One of the most popular films of recent years is James Cameron's science fiction drama Avatar. The mountains in China that shot this picture really exist. This is not computer graphics, but nature, which everyone can see on planet Earth with their own eyes.
National park
They are located in Zhangjiajie National Park, which is now even called Avatar Park. The mountains in China in which the shooting was organized are located in the south-west of the country, this is a truly unique natural miracle. They are located in the province of Hunan, which is approximately three hundred kilometers from the provincial capital Changsha. Where the Avatar was filmed, the mountains in China belong to the Winshan system.
The main asset of this national park is rocks. Bizarre mountains in the form of peculiar pillars rise to the sky, creating an amazing natural landscape, which is formed as a result of leaching of rocks and prolonged weathering.
Many admit that this place is becoming a favorite place to visit as soon as they find out about its existence. It is worth noting that even living in China, it’s not so easy to go to the mountains (Avatar impressed many spectators). It is necessary to guess with time and weather, to calculate finances.
Tourist boom
They say that they inspired Cameron to create the famous soaring mountains on the fictional planet Pandora in the "Avatar" photo of the mountains in China. This was the most powerful advertisement for the national park in its history, because after the release of the picture on the screens, the flow of tourists here increased significantly. The Chinese, in gratitude for this, even renamed one of the mountains to "Avatar-Aliluya", installing several figures of "avatars" in the park, near which long lines of people who want to make a memorable photo are now constantly lining up.
During a walk around the places of filming of Avatar in China, through the mountains in Zhangjiajie National Park, it really seems that he was on some other distant planet - such incredible landscapes open before your eyes.
Features of Zhangjiajie
It is worth noting that not only the mountains attract so many tourists to this national park. A diverse role is played by a diverse fauna and flora, surprisingly beautiful and picturesque landscapes. For example, certain species of birds, plants and animals that are found in these places are so rare that they are listed in the Red Book. These include civet, a gigantic salamander, smoky leopard, pangolin, rhesus monkey and many others.
All nature lovers will find many amazing things here; local landscapes will especially appeal to them.
When to go on a trip?
To get the full impression of visiting a mountain park in China, you need to choose the right time when you plan your trip. Of course, the national park is open to visitors all year round, but the weather does not always allow you to fully enjoy the beauties of the local nature. Therefore, when planning a trip, you need to decide what you expect from this visit, what landscapes you want to see.
The best time to visit the mountains in China, where they filmed Avatar, is autumn. The best period is from mid-September to early November. During these months, extremely warm and sunny weather is almost always there, and the temperature is comfortable enough to spend all day in the national park. At the same time, experienced travelers claim that it is in the fall that these mountains can be considered best.
Other seasons
If you go here in the winter, be prepared that it will be too cold. In addition, due to the weather, some trails may be closed for safety reasons, and fog and snow can cause poor visibility, so considering at least something will be very problematic.
But even this does not stop tourists, many go to take photos of mountains in China in winter, trying to see fantastic snow-covered landscapes, to admire these views almost completely alone. An undoubted advantage of a winter trip will be the fact that tickets at this time of year are much cheaper.
In the spring, the rainy season begins in these places, which lasts from March to June. Agree, it’s unpleasant and uncomfortable to go along the paths and inspect the mountains when it constantly drips from the sky. However, it was at this time that fog covered the whole valley, many set off to enjoy the effect of soaring peaks. At moments when the fog hides the foundations of the mountains, it seems that the mountains simply hang in the air. However, there is a possibility that nothing can be seen at all beyond the veil of fog.
But the amount of time that is required to allocate to visit the park is strictly individual. It is better to foresee anyway an extra day to visit the Avatar location in China, the mountains in Zhangjiajie National Park, in case the weather goes bad.
If you are lucky, then you can visit other local attractions. Among them are Huanglong Cave, Baofen Lake, Tianmen Mountain. In order to enjoy the beauty of the mountains themselves, someone needs one day, and someone needs at least two to quickly explore the main beauties, and a couple of days to travel to other remarkable places that also deserve the attention of travelers, since they climbed so far.
If you want to avoid crowds, it is better not to plan a trip for the first week of May and October (at this time many local tourists come to the park because of the holidays), during the summer holidays you will not be crowded because of the holidays and vacations.
Route Options
How to get to the mountains in China? Avatar has inspired many travelers to visit this unique place. To visit the national park in which they are located, you first need to come to the city, which is called Zhangjiajie. After this, you should get to one of the villages directly at the entrance to the park.
There are several options to get to Zhangjiajie. You can use the plane, bus or train.
By plane
First, let’s figure out how to get there by plane. If you are faced with the task of spending minimal time on a trip, then this is ideal. The easiest way will be to fly here by plane from some other Chinese city.
The local airport is located five kilometers from the city center. In daily mode, it takes flights from Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Changsha, Qingdao, Wuhan, Tianjin and other cities. There are several international flights. At this airport, aircraft land from the capital of Thailand - Bangkok and the South Korean city of Busan.
