Exploring Zhangjiajie: China’s mystical land of Avatar

in this episode of job we head to whole nonprofit the place that inspired the mystical scenes of floating mountains in James Cameron's Avatar join me in dumb judge Jeff for the most breathtaking jaw-dropping heart-stopping landscapes I've ever seen [Music] today guys yes I'm headed off to tonight well it's not the places that you have to go to China for years I called Raja and you may have heard of it before five if you've watched James Cameron's Avatar exactly the inspiration behind a lot of mountainous theme for the pump yes Sanjay Jha is located in Northwest Hunan province which is in south central China sound confusing still it's easy to get their direct domestic flight from big cities like Beijing Shanghai and Guangzhou from the airport it's a 30 or so Aquila me to drive to the main tourist sightseeing is not on the agenda tonight but checking into a hotel is there's a huge range of accommodation options here especially within and around the unesco-listed ruling um scenic area yeah and lucky me I'm living it up this trip so hello hi Mona Resort and Spa whoa fancy smancy check it out how much space I mean we know we're do myself that's a really big bag and kind of a waste isn't it spending Houston night by myself and such nice ambience and decorations this is the bathroom yep it's about four times the size of my hutong home in Beijing check it out I think I know exactly what I'm going to do tonight run a super duper hot bath and just stay in there for hours all right CJ I'm up early the next morning to find myself surrounded by soft Emerald Hills and one thing where I should start my adventure this is a colossal four-star lodging with five restaurants two-thirds and the number of looks and crannies you can explore like this P house slash library it's stacked full of ancient texts like Hangul monk or dream of the red chain one of China's all great US dollars there's also a calligraphy brush and water is ink to write your own story albeit a momentary one [Music] if you're a fan of tea or maybe just feeling frozen and parched like me you can take part in one of the most deep-rooted customs in this country keep drinking ceremony way legend has it that tea as a drink originated in China almost 5000 years ago when a leaf from a nearby shrub fell into a pot of water which the emperor was boiling so the traditional art of brewing and drinking tea which I'm unfamiliar with like most things requiring a degree of refinement but it's a fascinating experience I'm a tea smells divine and tastes even better you know it's a little bit damp and cold here in Gyeongju but if you manage to peel yourself out of bed and get yourself from the warm room to this charming little teahouse and library think it's the perfect way to spend the wintry morning you know you can devour some Chinese classics like these while drinking some hot tea I admit that I don't actually know how to read most of it well I'm guessing this is how sophisticated Chinese people do it right [Music] sipping tea like a lady and leaking through literature I have come a long way on travelogue haven't I [Music] after that rather dignified start to the day we're headed a little to the northeast of walling um district 2 a subterranean Wonderland stay what about some gojoadventures suppose ideal weather conditions pretty chilly because it's a screening of winter so in fact today is six degrees and cranky but we're headed to a place called upon lock don't the yellow dragon cave said the longest of its kind all of Asia but now that it's raining because we're going to be underground [Music] these caves attract more than 1 million visitors a year but it's off-peak season right now so I won't have to contend with any crowd ticket time it's really cold [Music] yeah any examples origin you don't have an employee practitioner encounter which also a student but here we go Harlan caves are for a rated attraction as assessed by the China National Tourism administration this means they're up there in terms of factors of life accordance transportation safety and sanitation so anyway I figured your cellphone's on the rule car remember lower the amino acid in your homeland okay oh okay it's a bit crazy to think that these caves cover an area bigger than Vatican City and even boast an underground lake oh oh how much bigger than I expected I can walk again we're not terribly warm but no enough much warmer than our survey anthology those shoes for isalta life Sandra Mendenhall hundred especially a small model may see your tables in the image in Germany called Ochoco sin gamma R Chauhan ian has an autonomous region amigo to account in Antigua Safi Thomas from the insertion of the variable only what I definitely situation is about after a bit of clambering up and down we reach what aptly named the Dragon Kings palace I'm the biggest fan of this rainbow-colored being here but I feel like it makes it seem like I'm more complete a weird kind of eerie feel and it's pretty cool and I'm standing now in one of the biggest cluster of stalagmites in this entire cave some of them actually almost 20 meters tall and they say that to take a hundred years for them to grow one centimeter so you do the math that's about 200,000 years long time from starting writing a very long long caves are a drainage system typical of class topography which is formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks like limestone it makes for 15 kilometers of dazzling geography doesn't it our next destination for the guilin vistas of the freshwater barfin lake it's a dreamlike scene complete with glassy rhythms vintage open-air barges luxuriant stone peaks rising from molten services and local vocal entertainers [Music] those are the voices with the torture the seventh largest minority ethnic group in