The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in the Hunan province of China is one of several parks in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was actually recognized as the nation's first national forest park in 1982 and currently spans about 11,900 acres. Fun fact! The rock formations at this park were a major inspiration for the floating rocks found on the planet "Pandora" in James Cameron's 2009 movie, "Avatar".
This park is also home to the Bailong (Translate to "Hundred Dragon") Elevator, the Guinness Book of World Records' title-holder of "Tallest Outdoor Lift". This glass elevator is built into the side of a cliff ans is 326 meters (1,070 feet) high! Sadly, I don't have photos of this elevator since I recall my camera ran out of power by that point...
A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's a shot of the rock formation at the forest park. The tall spires of rock dotted with trees and shrouded in mist is truly a sight to see! It's surprisingly relaxing to sit back and watch the clouds roll by. This photo, like all my photos in this blog, is unaltered and has not been through any filter.
A small pagoda sits atop this rocky mountain. This photo is unaltered, and has not been through any filters. I don't think this was actually from the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park but actually from another park in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area.
A shot of the quartz-sandstone pillars between two other large pillars. It's pretty incredible how trees and plants are able to grow out of cracks in these massive pillars. This photo is unaltered, and has not been through any filters.
BONUS PICTURE! Here's a pretty blurry picture of a wild monkey sitting around at Zhangjiajie National forest Park. Apologies for the grainy quality. I had to zoom in a lot since I didn't want to disturb the wildlife, nor did I want it to feel threatened. My tour guide said she once had one of her guests get scratched and bit by a monkey. That tourist ended up having to take a rabies shot.
Note: Hey all! Hope you enjoy my third post in my latest blog, Global Photographer! Tomorrow, I'll be posting a few photos from Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, and maybe some from San Francisco, California, USA!
