“Breathtaking, just like the scenes from Avitar”

My wife and I spent two exciting days in the park and were blown away by the landscape and features there. We flew the two plus hour flight from Shanghai arriving around 9 PM and were met by our excellent guide Tang Ming (zjjtours@gmail.com) and driver Chin who drove us to the Pipaxi Hotel just outside one of the gates to the park. (The Hotel was adequate, not a 4 star like advertised but met our needs and did provide an authentic and well supplied Chinese breakfast)

The next morning Tang took us through the Yellow Dragon Cave, 4.5 km of the massive 24 km caverns. The cave is easy to negotiate since steps have been created to safely explore the stalagmite and stalactite structures. Tang knew where and how to go to avoid the numerous tour contingents that where also enjoying the sights. We did an underground river ride (included in the ticket) in the middle of our hike through the cave.

After lunch we took a cable car up the Tianzishan Mountain where we were astounded by the Avitar like scenery. Every turn and scenic spot was so breathtaking, I think we eventually took over 400 pictures with out digital camera. And again, our guide Tang, negotiated us to a quiet area avoiding the tour crowds and enhancing the serene and awe-inspiring scenery.

After dinner that evening Tang arranged for us to go to the Folk Show. An amazing production of acrobatics and dancing and singing, with bright costumes and impressive backdrops, well worth the 300 Yuan per person charge.

The next day, which happened to be a Saturday, we hiked the Golden Whip Stream, seeing from the ground what we had seen from the mountain the day before. We also experienced the Rhesus Monkey population who were bold enough to come within a few feet of the humans.

That afternoon we took another cable car up another mountain to have lunch and then hike around the mountain and view more unbelievable scenery. Again our guide Tang, took us to areas not frequented by large tour groups providing a perfect atmosphere to enjoy the magnificence of the area. We capped off the tour with a ride down the Bailong elevator, the tallest outdoor elevator in the world. After an exceptional Chinese dinner at the Da Cheng Shanshui Hotel, Tang and Chin took us to the airport to catch our return flight to Shanghai.

All in all a marvelous experience, highly recommended especially with our special English speaking guide, Tang Ming who had the ability to know where and how to find the right routes to take advantage of the best this park had to offer.