Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve-----'the Monarch of the Peak Forest'

Located in the northern part of Wulingyuan Scenic Area in Hunan Province, Tianzi Mountain makes up a ''golden triangle'' along with Zhangjiajie Forest Park and Suoxiyu Valley. The range undulates 40 kilometers and covers an area of 5400 hectares. The main peak of Tianzi Mountain dwarfs others and rises 1262.5 meters above sea level. It has a touring line of 45 kilometers, an average temperature of 12°C, an annual waterfall of 1,800 mm, a frost-free period of 240 days and a frozen period of 60-80 days. The landscape in Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve is natural and primeval.

Tianzi Mountain, literally means son of heaven in Chinese, it came from a man, Xiang Dakun. He was the leader of the Tu ethnic group during the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 -1279). Xiang Dakun led a revolution and avowed himself as Tianzi (Son of Heaven). Visiting the Tianzi Mountain Area, visitors can see many sites about his story, the most impressive being: the Yu Bi Peaks, the Xian Nü San Hua, and the Shen Bing Ju Hui.

With pine trees on the top, the Yu Bi (imperial brushes) Peaks rise upward into the sky. Legend goes that they are brushes the Tianzi-Xiang Dakun used that became stone peaks after his martyrdom. The Xian Nv San Hua (floral tributes by fairies) is slightly opposite the Yu Bi Peaks. A legend goes that Xiang Dakun and his army were defeated to fall back on the Tianzi Mountain. He fought to the finish, but finally jumped off the cliff. A girl in love with him went across the mountain to search for him. She strewed flowers over the cliffs and turned into a stone statue. Shen Bing Ju Hui is a forest of soldier-like peaks arrayed for a review. 

The landscape here varies in different seasons and also in one day, which makes Tianzi Mountain a very interesting destination. There are four highlights for the breathtaking sceneries: peak forest, cloud sea, sunrise and winter snow. Cloud and mist in Tianzi Mountain enjoys high reputation nationwide, especially just after the rain, which adds much charm to Tianzi Mountain.

Tianzi Mountain has four scenic wonders, namely Cloud Billows, Moon Brightness, Sun Glow and Winter Snow. The cloud billows are ever changing, morning and evening sun glows vast sky, moon shines in the still night, winter snow falls enchanting the scenery, like a lyric, like a landscape painting. Here in the Tianzi Mountain, scene majestic is in all its variety. There are five main scenic zones and over ten scenic spots in the Tianzi Mountain area. They include more than 80 natural platforms to take in the magnificent scenery. Highlights in Tianzishan: Helong Park, West Sea Stone Forests, Divine shrine and Immortal Bridge. 6 tourist areas have been built to accommodate visitors and they include more than 80 natural platforms to take in the magnificent scenery. Visitors can also reach the peaks of the mountain by cable car.

Visitors can take a cable car to see these charming peaks. With 692 meters' (about 2,270 feet) difference in elevation, the aerial tramway is 2,084 meters (about 2,279 yards) in length. The minimum running time is six minutes and twenty-two seconds for a single trip during which visitors can keep the wonderful scenery of the Tianzi Mountain in view.

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