Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie Overview
Located in the northwest of Hunan province, about 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) away from Changsha, capital of Hunan, the famous tourist city of Zhangjiajie is home of China's first forest park-the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park-and a World Natural Heritage site Wulingyuan. It comprises the districts of Yongding, Cili and Sangzhi counties, covering a total area of 9,563 square kilometers (3,674 square miles). Zhangjiajie has a population of 1.6 million (2005), almost 72 percent of which belong to ethnic minority groups, including Tujia, Bai and Miao nationalities.
History
Zhangjiajie gained its name from the famous figure Zhang Liang, a lord in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), who lived here in seclusion and was buried below Qingyan (now Zhangjiajie) Mountain. Zhangjiajie used to be part of the kingdom of Chu in the Dynasties of Shang (16th - 11th century BC), Western Zhou (11th century BC-771 BC) and Warring States period (476 BC-221 BC); and belonged to Wuling prefecture in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties; to Lizhou prefecture in the Dynasties of Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644-1911).
Landform
The landform is complex in Zhangjiajie, including mountains, lava, hills and plains. Mountainous area takes up 76 percent of the total. The entire area is covered with towering cliffs of sandstone of quartz and dense unspoiled forests that conceal fantastic caves full of stalactites and stalagmites, which are very rare in the world. The city is higher on the northwest, and tilts along Li River to the south.
Climate
Zhangjiajie falls into the category of subtropical humid monsoon climate. Splendid mountains and thick trees help form a favorable climate: warm in winter and cool in summer. It has enough sunshine, rich rainwater and long frost-free period. The annual average sunshine hours, temperature, the amount of rainfall is 1,440 hours, 16 degree Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and 1,400 millimeters (55 inches) respectively. The climate of this kind benefits the total development of agriculture, forestry, husbandry, subsidiary and fishery.
Tourist Sites
As a rising tourist city, Zhangjiajie is well noted of its unique natural scenery and abundant tourism resources. There are over 300 marvelous scenic spots in Zhangjiajie such as Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Emperor Mountain reserve and Suoxi Gully reserve as its core, and Maoyan River, Nine-Heaven cave, Five-Thunder Mountain, and the Universal Light Temple as its satellite tourist resorts. Wulingyuan District was listed into the World Natural Heritage Catalogue by the UNESCO in 1992. What's more, Zhangjiajie was awarded the title of 'World Geological Park' in 2004.
What to see: Phoenix Town, Wulingyuan Scenic Area
