Yuanjiajie, Zhangjiajie: Avatar Hallelujah Mountain Guide

By Tian, Founder · China Fantasy Travel (local team) · Updated October 2026

Key facts

What Yuanjiajie is

Yuanjiajie is not a valley or a single mountain. It is the edge of a high plateau inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, between the Golden Whip Stream valley and Tianzi Mountain, and from its walkways you look across a field of quartz-sandstone pillars, many over 200 metres tall. The pillars look as if they float when low cloud hides their bases; that happens most often on a morning after rain.

The pillar in the film posters is here. The Southern Sky Column, about 1,080 m above sea level, was renamed “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain” in January 2010 after the film. For what the film did and did not shoot in Zhangjiajie, see our page on where Avatar was filmed. This page is about the visit itself.

Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie and Golden Whip Stream are all on the same park ticket. Tianmen Mountain and the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge are not: they are separate parks with separate tickets, and each takes its own day.

Getting up: elevator, cable car and bus, or on foot

The Bailong Elevator. A glass-sided elevator built into the cliff face, 326 m tall; Guinness World Records lists it as the tallest outdoor elevator (2015). The ride starts inside the rock, in the dark. Halfway up, the cabin comes out onto the open steel frame and the pillars appear. That moment is why most visitors want to ride it up rather than down, and why the early East Gate time slots for Line B fill first. It takes you from the valley floor near Shuiraosimen (the valley junction where Golden Whip Stream ends) straight to the Yuanjiajie clifftop. There is no time slot for the elevator itself; only your park gate and entry slot are booked in advance.

There are three elevators. The queue up is usually longer than the queue down, and in the summer holidays and at Spring Festival even the queue down can reach nearly an hour. There is no paid lane that shortens the queue. One visitor in July 2026 who entered at the East Gate before 08:00 boarded the shuttle bus without queuing and was at the elevator in about 20 minutes; by mid-morning the elevator queue is the longest of the day. Hours, queues and maintenance in detail: our Bailong Elevator guide.

Tianzi cable car up, then the bus across (Line A). Ride the Tianzi cable car up first, see Tianzi Mountain and Yangjiajie, and arrive at Yuanjiajie by shuttle bus in the afternoon, then take the elevator down. A visitor in October 2026 who did this reached Yuanjiajie at about 15:00 and describes it as the quieter way to see the viewpoints; an April 2026 visitor found the queue down longer than the queue up at about 15:40. On light, the same October visitor noted that at Tianzi Mountain and Yangjiajie the main faces point west and were backlit in the morning, while Yuanjiajie was front-lit in the morning and side-lit after about 15:00. If photos of the Avatar pillar matter most to you, that favours Line B.

Luancuan Slope, on foot. A steep stone-step trail of about 2.3 km from the middle of Golden Whip Stream up to Yuanjiajie, about 1.5 hours up, for strong hikers. It has closed at times: one visitor found it closed around the Qingming holiday in April 2026, another walked it the same month, and it was open in September 2026. It is an optional route; if you want to walk it, we confirm it is open before your trip.

Which gate

Many first-day visitors enter at the East Gate (Wujiayu) on the Wulingyuan town side. You stay on the shuttle bus past Ten-Mile Gallery and Shuiraosimen to the elevator’s lower station; one visitor in July 2026 timed the ride at about 20 minutes. East Gate tickets are sold as Line A or Line B.

The Middle Gate (Zimugang ticket station) is the nearest gate to the elevator, with a direct shuttle bus to the lower station, and a July 2026 visitor describes it as much quieter than the East Gate. It suits a visit to Yuanjiajie alone: elevator up, the clifftop walk, then either back along the walkway and the elevator down (a second CNY 65) and the bus to the Middle Gate, or the shuttle bus across to Tianzi Mountain and the cable car down. Tickets are booked by gate and by time slot, so the gate is chosen when you buy, not when you arrive. Where each gate is and how to reach it: our page on which gate to use.

At the top: the 1.1 km walk and the three viewpoints

From the elevator’s top station, after the viewing platform beside it, it is about 1.1 km on foot to the shuttle bus stop, then a short bus ride to Mihun Platform. This stretch, not the viewpoints, is the longest walk of the day, and it is the part to plan around if someone in your group walks slowly.

