REAL LIFE AVATAR MOUNTAINS - 3 Days in Zhangjiajie, China 🇨🇳
Joel and Emilia
Travel Creator
Places (6)
- Zhangjiajie National Park (attraction)
- Golden Whip Stream (attraction)
- Zhangjiajie YOLO Resort (hotel)
- YOLO Sunset (attraction)
- Furong Ancient Town (attraction)
- Tianmen Mountain (attraction)
Trip Timeline
Follow the journey through Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie National Park
张家界国家森林公园
0:03 → 2:03
Zhangjiajie National Park（张家界国家森林公园）
attractionA vast national park in China, famous for its unique natural sandstone pillars and peaks, which served as inspiration for the Hallelujah Mountains in the movie Avatar. It features extensive forests and panoramic views, explored via cable car.
Golden Whip Stream
金鞭溪
4:38 → 5:30
Golden Whip Stream（金鞭溪）
attractionA picturesque walking trail located within the Zhangjiajie National Park, known for its wooden walkways winding alongside a stream with towering natural sandstone pillars.
Joel and Emilia's take
"It's one of the best walks in the park."
Zhangjiajie YOLO Resort
张家界YOLO度假村
11:03 → 11:44
Zhangjiajie YOLO Resort（张家界YOLO度假村）
hotelA resort located within Zhangjiajie National Park, offering accommodation amidst tea plantations. It provides a strategic location to avoid crowds and access private viewpoints.
Joel and Emilia's take
"I just can't recommend booking this enough. If you stay outside the park, you're gonna be stuck in all those queues and stuff, all the big crowds, and it's not gonna be that nice. It's honestly lovely."
YOLO Sunset
YOLO日落观景点
11:45 → 14:12
YOLO Sunset（YOLO日落观景点）
attractionA private viewpoint near Zhangjiajie YOLO Resort, offering panoramic views of the "Avatar Mountains" during sunset, accessible via a short walk through tea plantations.
Joel and Emilia's take
"It's supposed to be beautiful."
Furong Ancient Town
芙蓉古镇
18:04 → 19:59
Furong Ancient Town（芙蓉古镇）
attractionAn ancient town established over 2,000 years ago, famous for a large waterfall that runs directly through its middle. It features traditional Tujia minority architecture and transforms into a magical illuminated scene at night.
Joel and Emilia's take
"How cool does that look? So beautiful. All like the cute cafes and restaurants like overlook it. I've never seen a town like this. At night and in the evening, all the lights turn on, even lights in the waterfall. And apparently, it's amazing. It's supposed to be magical. It actually looks magical. It looks good in the day, but oh my gosh, I've never seen anything like this. It does feel like we're kind of at a Disney park or like a Universal Studios or something. It doesn't feel real. It is so cool how they actually light up the waterfall as well because obviously you wouldn't be able to see it at night, but it just makes this place like a fairy tale."
Tianmen Mountain
天门山
20:04 → 25:16
Tianmen Mountain（天门山）
attractionA famous mountain accessible via one of the world's longest cable car rides, leading to a natural arch known as the 'Gateway to Heaven'. It features extensive trails, temples, and long escalators carved through the mountain.
Joel and Emilia's take
"You need to make sure you book in advance because like the cable cars like sell out. It was a little bit disappointing but I hope this kind of helped you if you are traveling to Janjarji... Just don't come up to Tianmen if it's torrential rain. Yeah, maybe don't recommend that."
Practical tips from this vlog
Useful advice and recommendations
Using shuttle buses in Zhangjiajie National Park
Shuttle buses are available within Zhangjiajie National Park to transport visitors between different scenic spots, which helps manage crowd flow.
Zhangjiajie
Caution with monkeys in the park
I have to confess, I am a bit scared of monkeys. Mostly because in Bali they really kind of attack you and steal your stuff. One tried to steal our water. Oh my god, there's a monkey behind you. Literally just as I was saying that I'm scared of monkeys, they started attacking people's bags. Like if you have a plastic bag or you have any kind of food, they will attack you. They are so clever but it's scary.
Zhangjiajie
Hanging red ribbons for wishes in Zhangjiajie
All these ribbons here, correct me if I'm wrong, are wishes from visitors who have visited the park. So I think you can actually buy one for very cheap and hang them up and it's like a way of hoping a wish comes true.
Zhangjiajie
Tianmen Mountain cable car duration and weather
I am timing the cable car on my stopwatch so I can see how long it actually is. It's so cloudy. We're not gonna be able to see much at the top unless we're above the clouds. So fingers crossed. Hopefully it's gonna be beautifully sunny up there. 28 minutes we're on there, according to my stopwatch. It's quite a long time.
Zhangjiajie
Prepare for rain and clouds at Tianmen Mountain
I made a silly mistake and forgot to bring my raincoat. I didn't quite realize how cloudy it is up here, so I have just purchased this beautiful bright pink poncho, and I'm gonna be matching with all the tour groups. It is not super heavy rain, but we're just in the clouds right now. We're gonna get pretty wet.
Zhangjiajie
Explore on the map
Click any marker to see location details