10 Stunning Views of Zhangjiajie that People Overlook

Zhangjiajie, whose old name is Dayong, is in the northwest of Hunan Province, China. Its capital city is Changsa, where Mao Tze-Tung was born, is situated about 330 km from the city.

The changing name from Dayong to Zhangjiajie happened in 1994, 2 years after the inclusion of Wulingyuan Scenic Park on UNESCO Heritage Site list. Thanks to that, Zhangjiajie has gained more popularity in the country and around the world ever since. Not to mention James Cameron used it as the inspiration of Pandora in his movie Avatar in 2009, where the indigenous inhabitants called Na’vi live.

When I joined a 5-day-tour from Chan Brothers Indonesia to explore the most panoramic and cultural places in Zhangjiajie by bus, from Wulingyuan Scenic Park, Tianmen mountain, Fenghuang Ancient City, Red Stone Forest to The Grand Canyon, I noticed that the city has more things to offer than just what people say and write in media.

The distance from one place to another was quite overwhelming, taking 5 to 6 hours journey by bus. Every day was a long day, especially I and the rest of the group had to get up at 6 am, sometimes 5, to save time and avoid long queues.

Leaving Changsa, tall buildings gradually disappeared when the greener side of Zhangjiajie came out of the blue. The mingle of traditional wooden houses that belong to Miao minority people, modern civilization, the nature and modern agriculture in suburban areas never failed to amaze me.

It was hard sometimes to stay awake waiting for great spots to appear. To be honest, I mostly killed the time on the road to sleep longer. When I was lucky enough to get up, I took my chances to immortalize the beauty on the road from the bus window that we would never be able to visit.

Since the bus never stopped in these areas, the time was very crucial as they would be gone in seconds. I admit that perfection is not something I could achieve. Nonetheless, as a novice in photography, my Fuji XA-1 mirrorless camera seemed to be able to make my wish come true.

Although I already posted some of these images a couple years ago, this time I would like to present an extended version of it.

ON THE WAY TO FENGHUANG ANCIENT CITY

 

ON THE WAY TO RED STONE FOREST

ON THE WAY TO MT. TIANMEN AND WULINGYUAN SCENIC PARK

ON THE WAY TO GRAND CANYON

Bear in mind that I’m not affiliated in any travel bureaus and I captured these images for personal purposes only. Nonetheless, should you need further information about the trip (Indonesian residents only), please kindly contact:

Chan Brothers Travel Indonesia

Kompleks Roxy Mas Blok E2 No. 5-7, Jl. K.H.Hasyim Ashari No. 125, RW.8, Cideng, Gambir, Kota Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10150

Phone: (021) 26533333