The clifftop walkway has railings and is mostly level. Walking it from one end to the other, with the viewpoints, takes 1 to 3 hours depending on how many you stop at:

• Mihun Platform (“the platform that bewitches”): the first wide view over the pillars.
• Avatar Hallelujah Mountain: the renamed Southern Sky Column, with the sign and the crowds. Go early or late for a clear shot. One visitor in August 2026 found a clear, uncrowded angle on the pillar from a small iron footbridge on the path towards First Bridge Under Heaven.
• First Bridge Under Heaven: a natural stone bridge joining two pillars, about 25 m across and about 357 m above the valley floor. Walk across and look back at it. For most visitors the walkway ends here; the shuttle bus stop is beside the bridge.

From First Bridge Under Heaven the shuttle bus runs to the Wulong Village car park at Yangjiajie (about 20 minutes by one July 2026 visitor’s timing) and on to He Long Park on Tianzi Mountain, so you do not have to walk back the way you came.

One day: Yuanjiajie with Yangjiajie and Tianzi Mountain

The route we use most, sold at the East Gate as Line B: shuttle bus to the Bailong Elevator, up, the Yuanjiajie walk to First Bridge Under Heaven, bus to the Wulong Village car park at Yangjiajie, bus to Tianzi Mountain, Tianzi cable car down, bus out. The main route is one way.

What to do at each stop, as our guides run the day and as visitors described it in 2026:

• Yangjiajie. From the Wulong Village car park it is about 5 minutes on foot to the Natural Great Wall viewpoint, the long rock walls seen side-on. Most visitors see that and get back on the bus. The Wulong Village and Tianbo Mansion trail beyond it has one-person-wide gaps, and Yibudengtian (“one step to heaven”) took one visitor about an hour there and back: not for older travellers or anyone unsteady.
• Dianjiangtai and Shentangwan. On the bus between Yangjiajie and Tianzi Mountain, ask the driver to stop at Shentangwan. Two quiet viewpoints a short walk apart; far fewer people than He Long Park. Allow about an hour for both.
• Tianzi Mountain. He Long Park is the commercial hub of the plateau, with restaurants and fast food nearby, and the viewpoints (Imperial Writing Brush Peak, Fairies Presenting Flowers) are short walks from the bus stops. Then the bus to the cable car’s upper station and about 6.5 minutes down.

Do not leave the descent until closing time: on busy days there is a queue for the Tianzi cable car down. A visitor in August 2026 who entered at 11:00 was out of the East Gate at 19:00 after about an hour in that queue.

The reverse, Line A, is the choice for busy dates (the summer holidays, Spring Festival, the October holiday week) or when you want fewer people on the viewpoints: Tianzi cable car up, Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie, Yuanjiajie in the afternoon, elevator down to Shuiraosimen. One April 2026 visitor timed the buses at about 20 minutes from Tianzi Mountain to Yangjiajie and about 15 minutes on to Yuanjiajie. From Shuiraosimen you can walk a stretch of Golden Whip Stream from its far end and come back the same way.

Golden Whip Stream in full (about 6.5 km, 2 to 3 hours) does not fit into this day. Give it its own morning from the park’s South Gate, on the city side, together with Huangshizhai, the clifftop area above that end of the stream. Distances for all the trails: our page on hiking in Zhangjiajie.

When the elevator is under maintenance

There is no fixed maintenance date. In 2026 the operator has stopped one elevator at a time while the other two run, cutting capacity by about a third, as during 1 to 6 June 2026. The operator’s suggested alternatives: travel off-peak, take the Tianzi cable car or the Yangjiajie cable car and cross by shuttle bus, or walk up or down Luancuan Slope. If maintenance falls on your dates, we plan the day around the cable cars instead.

With older travellers

The elevator itself has barrier-free access, and the clifftop walkways have railings. The difficulty is the 1.1 km walk from the top station to the bus stop. Foreign visitors aged 65 and over enter the Forest Park free, but the elevator and the cable cars have no senior price for foreign visitors. Skip the Yangjiajie trails beyond the Natural Great Wall. If that walk is too far for someone in your group, tell us when you plan and we will build the day around it.

What to wear and bring

The walkways are stone and stay damp; wear shoes with grip. The clifftop is cooler than the valley: a visitor on 8 October 2026 reported 20 °C in the morning and 25 °C at midday, comfortable in a T-shirt with a windbreaker for the top. Carry a light rain layer in any season. There are monkeys along Golden Whip Stream; keep food packed away on the clifftop as well.

