A Visit to Zhangjiajie, China

CEBU, Philippines - If you have a fondness for new experiences, China offers a feast of it. You can hike to watch the sunrise from a sacred mountaintop, search for antiques or crafts in the colorful confusion of a local bazar, journey on a river cruise or enjoy festive celebrations honoring age-old legends and customs.  

China is a vast country comprising seven percent of all the land on the planet. It is the oldest continuous civilization and one of the biologically richest countries on earth. For so long, it remained in isolation - until an expedition of the 19th century revealed its natural massive wealth. Now China has opened its doors to the world and outsiders can see the country as never before.

On the invitation of Cathay Pacific Airlines, a select group of Cebu media practitioners such as Thea Riñen of Cebu Daily News, Lyndon Angan of Make My Trip Travel TV, Noel Villaflor of Sun Star, David Cua of Zee Magazine, and this writer recently boarded a CX 920  to Hong Kong  then took a connecting flight  to Changsha  on Dragonair, where our much anticipated adventure would commence. Accompanying us was the ever efficient Cathay Pacific marketing and communications supervisor Connie Cimafranca,  

 Changsha is the capital and largest city of Hunan province in south central China. The recorded history of the area dates back 3,000 years. Tomb relics from the primitive periods of human activities have been discovered in this region. Although not as ancient a capital city as Beijing or Xian, Changsha has rich a historical heritage that includes remains of old walls, tomb sites, religious temples and buildings. What earns the city its reputation is the fact that it was the site of Mao Zedong's conversion to communism. It was the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Rebuilt in 1949, the city is now a major interior port and a commercial and industrial center.

Day 1. Changsha to Zhangjiajie

After a five hour land trip, we headed straight to the Yellow Dragon Cave situated in Suoxiyu natural reserve, one of the foremost scenic areas in Zhangjiajie and  rated as one of the first 4A National Tourist Attractions in China. Discovered by local villagers in 1983 and opened to tourists in 1984, the cave is considered the longest in Asia with a length of 7.6 kilometers, and occupies an area of 100,000 square meters.  It is an incomparable realm of gigantic subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations and extraordinary features. The tally of natural wonders includes one natural reservoir, two underground rivers, three pools, four waterfalls, 96 passageways, 13 caverns, and hundreds of thousands of stalagmites, stalactites and columns. The entire tour took about two hours - 2,400 meters by land and an additional 800 meters by water.

Day 2. Yuanjiajie

This scenic area is accessible two ways: one is walking through Luancuan Slop from Golden Whip Stream, and the other is taking the Bailong elevator also known as the Hundred Dragons Elevator. We opted to take the lift as it is honored as the highest, the fastest, largest-loaded elevator in the world. The total height is 335 meters of which the running height is 326 meters. The elevator system includes three exposure sightseeing elevators running parallel to each other. Each one can carry 50 passengers every time and the speed is three meters per second.  If the three elevators run simultaneously, the number of one-way passengers reaches 4, 000 per hour.

Tianzi Mountain

Located in the northern part of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, this mountain takes its name from a man, Xiang Dakun, a leader of the Tu ethnic group who led a revolution and avowed himself as Tianzi (Son of Heaven). The mountain provides stunning views of peaks, which rise one after the other. It is known as the "Monarch of the Peak Forest."

Baofeng Lake

Considered a world natural heritage, Baofeng Lake is reputed as "a classical lake in the world." It is situated part way up the mountain range, 85 meters above the ground and attains an altitude of 585 meters. The scenic area was first developed by chance. It was a peaceful gorge many years ago and the local people built a reservoir within the rocks only with the purpose of storing water for irrigation. People never expected that after the project, a beautiful scenery would be created and has now become quite famous.

Tianmen Mountain

China's newest tourist spot is a glass-bottomed walkway around the cliff face of the Tianmen Mountain, 4,700 feet about sea level. A four-mile long cable car was constructed in the park which is said to be the longest of its type in the world.

Simply not to be missed is the mountain's unique natural miracle - the Tianmen Cave which was declared as a national forest park in July, 1991. It is a natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world. It is actually a big hole in the mountain but people call it a cave and it has become a major attraction. The cave is on the precipice at over 1,260 meters elevation. Guests may need to walk up 999 steps to reach the cave which resembles the door of heaven.

"Tianmen Fox Fairy Show"

We culminated our most enjoyable and exciting tour by watching up-front the spectacular "Fox Fairy Show" at the foot of Tianmen Mountain. It is the world's first real-scene musical drama with the high mountains and deep valleys as the background.  The center stage is built on a brook with an inverse ancient tree floating on bubbling stream. Unusual rocks are built amid forests, and rare flowers and grass are embedded to form a fantastic natural fox paradise.  On the hanging platform, more than 100 girls wearing traditional costume sing to offer spectators a  wonderful aural enjoyment.

 With a cast of 530, the awesome drama which originated from a traditional Chinese myth and folk tales, integrates the elements of folk music and modern art. The whole stage is natural as if it has been standing there for thousands of years at the foot of Tianmen Mountain to tell a legend.

 Although I have travelled to many places, this experience so far has been amazing. I love the people, culture and the endless variety of exotic foods. The photographic opportunities are endless and rewarding as I discovered that China has much to offer in terms of beautiful sights, unique views and eclectic scenes.

Cathay Pacific has several well thought out, reasonably priced tour packages to surely add a fresh dimension to your travels. The six packages include the best of Pearl River Delta, Avatar, Zhuhai, Canton, Chimelong, and the very best of Yangtze River. The airline serves 168 destinations in 42 countries and territories on five continents, with a well-developed Asian network. It likewise serves a number of gateway cities in North America and Europe, with easy connections with its Oneworld and codeshare partners American Airlines and British Airways via Los Angeles and London, respectively.