China and the largest in all nonprofits they're renowned for the singing and song confirming abilities meantime I'm just soaking in the enchanting view and they're not so enchanting chill when those just keeps dripping start to fall off I'll show you something if you'll excuse my crack screen it's two degrees of the idea and that's in the city center out here it's five degrees colder which makes us minus three and I can't believe it's column in Beijing and she's wondering right now but yeah I mean it were a bit further south so unexpected anyway it's still nice to be out here in the freezing cold you know with the missus hovering above the lake it it's very deep lake actually I think on average 72 metres deep and the point is like 120 I think the air is nice and fresh invigorating definitely recommend coming here in spring autumn woods now what's better way to distract yourself from the sub-zero temperatures than with some sublime showbiz what do you know there's a whole lot of night time and apparently defined herein sounded it as well this apparently is the world blood clot and Georgia is home to a lot of world records broken hey you guys I am I'm definitely not feeling slightly honestly couldn't be ugly I was most certainly not expecting surface lace plus the hot performance of Cabaret Plus everything verging on sensory overload so it most certainly deserved the selfie video my mates back home [Music] yes epileptic ear-splitting excessive atmosphere is the rather stark contrast to the daytime sightseeing in song judge yet but crush there really is something for everyone here in this tourist City [Applause] [Music] [Applause] coming up next - Zhang Jia Jia I'm in a river every where I look at the most beautiful panoramic me up 20 kilometres from ruling UN National Park is another for a rated tourist site but this time it's over ground way of a ground I'm now at what's probably the most popular attraction in Zhang Jia Jia and it's a jumbo jet Grand Canyon glass bridge it stretches over two gigantic cliff and it's about 430 meters in length and 300 meters above the valley making it the longest and the tallest glass bridge in the entire world now this miniature models are again it makes it look like a bit of a walk in the park but let's tackle the real deal and see how we go VIP entry step one get excited step 2 fashionable Footwear you know what they should put like little mops at the bottom of this so are they can clean the glass as we walk by take it up to good idea I'm here finally a bit unfortunate that it's so cold that there's a Woolery frost all over the glass so you can't actually speak down to the bottom of the valley unfortunately I find that further along there are a couple of panels that have been cleared of the snow nothing happened there's no crack you know I've always considered myself as a person I don't know it's grave was stupid but you know how try everything eat anything not the best at scary movies and I have this really silly pigeon phobia but this is Wow not really usually scared of heights yes this is rarely designed overpass is high up enough to make me contemplate my mortality a little anyone sees alive damn yeah Emma sure enjoyed the man oh shut down below la dama good cycle in high school oh oh this is good this is good clinic we start this bridge would like start vibrating in the wind just a bit of an adrenaline rush whoo this is cool ah apparently there'll be a bungee facility installed here in the future I'll be back again Ben we drive back to rule England which is not only a national e5a rated spot I was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 you might be able to tell that I'm limping a little bit because I busted my knee about a month ago running and seems like I've done it again which is not the best time but luckily there is a cable car that will take us up to the top of tens of mountain and it's really possible with the photographer's because from up there you can see all the landforms that jeongja is really famous for the ride starts pleasantly enough and just gets increasingly spectacular Wow I wouldn't take like a million photos already even though there's glass and scratches on it it will be way better out there but I'm so glad to have brought my very old but still trusty DSLR and I can't wait to get out there onto the platform okay words cannot describe I'm sorry you're just going to have to come here for yourself I always believed Narnia was real perhaps not behind the Wardrobe but it does exist here in China even these are so pretty I really want to [Music] you [Music] it's difficult to peel myself away from that phenomenal fantastical visual buffet but there's much more to see in Jung judges within the ruling UN scenic area there are lots of shuttle buses that can take you from one site to another but all included in your tickets are pretty good very convenient on the way to some more food for the eyes we stopped by UN data which means REM family do it it's an exhibition of tulle gel folk custom which is worth a peek into as today traditional 2d art practices can only be found in the most remote areas so - I'm Charlie I got a little theorem say go mark I see go yeah o shahu different school without useful oh this is pooja Turin has a dongle either so much who's Angela user eventually more feasible so you guys are given something like okay now how they are again oh can you guys do Brianna see how much your mom has a education oh no middle new home from your hazardous you let me show you when we preserve is the fabulous women to the needs of the community Oh pain to come okay cover oh just being a nuisance as usual oh wow shiny into the way by long way uh-huh uh-huh even the back of it looks pretty good to me Stella J infirmed 1.7 two million people and ethnic minorities like the torture make up 73 