Plan your visit with us

We live in Zhangjiajie. Tell us your dates and who is coming on our plan my trip page, and we will book the right gate, line and time slot, and set the order of the day to the queues. Private tours only, with an English-speaking guide and a private driver.

Frequently asked questions

Is Yuanjiajie the same as the Avatar mountains?

Yes. The pillars around Yuanjiajie are what people call the Avatar mountains, and the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain, the renamed Southern Sky Column, stands here. The viewpoints on the clifftop walkway are where the familiar photos are taken. Tianzi Mountain, across the valley, looks over the same field of pillars from higher up.

Do I need a separate ticket for Yuanjiajie?

No. It is covered by the Forest Park ticket, CNY 165 for 4 consecutive days, or CNY 236 with the shuttle bus. The Bailong Elevator is extra, CNY 65 one way, and so is the Tianzi cable car, CNY 72 one way. All the prices in one place: our page on tickets and costs.

Elevator up or elevator down?

Up, if you can. The ride starts in the dark inside the rock and opens onto the pillars halfway, which is lost on the way down. That is why the early East Gate time slots for Line B fill first. On busy dates, Line A (cable car up, elevator down) gives you the same viewpoints with fewer people.

Can I get up without the elevator?

Yes. Take the Tianzi cable car up and cross to Yuanjiajie by shuttle bus (Line A). Luancuan Slope, about 2.3 km of steep steps from Golden Whip Stream, is the walking route for strong hikers, an optional way up that has closed at times; we confirm it is open before your trip.

How long does Yuanjiajie take?

1 to 3 hours on the clifftop walkway, depending on how many viewpoints you stop at, plus about 1.1 km on foot from the elevator’s top station to the bus stop. With Yangjiajie and Tianzi Mountain it fills a full day; with Golden Whip Stream as well, you need two.

Can older travellers do it?

Most can. The walkways are railed and mostly level, and the elevator has barrier-free access. The hard part is the 1.1 km walk from the top station to the bus stop; tell us if that is too far and we plan around it, and we leave out the narrow Yangjiajie trails beyond the Natural Great Wall.

Which gate should I book for Yuanjiajie?

The East Gate (Wujiayu) for the full-day loop, as Line A or Line B. The Middle Gate (Zimugang) is nearest the elevator and quieter, and suits a visit to Yuanjiajie alone, coming down by the elevator again or crossing to Tianzi Mountain for the cable car.

Sources and data notes

• Park ticket (CNY 165, 4 consecutive days; CNY 236 with the shuttle bus): the Wulingyuan District tourism bureau ticket page, which cites Hunan pricing document No. 977 of 2024. Checked 4 October 2026.
• Bailong Elevator price (CNY 65 one way, no return ticket) and Tianzi cable car price (CNY 72 one way): the Wulingyuan District tourism bureau ticket page, checked 4 October 2026. Elevator hours, queues and maintenance: the elevator operator’s notices and visitors’ trip reports from 2026, reviewed September 2026.
• Elevator height and record: Guinness World Records, tallest outdoor elevator, 326 m, 2015.
• Renaming of the Southern Sky Column (January 2010) and its height: Zhangjiajie park administration, as cited on our Forest Park guide. First Bridge Under Heaven dimensions (about 25 m across, about 357 m above the valley floor): published guides and visitors’ reports, checked 9 October 2026.
• Walk from the top station to the bus stop (about 1.1 km) and the shuttle bus route via Mihun Platform and First Bridge Under Heaven: park route signs and the park administration’s eco-bus notice, checked 17 August 2026.
• Luancuan Slope (about 2.3 km, about 1.5 hours up): park signs, checked September 2026; closures and reopenings from visitors’ reports.
• Line A and Line B at the East Gate: confirmed with the park by our team by telephone on 26 September 2026.
• Free Forest Park entry for foreign visitors aged 65 and over, and no senior price on the elevator or cable cars: the park’s concession rules, as on our Bailong Elevator guide.
• Queue times, bus times between stops, light at the viewpoints, clothing: nine visitors’ trip reports from April to October 2026, each attributed in the text to a single visitor where only one reported it, compared with our own experience where we could. Opening times, queues and trail openings change; we check them again for your travel dates.

See also: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park guide · Bailong Elevator guide · Tianzi Mountain · which gate to use · where Avatar was filmed · hiking in Zhangjiajie · free English map of the park · tickets and costs · 3-day Zhangjiajie private tour.