Zhangjiajie

A shot from the famous “Avatar Mountains” of China.

I think I got a little bit tired that day from walking around staring at the same mountains for like 8 hours, but it’s still honestly such a magical experience seeing these mountains in person. These columns of rock are HUGE, and the whole time I was kinda thinking “yo what if one of these things just collapsed right now, that’d be kinda crazy.” Seeing the intense contrast of light and shadow being cast by these pillars along with the all the thick shrubbery and trees was a sight very different from what I’ve seen in the Rocky Mountains. There was just such an unreal amount of detail and resolution in any small point of interest that I looked at.

The whole area definitely felt very “touristed” though. At so many of the sight-seeing ledges, there were these dudes selling drone photography services where I guess either they or you could operate a drone and record a video or take photos for somewhere near 100 RMB (~$20 CAD). But these machines were so loud and they’d just be flying them around even when no one was actually buying their service. I guess it works as a form of advertising. There was also a whole proper McDonald’s establishment just set up on the top of one of the moutains. So if you ever feel like catching a gorgeous sunset over the mountains while eating a fresh Big Mac, this is your place to be.

Coming from Alberta, where the Rockies have very minimal servicing and infrastructure, it felt like I was receiving a very curated experience that for me took away from what should have just been a beautiful natural wonder. I’d still recommend visiting though, just don’t expect it to be only yourself and nature.

Bare mans up there nam sayin?