GUANGZHOU-ZHANGJIAJIE TRIP 2017# 1 part 1

Tianmen Mountain Zhangjiajie

26/8/2017
Saturday

We took the Airasia Premium Flex flight in the evening and arrived in GZ around 9.15pm.   Straightaway we were taken for supper in Liwan nearby our cousins house.

Delicious, hot soul-warming Liwan Fish porridge (it had started to rain already), after all we have heard of the famous Liwan "Boat Porridge" 

Simple yet tasty fried "cheong fun" with premium soy sauce and a sprinkling of spring onions and sesame seeds.  Without much delay, after the supper we were whisked to the nearby Business hotel, a no-frill/fuss hotel for our 1 night stay. 

Day 2 - 27/8/2017

Cloudy sky and typhoon hit Guangzhou this morning and by the time we arrived the railway station, it was mayhem ...trains were either  delayed or re-schedule for the next day.  

So we waited and waited ..our high speed train to Changsha was delayed for 2 hours

Finally arrived in Changsha in the afternoon, having missed our lunch.  But thankfully, our cousins were well prepared with boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, breads,  fruits and tidbits. The local tour guide was waiting for us and we started on another 4 hours bus ride to the town of Zhangjiajia.

along the way, the Lotus ponds going into full blooms soon....

Our dinner ...

braised bean curds and spicy pigs trotters... it was the beginning of hot spicy meals that followed (Hunan cuisine was hot and spicy) and by end of the trip, my mouth was painful with mouth ulcers!

checking in hotel after a long day of travelling and a good nite rest. 

 Day 3- 28/8/2017
Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park..

Another cloudy morning greeted us.   The town seems to be bustling with buildings with tourist business....the white dome building on the left corner is a big stadium. The buffet breakfast at the hotel was rather simple.

The cablecar station... the queue though long is rather fast moving. 

Tianmen Mountain Cableway - the world's longest cableway 

soon we were up and away over hills and dales 

The amazing scenery along the way... plenty of photos of this beautiful place

No wonder ... "Heaven mountain"....  

donning the special socks over our shoes before crossing ....

the glass plank walk....some treading gingerly...

while others strode along cheerfully... 

while I was clinging to the side of mountain as I was trying my best to conquered my fear of heights....

while my sister-in-law enjoyed herself by randomly sitting down.....

a quick photo downwards..... 

another plank walk.... see how awesome the construction...

the world's longest escalators through the mountain ... about 800 over meters and can carry a total of 3,600 tourist one way trip per hour!.

Yes we were actually going through the mountain comfortably with minimal walking now...

then through a wet dark tunnel and into open space.....

The guide asked (in Mandarin): "nee man kan tow ma?" (can you all see?) 

We replied:  "kan sum more?" (see what?)

He (pointing upwards) : "tong ah!" (the hole)

We (looking upwards) suddenly exclaimed excitedly:   AHAAH..... 

HEAVEN DOOR... 

by using the escalators we have skipped the 999 steps up towards the Heaven Door... 

Iconic pose.... 

Walking around the vast Tianmen square and a portion of glass floor .

the famous  mountain road with 99 bends...

a group photo before we depart...

no public vehicles are allowed up the road except these shuttle buses.

It was a thrilling drive down because traffic is both ways!

there are signage for each bends....

each bend brought a chorus of "Ohh" and "hah" from us ....

One last glimpse before we left the road...

checking into our hotel for the day after lunch.. 

We have taken so many photos of the amazing views of the Tianmen Mountain but truly cannot download so many here.