The fastest way is to fly from Xian or Guangzhou - about an hour and a half. The ticket will cost approximately 70-80 dollars (5-5.5 thousand rubles). It takes about two and a half hours to fly here from Shanghai, you will have to pay 115 dollars, and from Beijing almost three hours. A ticket will cost from 110 to 130 dollars (7.5-9 thousand rubles).
You can get from the airport to the city by bus or taxi. True, public transport runs extremely rarely. A taxi will cost from two and a half to five dollars, depending on where exactly you have to go. For a taxi to the entrance to the national park you will need to pay about $ 15 (1000 rubles).
The main thing - do not forget to bargain with taxi drivers, since the distances here are relatively small, while drivers take advantage of the fact that tourists do not know the area, they can request too much.
Train
Now, knowing where the Avatar shot in China, where the mountains are located, you can reach the destination and by train. The railway connection is established between Zhangjiajie and many major cities of the country. It is worth noting that this method is suitable only for patient travelers, which a lot of time.
The journey from Beijing will take from 22 to 26 hours, depending on which train you choose. At the same time, a ticket for a reserved seat costs $ 60 (4,200 rubles), and in a compartment - 100 (7,000 rubles). The train from Shanghai travels from 20 to 22 hours, the ticket price is 60 and 80 dollars, respectively (4-5.5 thousand rubles). You can get from Guangzhou in 13-17 hours by paying $ 50 (3.5 thousand rubles) for a reserved seat car and 77 (5500 rubles) for a compartment car. The closest is Changsha, which is only five hours away by train.
It is worth noting that the railway station in Zhangjiajie is located as conveniently as possible. It is located near the airport and the city center. In walking distance there is also a cable car station to Tianmen Mountain, which is considered another must-see place. From the central bus station you can reach the national park.
Bus
Another option is the bus. The city has several bus stations at once, which regularly receive regular flights from neighboring major cities.
For example, from the central station, buses run to Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuhai and several other smaller cities. Buses run often enough.
Path to national park
The last leg of the journey to the treasured mountains will be the path from the city of Zhangjiajie to the national park of the same name. To get to the territory of the reserve itself, you will need to go to one of the entrances, near which there are small villages. In one of them you can stay overnight so as not to waste time returning to the city if you took a few days to this attraction.
The nearest entrance to the city is located 32 kilometers from it. The local village is also called Zhangjiajie. 40 kilometers from it there is an entrance in the Wulingyuan area, and 50 kilometers away is the entrance directly to Tianzi Mountain.
Where to stay?
When you get to your destination, you need to decide where you will stay for the night. The first option is to rent a room in one of the hotels in Zhangjiajie. There are a lot of hotels, restaurants. There are options for how to have fun and usefully spend leisure time. But if you stay in the city, you will have to spend about two hours daily on the road to the park and back.
Staying in one of the villages at the entrance to the park, you will save much more time. There are also hotels and cafes. For example, in Wulingyuan there is a hostel just a 10-minute walk from the park entrance. Within walking distance there is a market with souvenirs and fruits, several shops, a very decent cafe and an ATM. In addition to hostels, there are quite expensive hotels.
It is better to book accommodation in advance, as in the high season all rooms are occupied. Housing is sold out in about a month.
Park hours
The park officially opens at 6.30 in the morning. As a rule, the entrance is opened at about seven in the morning, by this time a rather large crowd of tourists, mainly Chinese, is already accumulating.
In summer, the park is open until 19 hours, and in winter - from 7.30 to 17.00. At the entrance you can buy two types of tickets: for four days for 38 dollars / 2700 rubles. and for a week for 46 dollars / 3200 rubles. In the winter season, the cost of visiting will be only 22 dollars / 1500 p.
Separately, you will have to pay for the Baylong elevator ($ 11/800 rubles), the cable car to Tianzi Mountain ($ 10/700 rubles), the cable car to Huangshinzhai ($ 11/800 rubles), the cable car to Yangjiajie ($ 12/850) rubles), a tourist mini-train (from six to eight dollars / 400-550 rubles).
For children up to 120 centimeters tall, admission is free, with growth up to 150 centimeters only half of the cost is paid. By admission to the national park you can travel by bus between the parking lots.
At the entrance, there is quite strict control - fingerprints are tied to tickets. So do not buy tickets on hand, even if their price is very favorable, and do not lose, otherwise you will have to buy new ones.
Travel Tips
Experienced travelers are advised to come to the park early to enjoy these beautiful views, while there are very few people.
If you want to use the Baylong elevator, then it is better to go to it in the morning, and go down around 15-16 hours, otherwise you can get into the queue, which will stretch for at least an hour.
Keep in mind that you will have to walk a lot, so make sure you have comfortable shoes that will not rub, comfortable clothes, just in case, take a band-aid with you.
Since the distances are large, it is better to combine pedestrian crossings with cable cars. If you rely only on yourself, you can’t just see a lot. It is most convenient to climb the cable car up and down on foot. Be prepared for the fact that on some trails you can meet wild monkeys. Some are aggressive, so do not tease them.