In Hunan Province, in South Central China, sits Zhangjiajie, a large prefecture-level city containing spectacular landforms and parks. These include Tianmen Mountain and the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which encompasses the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, Yangjiajie Scenic Area, and more. The region is famous for its towering quartzite cliffs, said to have inspired the filmmakers of the 2009 film Avatar. While Wulingyuan was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, the area has seen recent development to accommodate and attract tourists, including the construction of glass-bottomed walkways and bridges, cable-car systems, and observation elevators. Here, a collection of images of the soaring landscape around Zhangjiajie.
Travel Monday: A Photo Trip to Zhangjiajie
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Weathered cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Water, ice, and the growth of the roots of the many plants are responsible for most of the gradual erosion and shaping of the pillar-like structures. #
Michel Arnault / Shutterstock -
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Dancers from American Bandaloop dance troupe hang from the plank road on Guigu cliff to perform in the air at Tianmenshan National Forest Park on September 12, 2016, in Zhangjiajie. #
Basil Tsimoyanis / VCG via Getty -
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Visitors cross the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge—when it opened, the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge—suspended 853 feet (260 meters) above a valley in Zhangjiajie in China's Hunan Province on August 21, 2016. #
Fred Dufour / AFP / Getty -
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Tianmen Mountain, a famous mountain with a large naturally occurring cave called "Heaven's Gate" near its peak, photographed in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park on September 1, 2013. #
Lintao Zhang / Getty -
The "Sky Ladder to the Heavens Gate" stairway is lined with obstacles that were set up for the Carabao Sky Ladder Challenge, an international parkour contest, to be held the next day on May 28, 2017. #
Kraft Stoff / Shutterstock -
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The wingsuit flyer Carlos Briceno of Venezuela takes flight above Heaven-Linking Avenue during the 5th World Wingsuit Championship at Tianmen Mountain on October 13, 2016. #
Wang He / Getty -
An aerial view of tourists walking on a 100-meter-long glass skywalk on the edge of the cliff of Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park on August 1, 2016. #
VCG via Getty -
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