Tianmen Mountain takes its name after the Tianmen Cave, a natural karst cave under the mountain. The mountain is relatively gentle, full of old trees, winding vines, mosses, stalagmites, sits upon 494 acres. The rare mountaintop scenery makes it the most beautiful sky garden world over, and a paradise. Owing to this, it became Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, a national forest park in 1992. The plank road and glass skywalks on the cliffs are worthwhile going. The mountain summit of a height of 4,982 feet (1,518 meters) is about 5 miles from the downtown Zhangjiajie. Below are the major spots to visit:

Tianmen Mountain Cableway: The World’s Longest Cableway

The cableway in Tianmen Mountain is the world's longest at a length of 24,458 feet (7,455 meters). It begins in the City Garden downtown, and ends on the summit. It hangs like a rainbow, and hints of being a dragon in the clouds. The cableway throughput is 1,000 passengers per hour, and it averages 28 minutes per trip. In high season you have to wait in line for hours.

Heaven-linking Avenue

Heaven-linking Avenue, also known as 99 Bending Road or Big Gate Road, is a most hazardous road. It was built in 1998 with 99 consecutive turnings, and a total length of 6.7 miles (10.77 kilometres) was the road wonder. You can watch it from the cable car. You can also get to the mountaintop by this road with the shuttle bus of Tianmen Mountain scenic area.

Tianmen Cave: The Portal to the Heaven

The principal attraction on Tianmen Mountain, Tianmen Cave is a grand karst cave 431 feet high, 187 feet wide and 197 feet deep spanning under the mountain. Looking from afar, the cave looks like a way up to the heaven, hence the name, Tianmen, meaning Heavenly Door. The cave is shrouded by the year-round dense mists. Sometimes, cloaks of clouds gather at the cave's opening, with the sun glowing through it. , forming magical scenery.

Tianmen Mountain Temple

Tianmen Mountain Temple, on 5 acres of land, and featured by the overhanging eaves, is the western Hunan regional Buddhism centre. It started building in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and rebuilt in 2002. The temple enshrines one of the five relics of Sakyamuni Buddha in China. From the square in front of the temple, you get a panoramic view of the mountain.

Glass Skywalk

The glass skywalk marks the Tianmen Mountain tour climax. It is most fitting for the adventurous. On sunny days, the blue sky and white clouds accompany your walk. You will be both pleased and shocked by the sensation of walking on the clouds and the drop into the void below your feet. On cloudy days, the view of the glass corridor itself is a sensation. Now there are three glass skywalks in the east, west and Panlong Cliff respectively.

Recommended Touring Routes

Take the cable car from the downtown City Garden to the summit → enjoy the sky garden on the peak →take the escalator down to the Tianmen Cave → after exploring Tianmen Cave, get down to the entrance gate by sightseeing bus → change to a shuttle bus for downtown