UNESCO World Heritage SiteNational 5A Scenic AreaCentral China
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
张家界国家森林公园 · Hunan, Zhangjiajie
Thousands of towering quartz-sandstone pillars rising from misty forest that inspired the film 'Avatar'.
Zhangjiajie is a surreal landscape of over 3,000 slender quartz-sandstone pillars rising from primeval forest, often wrapped in mist. Glass bridges, cliff-side walkways and cable cars connect viewpoints with names like 'Avatar Hallelujah Mountain', and the wider Wulingyuan area includes caves, lakes and the dramatic Tianmen Mountain.
The pillars formed over hundreds of millions of years as water eroded a vast sandstone plateau into towers. Wulingyuan Scenic Area, encompassing the forest park, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992 for its extraordinary scenery, later becoming a global tourist icon after inspiring the floating mountains in Avatar.
Day-by-day routes you won't find online — now starting with an 8-day, 1,500 km loop through western Sichuan. New regions are added regularly; tell us where you want to drive next.