percent of the population here I can gain some cultural knowledge and some much-needed body raises all I needed for my nipple woman it'll be like the first time I've ever sat under Rufus meet them both speaking of me having sat under smoked meat for a while I'm feeling peckish turns out this interactive medium also sells local snacks this is a lot on the table make some guac Oh interesting never had anyone mystical [Music] and here we are finally you and Jessie this is the breathtaking landscape that is said to have inspired the the hallelujah mountains in James Cameron's Avatar and that one over there that pillar I was actually renamed the avatar hallelujah Mountain and it's just crazy to think that it's more than one kilo meter tall geez now this is where I paint myself blue and jump off the mountain isn't it these colossal columns in this global Geopark for more of the most surreal and mind-boggling sights I've ever seen and really do bring flashbacks to the 2009 epic science fiction film although resembles cast terrain the area is the product of dissolved limestone the precipitous rock formations are ports and sandstone and other results of a on his physical erosion and now the by long elevator what it's actually that Willis outdoor disappears I whoa this time of year too may have played up to six hours in line for this experience so if you're a huge Roald Dahl's and like I was when I was a kid and wanted to be Charlie in the great glass elevator you know what you can it's awesome everything about Christmas life further coming up next on travel log living the dream touristy sightseeing done so it's fun to relax some samples on local life but with Mulder perks of being a tourist next stop young Jagger in the West of woolen um a ticket to rule England scenic area will get you a four-day park park which means access to all attractions of shuttle buses but anything on top of that is extra including cable car rides [Music] you can choose the hike of course but with my bad knee I'm taking a DV and focusing on snapping away not that I could ever forget this evening this is the best weather we've had since coming to John JJ and there the sun's out you can feel the warmth again and the blue sky it's really almost hard to believe that just yesterday you know ten seconds outdoors and I'm going to turn into an ice cube permanently I think stranded is the type of place that you've got to combat four times in your life to succeed in different season say hey this is all going to be saying tonight I'm at number five Bali Resort just two kilometres from the young judge yet park entrance - warning then this is nice when one haha this yeah seamlessly girl you should don't give me a coupon okay well basically do use what you have prepaid of their rule thing on the website yeah so I can give you the K of your room okay perfect this one thank you so our hospital will lead you to the rule okay six thanks kiss I'm a bit of an eager beaver so I don't wait I'll find my own way this is exactly the stuff that I like it's like cozy I've got my own little balcony and teeth that oh girl oh I love this place already especially near the design of it and all the timber and right but everything is just so organic because gamers love and mallet balcony now I'm being spoilt that is nice I'm gonna enjoy the day and at night who wouldn't enjoy a good bonfire patch while being serenaded away [Music] [Music] [Applause] the warmth of the fire and the local downing skewers and beer over conversation for such and pranced around the crackling flames yes that could be a worse way to end the day and there could be a worse way to begin one two it's just blissful out here at number five Valley the undulating hills the rice terraces the sheer cottony risks of clouds the rustic allure of the place I could sit out here for hours if my tea wasn't getting cold I know it's like I'm trying to be all classy again but this time I'm doing my own teaser moon and looking at pictures in the travel trainer guide and really it's just perfect although I can't sit here forever and number-5 Valley Resort is a family-run Lodge and if you've had enough of other travelers and tourist attractions like I have why not get a feel for family life here just grab a basket and go for a harvest especially not something I get to do in Beijing so I'm pretty stoked about opportunity [Music] so much fun being out here you know get breathing this invigorating mountain air and yep it's really light years away from going to the grocery store in Beijing this is a great way to get a taste of local life up here in the relatively remote parts of jungle yet and possibly even learn to cook as well don't know about the taste of that like the eating part so I add almost absolutely no input in cooking process but I help take these veggies and they're delicious in growing light like a paste fresh and take this top I honestly couldn't imagine a better afternoon right now ending with some wholesome home-cooked local Channel [Music] well that's all folks from from Georgia you know managed to survive the Deep Freeze and also managed to avoid being perfectly criminals among bad near life but it was all worth it I got to you know it's some really good cool intervene and hang out with great to jar people and also see some of the most jaw-dropping natural scene like this behind me in the world really so if you think about where to go on your next holiday it's pretty obvious now isn't it catch you next and travelogue [Applause] [Music] and then

Channel: CGTN

Views: 177,996

Rating: 4.8587394 out of 5

Keywords: CCTVNews, News, CGTN, ChinaNews, China, Zhangjiajie, mystical land, travel, magical lake, world’s longest, world’s highest, glass bridge, avatar

Id: MkUZMBAk7rU

Length: 28min 27sec (1707 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 30 2017