Shanghai was awesome, but feeling the need to see some of China's natural wonders, I decided I would head to Hunan Province and explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. I slept hard on the overnight train to Changsha, and at seven in the morning found myself doing another train station shuffle with a severe case of bedhead as I searched for the connecting bus to Zhangjiajie City. After a few laps in front of the station with a clueless look on my face, some guy finally took pity on me and offered some guidance after I pointed out the characters for Zhangjiajie in the guidebook - because I definitely didn't know how to say it at the time. I may not speak or read Chinese, but I seem to make it work! The four-hour bus ride took me into a part of China that I hadn't seen yet, revealing a greener landscape, with smaller towns, rolling hills, and terraced agriculture. It was a nice change of scene.
After a night in Zhangjiajie City, I woke up to some rather dreary weather, and it didn't change much on the forty-minute bus ride up to the park's entrance. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is known for its towering quartz-sandstone pillars, created after years of erosion, and as I jumped off the bus and entered the park I started to see them looming in the mist. It was one of those moments where all of a sudden I was hit with a burst of excitement, like a kid in a toy store, I started to feel overwhelmed and almost didn't know where to look. I had to be careful not to hurt myself walking around with my mouth wide open and my nose pointed up at the sky, but then I realized that it might not be a bad thing since seeing the park from the valley floor by stretcher would probably be pretty cool. The crowds were heavy around the park's entrance, but I was quick to find a path less taken, and soon I was all alone, hiking through a dense forest in a city of rock skyscrapers.
The hostel where I was staying was a couple hours in, so my plan was to head there, drop off my bag, and then set out to explore. It didn't look too far away on the map, but in vertical feet it was another story, and after an hour or so on the valley floor I started to climb up into the clouds, literally. The hike was steep, and the mist got thicker with every step. The trail crossed the road about fifty yards from the hostel, and if the fog hadn't been so blinding it would have been an obvious find, but because I couldn't see anything, I made a wrong turn and got lost for a while. When I finally found the hostel, I ditched my bag and set out to escape the fog. But I couldn't. I caught a free shuttle across the park hoping it would improve, but the blanket only got heavier, as did my spirits. I was bummed. I could almost feel these geologic behemoths lurking in the clouds, watching me. And not being able to see them made me curse Mother Nature for her selfishness. I gave up after a while and returned to the hostel where I met a Canadian named John, the only other white guy I came across in the entire park. We said hello to each other, and then just shook our heads in defeat. The fog had trumped all that day.
The next morning wasn't much better, but if anything I thought I could get a good hike in before I left the park. I walked down the road a ways and then made my way into the forest on a trail that followed the edge of cliff. After a while I came across some steps that led down to a lookout and decided I would take a photo. I thought it'd be a good depiction of my experience - a few tree branches overhead and a little observation deck below, perfectly framing a canvas of white haze. But at the very moment I was taking out my camera, it happened... the curtain was lifted! Here I was thinking Mother Nature was being greedy, but it ends up she was just waiting for the perfect reveal. It was amazing how quickly it happened, and then how suddenly I was hit by a wave of chills. Natural environments like that always seem to warp my sense of depth, and having been denied the view until that very moment, I almost couldn't make sense of the vast landscape that lay before me. I almost felt like I could reach out and touch the opposing precipice. It was dizzying.
The rest of the hike was amazing. The path exposed vista after vista of an otherworldly metropolis of granite and sandstone towers, with streets made of twisted rivers and lush forests resting thousands of feet below. Look at the picture on the right, it almost looks like it's floating! It's easy to guess what 2009 blockbuster found inspiration here for it's unearthly backdrop. The hike eventually took me back down to the valley floor, where I strolled along a river and shopped for the perfect photograph. By the end of the day the fog had returned, stealing back the views and leaving me thankful for all that I had seen. I left the park and caught a bus back to Zhangjiajie City, and it was well after dark by the time I checked into my hostel. The girl behind the front desk noticed the big smile on my face and stated that I was happy. I quickly agreed and then immediately broke into an animated pantomime of my adventure in the park. I went to bed tired and happy that night. All I have is this little collage to share, but it doesn't do any justice, you really had to be there. And if you do ever go, I suggest waiting until you get to the top before you open your eyes.
Great post Jesse!
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