I had a fantastic spring break in China and saw some of the most amazing places on the planet. If you’ve never been to China. Now is the time to start dreaming. In this series I will share 7 Bucketlist level places in China. It was out of this world amazing. Tianmen mountain is UNESCO world heritage.
#1 Heaven’s Gate or Tianmen Cave at Tianmen Mountain, Stairway to Heaven
A mountain with the world’s largest natural bridge or “cave” located within Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, China. This UNESCO heritage mountain is ancient and has since been developed into an important pilgrimage including one of the world’s most interesting roads with 99 hairpin turns, a stairway to heaven with 999 steps or an alternative way to get to the portal to heaven by taking the escalator followed by a second escalator up to the top of the mountain which has 3 optional very affordable glass walkways, chairlift, and one of the longest cablecar like gondola rides down the mountain and through the city.
Stairway to Heaven… Portal to Heaven, Heavens gate. My 9 year old and I and my sister in law walked up the 999 stairs as my wife and brother in law and his daughter took the series of escalators. A half hour later both of us arrived around the same time at the top of the stairs.
Tianmen mountain may seem like it’s all about the portal to heaven, but there are a lot more surprises including glass walkways, gondolas, and the longest sets of escalators you’ve ever been on (unless you went to Kiev).
The Magical Map of Tianmen Mountain.
The walkways hang on the edge of cliffs. Beautiful, breathtaking, and as my wife says… you get use to it after a while.
Tianmen Glass walkway: note the booties… Christine, pictured didn’t think she’d be able to handle the glass walkways, but really you do get used to it and it is amazing and a must see! You feel like you’re invincible.
Looking down from the glass walkways at the 99 turn road that led up to the gateway. The road is thousands of feet below.
The Mountain is rich with a variety of experiences:
- 999 Steps up to Tianmen Cave the Stairway to Heaven
- You can take an escalator or walk up the 999 Steps
- 99 Turns up the mountain
- 3 Glass walkways with booties
- East Glass Walkway
- Ghost Path
- West Glass Walkway
- Tianmen Cableway
- Tianmen Mountain Temple
- Cave of the Godess of Mercy
This post is in a series about our spring break trip to the most amazing places in China. Natural wonders, Pandas, the Terra Cotta Warriors and more!
