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The winding road on Tianmen Mountain. Photo unattributed –

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain is one of the world’s most beautiful mountains. Tianmen Mountain is a mountain located within Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, China.

Taimen mountain translates to Heaven Door Mountain. The mountain features a “hole” inside of it. 

Taimen mountain or heaven’s gate mountain features breathtaking glass walkways, the world’s longest cable care, and the thrilling 99 Bending Road. 

Tianmen Mountain towers at 1279 meters above sea level, and the cableway’s steepest gradient is 38 degrees. 

1. Tianmen Shan Cable Car ferries visitors from the Zhangjiajie city center to the Air Garden

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by Qa003qa003 –

Tianmen Shan Cable Car ferries visitors from the city center of Zhangjiajie (Hunan Province) to the Air Garden, perched on the summit of Tianmen Mountain. Straddling a distance of 7,455 meters (7.45km), it is often touted by tourism publications in China as the 鈥渓ongest cable car ride in the world,鈥� but in reality, it needs to be qualified as the 鈥渓ongest passenger cableway of high mountains.鈥�

 It takes a total of 28 minutes to cover the entire distance. Meandering below the cable car is Heaven-Linking Avenue, an 11-km road with 99 bends.

Tianmen Mountain towers at 1279 meters above sea level, and the cableway鈥檚 steepest gradient is 38 degrees. Yes, it鈥檚 just a cable car ride, but it鈥檚 still pretty mind-blowing.

2. Glass Skywalk is suspended at 4,690 feet (1430 meters) above sea level.

Top of Tianmen Mountain. The photograph was taken at top of Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China. The photo was taken by Yoo Chung –

A continuous walkway encircles the Tianmen mountaintop. While most of it is made of concrete, one part has floors made of GLASS 鈥� 2.5 inches thick, see-through and all.

Snaking on one face of the cliff, the walkway is suspended at 4,690 feet (1430 meters) above sea level. The glass path is only 200 feet long but, trust me, it doesn鈥檛 feel short.

3. Tianmen Temple is the center of Buddhism

Tianmen Mountain. Photo unattributed –

Tian Men Shan Temple is the center of Buddhism on the western side of Hunan Province. The first temple at the site was built during the Ming Dynasty and had deteriorated over time.

 It has since been rebuilt, with the new structure occupying over 10,000 square meters and using the architectural elements of the Qing dynasty, the last Chinese dynasty. 

4. Tongtian Highway takes visitors to the 鈥淕ateway to Heaven鈥�

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by DMY –

Tongtian Avenue earns its fancy nicknames 鈥� Big Gate Road, Avenue Toward Heaven, Heaven-Linking Avenue for it takes visitors to the 鈥淕ateway to Heaven鈥�, a natural cave crowning one side of the Tianmen Mountain.

Meandering along dangerous cliffsides, the 11-kilometer serpentine road makes 99 sharp turns! That鈥檚 a lot of curves to tackle, with only a few feet separating you from a deadly plunge down the slope!

5. Tianmen Cave is a natural hole that cuts through one side of Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by Qa003qa003 –

Tianmen Cave is a natural hole that cuts through one side of Tianmen Mountain. At 1520 meters above sea level, it is the highest natural arch in the world, earning its nickname 鈥淕ateway to Heaven.鈥� The cave alone is 131.5 meters tall, 57 meters wide, and 60 meters deep. But it wasn鈥檛 always like this.

It used to be an ordinary cave. At the time, the site was called Songliang Mountain until Year 263, when one face of the cliff collapsed and created a door-like opening. The name was then changed to Tianmen, meaning sacred. Today, this gateway has become one of the most iconic structures in Hunan Province.

6. The city of Zhangjiajie during sunset majestic way of ending an already unforgettable trip

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by Qa003qa003 –

Try to ride the cable car back to the city in time for the sunset. From the gondola, you could have a 360-degree view of the landscape including, if your timing is right, the heavenly show when the sun dives into the peaks on the horizon.

Get to view the city and the mountainsides get painted bright orange by the resting sun! It鈥檚 a majestic way of ending an already unforgettable trip to Tianmen Mountain!

7. Nine is an important number in Chinese numerology, representing eternity and living forever

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by Qa003qa003 –

Tianmen Mountain Road is one of the craziest pieces of pavement on Earth. It is known for its 99 hairpin turns, and steep, sharp inclines, so it is also called the 鈥�99 Bends.鈥�

It starts at about 200 meters elevation (656 feet) and ends near the peak at around 1,300 meters elevation (4,265 feet). The road is about 11 kilometers (6.84 miles) in length, total. The road also has a stop at Tianmen Cave, a giant natural arch, around the mid-point.

To reach the cave, 999 鈥渟teps to heaven鈥� must be ascended. Nine is an important number in Chinese numerology, representing eternity and living forever. The exhausting climb up takes about 30 minutes total.

8.  Heaven鈥檚 Gate Cave is an enormous natural arch

Tianmen Mountain. Photo by Photo unattributed – Wikimedia Commons

Tianmen Mountain Cave, or Heaven鈥檚 Gate Cave, is an enormous natural arch, about 135 meters (442.91 feet) in height, and 57 m (187 ft) wide. The arch looks like a gigantic gate into the heavens, and it is what the mountain is named after.

It is great to see on a clear day, because when it is foggy, the fog passes through the arch, obscuring the view as you walk below. The World Wing Suit League held the first and second World Wing Suit Championships at Tianmen cave, with one diver flying through the arch in 2011.

9. Tunnel Escalators in the Tianmen mountain have more people than the 999 steps

Tianmen Mountain. Photo unattributed –

For those who would rather skip the walk, there are escalators leading to and from Tianmen Cave. They cost about 32 CNY (4.53 USD) and take significantly less time.

 Be aware, that the cave is often crowded with tourists, and the escalators may have loaded more people than the 999 steps.

10. Tianmen Mountain Cable Car averages about 1000 passengers per hour

Tianmen Mountain. Photo unattributed –

The cableway leading to the peak of Tianmen Mountain touts itself as the world鈥檚 longest, at 7455 meters (24,459 feet). It averages about 1000 passengers per hour during the high tourist season, with an average trip time of 28 minutes.

In the high season, visitors may have to wait in line for hours for a ride.