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Tianmen Mountains are in the northern Hunan
Province of China, near the city of Dayong. (Many
people are confused by the name Tianmen that is
similar to the infamous Tiananmen Square, in
Bejing, thousands of miles away) To reach the
summit you can take the Tongtian (avenue toward
heaven) highway which has 99 sharp turns. At its
end you have to climb the Tianti (ladder to
heaven) stairs which has 999 steps. It is perhaps
the Chinese way to reach heaven, scared to death
by the road and out of breath from climbing! But
all the effort is worthwhile by the magnificent
things at the top. You will find there

a collapsed cave that is
now a
natural
stone arch, a beautiful

temple and breathtaking views.
Dayong city(today Zhangjiajie) with Tiamen
mountains nearby
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The mountain is located only 7 miles (11Km) from
the city.
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You go around a big hill
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and start climbing and turning.The road rises
3600 feet (1100m) from an elevation of 200 m to
1300 m above sea level.
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The road construction started in 1998 and ended
in 2005, with a total cost of only US13.2
million.
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The road rises steeply according to the form of
the mountain. The 99 bends link closely with each
other and pile up in layers, making a pattern of
a circling flying dragon reaching the skyline.
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Are you already dizzy only by looking at the
curves? Do not distract the driver, he may lose
control!
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Fortunately there is also another way to reach
the summit. There is a cable car that starts from
the city and travels 4.7 miles (7.5 Km) raising
in elevation 4200 feet (1280 m) and reaching near
the summit.
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It costs 38 for a round trip, but it is worth
the money for the great views en route.
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There are 98 cars, each for 8 persons.
The cars are weatherproof, but still you will not
want to be inside during a storm.
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The cable car was designed to be safe even during
an earthquake.
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Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave
with the highest elevation in the world. Tianmen
Cave runs south-north having a height of 434 feet
(131.5 meters), a width of 188 feet (57 meters)
and a depth of 200 feet (60 meters). It is much
like a gate pointing towards heaven.
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Tianmen Shan may be unique among the world's
great arches in that its formation is recorded in
history. Documents from China's "Three Kingdoms"
period report that the entire opening formed in
one cataclysmic event when the back of a huge
cave collapsed in 263 AD. Thus, Tianmen Shan is
also one of the very few natural arches with a
precisely known age.
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Cable car or bus, you still have to climb the
upper stairs if you want to reach the bottom of
the arch.
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The back side of the natural arch.
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In modern times, Tianmen Shan has become a target
for stunt fliers. This is due to its location
close to the Zhangjiajie airport, as well as its
large opening. In 1999, international stunt
flying aces piloted planes to fly through Tianmen
Cave for the very first time. 800 million people
watched the live coverage. In 2006, the Russian
Air Force Aerobatic Flight Show was held in
Zhangjiajie and many planes flew through the
arch.
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Going down should be much easier.
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At the western side of the mountain summit you
can find the newly built Tianmen Temple with an
area of 109,000 square feet (10,000 square
meters).Before the new temple was built, there
was a smaller temple in the same location in
which Buddhist Pilgrims had worshiped since the
Ming Dynasty 400 years ago.
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Hiking near the mountain rewards the visitor with
great views.
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Bye-Bye Tianmen Mountains
I hope one day I will come to visit
You can watch a 6 minute movie of flights
through the arch by clicking here
Presentation by Dan Calistratdcalistrat
_at_aol.comPictures from InternetJuly 2010
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vFu8S5vn6ShI
You may need to close the presentation in order
to see the movie.