Another Rainy Foggy Day in Zhangiajie

Another great breakfast at the hotel, this time with some pork noodles.
It’s still raining, unfortuantely.

A 15 minute walk to the east gate of the park…

…and then a very long creepy ride up the cable line up to TianZi Mountain. Much longer and higher than the previous.

 

 

More of these lacquered wooden sculptures.

 

Every once and a while a food stall appears out of the fog.

There’s a temple up a ahead.

 

There are some videos and historical artifacts playing inside. The view from the top of the temple is representative of what I’ll be seeing all day. These mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the region, inspiring the alien mountain ranges of the film Avatar, as well as classical Chinese art for centuries.

This area was a bust. Off to Tianbao Mansion next.
One of the huts on the way was serving a local fire-cooked pork bread. The husband and wife lives in this hut in the park.

 

Inside is ground pork and some bitter spices. Not great but worth trying.

More Wish Sticks.

 

To get to Tianbo, the trail heads down into the valley, and then folks have to climb up one of those huge rock pillars, then down it, then up another. It’s one of the more challenging trails in this area of the park. Even more so in rain and fog.

 

Had to craw through this part…

…to get to this. If these rails weren’t scattered about, I would have no idea where it goes. They were literally scattered upon mounts of boulders.

The trail gets a little tight here.

 

You kind of have to walk sideways and lean over the rail to get by here.

 

A few times along the way, there’s a very tight squeeze.

 

 

 

On top of one of the mountains there’s this old shack.

After a long while not seeing many people, there’s a bottleneck due to folks getting stuck going up and down the cliffs. This is really not the safest place to be in the rain.

While waiting for people to climb up/down the rebar ladders that go up the rock pillar, I take some photos…of fog.

Almost to the top….

Along the way the rock footing ends and it’s just platforms of rebar.

And at the top, which usually rewards adventurers with amazing views,  is just fog.

 

Yuanjiajie Scenic Area

Yuanjiajie is another spot that would have been amazing if it were visible. With over 200 scenic attractions in this area, it can take days to explore and see them all. The plan was to just pass through and get some shots of the mountains from above.

 

 

When I was filming this one, a nearby food vendor lady started singing.

 

 

 

This cliff-side vendor ha built a wooden “ferris” wheel for kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catching the Stars

Further up the mountain the trail changes: overhangs, more trees, and vines.

There’s this natural bridge off in the distance. I don’t know if I ended up walking over it or not.

Lucky ribbons and lovers locks start taking over the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to get down from the mountains, there are a few options. Take the 2.5 hour hike down, wait for a bus and loop around the park, or take the world’s largest outdoor elevator: the 100 Dragons Elevator down the 1,070ft to the basin.

There were a lot of vendors aggressively pushing hot chestnuts near the elevator entrance. Of course they behave as soon as I start filming.

From where you buy an elevator ticket to where you actually board the elevator, it’s a 20 minute walk. 3 times  as long if you made it to the elevator entrance and didn’t realize you needed to buy a ticket back at the start :/

Once at the bottom, I see how massive that elevator is!

Worth the price. At the bottom I get some great views of the surrounding mountains, and with what little light is left, I grab a few shots.  There are a lot of people accumulating here, one of the few spots not smothered in fog.

 

 

 

 

After that, it was a bus ride back to the town and hotel.

Xibu Pedestrian Street

There’s a newly constructed commercial street on the east side of town. The rain is easing up, so I grab my compact camera and head out.

On the way, stopped at a restaurant for some Hunan food. Hunan food is known for being stuffed with chilies and very spicy. Unlike Sichuan food, I found it to lack the complexity and flavor that complements Sichuan spices. These dishes seemed to be typical Chinese items, but with a crazy amount of heat added.  Check out the menu (click to enlarge). What would you order?

Spicy shredded beef.

Spicy pork and leaks

Spicy white beans.

Xibu Street is a complex off of Wuling Road (which is the main commercial street of the town). Newly opened, Xibu, while busy with shoppers and tourists, still had some dead areas that were under construction.

The best pork buns I have ever had. These were full of pork and steamed peppers.

 

It seemed like half the vendors here were selling these traditional candies.

Silver jewelry.

 

 

 

Wine shop.

 

Making candy.