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Travel Monday: A Photo Trip to Zhangjiajie (27 photos)

In Hunan Province, in south central China, sits Zhangjiajie, a large prefecture-level city containing spectacular landforms and parks. These include Tianmen Mountain and the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which encompasses the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, Yangjiajie Scenic Area, and more. The region is famous for its towering quartzite cliffs, said to have inspired the filmmakers of the 2009 film Avatar.  While Wulingyuan was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, the area has seen recent development to accommodate and attract tourists, including the construction of glass-bottomed walkways and bridges, cable-car systems, and observation elevators. Here, a collection of images of the soaring landscape around Zhangjiajie.

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Switchbacks on the “Heaven-Linking Avenue,” the winding road up to Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, China. (KoM-KoM / Shutterstock)
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https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/05/travel-monday-a-photo-trip-to-zhangjiajie/559817/