Tianmen Mountain Voyage Tips and guide

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Tianmen Mountain (Tianmenshan, 天门山, meaning Heaven's Gate Mountain) is a scenic and historic mountain in Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in northwestern Hunan Province, China.

The mountain has been a site of wonder for Chinese for thousands of years.

The famous arch in the mountain was originally a cave, until the back of the cave collapsed in the year 263, forming the arch. The mountain's name was then changed to reflect this "gate" through which the heavens are visible.

The mountain is accessed from a station near the center of Zhangjiajie, a few minutes walk from the city train and bus stations. Buses and trains from Changsha take approximately four hours to reach Zhangjiajie. There is also an airport on the outskirts of Zhangjiajie, with a somewhat limited schedule of flights.

In Zhangjiajie, you buy a ticket which entitles you to either a cable car ride all the way up the mountain and a ride on the shorter express cable car and then a bus ride down ("A Line"), or the reverse ("B Line"). During cable car maintenence, or in days of increased demand, there can also be "C line" that involves using the bus and the newer cable car both ways. As of April 2025, this ticket costs ¥275, plus a ¥3 "insurance" fee (when you see how steep the stairs are on the mountain, you'll understand why). It is also possible to purchase additional tickets (much cheaper) for a second cable car or an escalator atop the mountain, but the mountain can be perfectly enjoyed without these. These prices are significantly discounted for students (under age 24 with student ID), the elderly, and other groups. Credit cards are not accepted for purchases.

The older cable car from city centre takes about 15 minutes to go up or down the mountain and takes you to a plateau above the famous gate. The bus plus the newer cable car take maybe 40 minutes, including buses in the middle of the route. Keep in mind that this is a very popular site, and you could easily wait an hour in line for either the bus or cable car. If you take the bus + the newer cable car up, the queue is said to be somewhat smaller. On peak dates (like the Chinese New Year), you could wait 4 hours.

The ¥275 fee includes both entrance to the mountain and the transportation up and down.

The escalator line parallel to the cave staircase and another cable car on top of the mountain come at an extra price.

There are 3 glass bridges on top of the mountain, ¥5 each.

The old cable car connects to the top of the mountain. The newer cable car connects to a lower point on the mountain, at the base of the Tianmen Cave staircase. In between these points, there is a free underground escalator (opened 2016 - 7 levels - takes around 15 minutes to transverse!), plus the staircase. If the staircase looks too taxing or dangerous for you (parts of it are VERY steep), there is an additional escalator for pay you can take instead.

At the top of the mountain, there are trails which take you around the edge of the mountain, usually atop cliffs which are hundreds of meters high.

Note that if you take line A (ascend the mountain using the older cable car), you first have to walk around the top of the mountain, and only afterwards go to the Tianmen Cave Gate, because you can only take the elevators once.

Use openstreetmap (OsmAnd, mapy.cz or any other frontend) to find your way on these trails.

On a clear day, there are stunning views of the surroundings for dozens of kilometers away.

Even on a hazy or foggy day, the mountain itself and immediately adjacent mountains look spectacular.

• Take pictures!
• Walk on a short glass-floored section of the walkway, which overhangs a cliff hundreds of meters high. Some will find this scary.

Souvenirs and food can be bought at a number of points on the mountain.

There is plenty of small shops with water and soft drinks.

Any hotel in central Zhangjiajie will provide convenient access to the cable car station.

Try to get the phone number of the hotel before coming, because it may be difficult to find (maps for this area can be incomplete) and the taxi driver might not know where to go. In one case, the hotel name given on a web site was completely incorrect (though the ticket was bought correctly), and the taxi driver only managed to find the hotel by looking at an image of the hotel facade!

The mountain has 4G/5G coverage.

• Wulingyuan Scenic Area is the other major attraction in the area.