city of Phoenix is dotted with scenic waterways,
beautiful mountains and green forests.
are pursuing their artistic passion. The
abundant outdoor beauty allows operators
to expand photography tours, art-themed
itineraries, naturist/horticulturist study
programs and more.
Playful monkeys can be found throughout the mountains around Zhangjiajie.
Cultural tours
Ethnic minorities make
up 77 percent of the local population.
The Tujia, Bai and Miao groups are most
populous, and they retain their traditional language, cuisine and clothing,
in front of an audience of 2,500. The story
wraps up with a scene featuring the two
lovers flying off to the dark sky, and they
turn into stars before disappearing over
the mountain—amazing special effects!
HAYBINA HAO
all of which were vividly brought to life
for us in Zhangjiajie. The ethnic people
are so artistic, and almost every Tujia
person is a natural soprano or tenor—in
their own terms. No wonder singing is
the ticket to dating and marriage!
Tourists are welcomed in the villages
and homes to dine with the families, learn
handcrafts and embroidering, and join in
festive dancing or bonfire concerts. There
are so many cultural traditions—thousands of years in the making—that operators can easily develop history/heritage
tours, educational itineraries, student/
family programs and culinary tours.
spectators. It is a true engineering marvel and is the world’s highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge.
The Tianmen Mountain Cableway
holds the “longest tram in the world”
title. It is 4.7 miles long and can carry
12,000 visitors daily to the mountaintop
in just 28 minutes.
“Tianmen Fox Fairy” is a spectacular
outdoor show that features 500 performers and takes place on a multi-level stage
To this day I cannot fathom
Zhangjiajie’s interesting combination of
the aboriginal civilization mixed with
utmost modern amenities. Many of
the “highest,” “deepest” and “longest”
outdoor attractions are built with the
world’s leading technologies, and we
saw the following examples:
The Ai Zhan Bridge has two decks,
one for motor vehicles and one for
Utilizing but still respecting what
nature grants, Zhangjiajie continues to
add more magical attractions in order to
better showcase this paradise to travelers from around the world.
“Pandora is far, but Zhangjiajie is
near,” says a local slogan. May I please
add: 138 years is too long to wait, so
let’s go experience it now!
NTAonline.com
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