ambtraveler

Zhangjiajie Weekend

Last weekend, Jack and I were finally able to visit Becky up at Zhangjiajie. We had our passports and a four day weekend. We left our school @ 12:30 on Thursday, caught the 4 pm bus to Zhangjiajie and arrived a bit after 8. Had a yummy, Western dinner in town and then headed back to Becky’s abode. We all passed our fairly quickly. Friday morning, Jack and I ventured back in the city and got some nescessities at a store called Many. We made it back to Becky’s school and then made the decision to go to Tianmen Shan. Tianmen mountain is only accessible by cable car and we shared the ride up with two adorable Chinese ladies. The sights were pretty incredible, even through the thick fog and mist that plaugued us for most of the trip. We walked on a section with glass that showed the plummet below. We wrote hopes/wishes and tied them to trees. We visited a gorgeous temple at the top of the one mountain. We then made our way down the mountain again through the throng of Chinese tourists. All in all, it was a great day and we really enjoyed the fresh air and sights. We made our way back into the city to wait for the arrival of Dave and Sarah to join our group.

Saturday was the big day in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The rain held off, but it was still pretty foggy and misty throughout. However, we didn’t let that stop from having fun and taking an array of photos. It really was a gorgeous park from the lower levels of forest and jungle with monkeys everywhere. Beautiful foliage and streams. We then began on hiking upward to witness the spectacular sights of all the mountains. We walked around the mountain, took a bus to the top of another and took a long hike downwards with way too many steps. Still, it was an enjoyable day and we finished it off with a delicious dinner of hot pot. 

Sunday we chillaxed in the am and had some breakfast before everyone parted ways. Dave caught a train out west on an excursion and Jack, Sarah and I caught a bus at 1:40, headed back to Changsha. We did not arrive back in the city until 7:30 and didn’t get back home till after 8. Still an enjoyable weekend and was nice seeing individuals who we had not seen since orientation. On to the next adventure with Halloween in Ningyuan this weekend!