Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon (Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge)
Located in Cili county of Zhangjiajie city in middle China’s Hunan Province, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is in close vicinity to the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site Wulingyuan National Park. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is a must-visit site on Zhangjiajie tours, and much favored by explorers and lovers of great outdoor from home and abroad, by featuring typical Zhangjiajie landform, breathtaking cliffs, lush forests, ancient caves, colorful ponds, and a river running through the canyon.
What’s more, visitors can expect all sorts of sceneries of the North Temperate Zone here. Therefore, the canyon is ideal for exciting adventures by hiking, boating, challenging the strop sliding, and walking on the world’s highest and longest glass bridge.
Legend has that there were a number of rotten ship planks flowing out of the spring, but no one knew where they had been come from, thus Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon was originally named Luanchuan Canyon (烂船峡, làn chuán xiá, literally rotten ship planks canyon). It was also called Luanquan Canyon (乱泉峡,literally multitudinous springs canyon), as it is dotted with masses of springs, streams and waterfalls on the mountain cliffs of the canyon.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Facts
Highlights of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
The full name of Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge is Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Yuntiandu Glass Bridge (张家界大峡谷云天渡玻璃桥). It’s the world’s highest and longest glass-bottom bridge connecting Lishuya and Wuwang slopes. The vertical drop from the bridge deck to the valley floor is 300 meters with a designed main span of 430 meters. It was recognized as one of the "11 most spectacular bridges in the world" by CNN.
The thrilling glass bridge is an architecture wonder designed by Haim Dotan and made up of transparent glass with a bungee jump platform at the bridge center, where you can try the highest bungee jumping in the world, while at the same time having a panoramic view of the majestic Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon.Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge was officially put into operation on August 20, 2016, which took about nine years from project initiation to completion. The bridge is composed of steel structure and glass with a bridge deck of 375 meters long and a width of 6 to 15 meters. From a distance, the glass bridge is as thin as a cicada's wing and looms in the clouds and mist.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge has two bungee jumping platforms. The bungee jumping platform located in the middle of the bridge below the glass body has a vertical drop of 260 meters (853 feet), far exceeding the 233-meter (764-foot) high Macau Tower, making it the world's highest commercial bungee jumping platform. Bungee jumping here provides not only thrill but also excellent views of the canyon.
Recommended Zhangjiajie Tour:
★ 3-day Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Tour with Glass Bridge
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Zip Line
The zip line (高空滑索) is also an exhilarating thing to do at Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, which offers the experience to fly over canyons in three minutes. Linking the Glass Bridge and Yilianyoumeng scenic spot (一帘幽梦景区), Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Zip Line consists of six sets of 12 reciprocating zip lines, totaling 358 meters in length with a 302-meter drop in elevation.
This system works according to the weight power traction technology on the basis of two cable-stayed wire ropes. Visitors use their own weight to swing from one mountain to another quickly by sitting on a chair with a safety jacket. It belongs to the low carbon project, without using any power or energy.
The experience is breathtaking and exciting, which does not only shorten the distance to go downhill, but also offer a chance to admire the Laroukeng and Yanzi Cave scenic spots of the grand canyon from the air.
Sky Strip Slide
The Sky Strip Slide (Yixiantian Huadao, 一线天滑道) is another speedy way down to the bottom of the canyon, in case you are not interested in bungee jumping and zip lining. The slide is about 500m long with lush trees on both hands. You can adjust the speed by hand to enjoy the tranquil forest.
Sky Strip Slide& Sky Ladder
They are the main attractions in Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. “A Strip of Sky” is a natural spectacle and 5 kilometers long, with a stream of more than 3,000 meters long and has a vertical depth of nearly 200 meters. It is a cliff crevices formed by running water for hundreds of millions of years in Zhaojiya reservoir area. The narrowest part of the two cliffs is only one meter wide. Visitors can enjoy steep mountains, flying waterfalls, gurgling spring, fresh air and original ecology here.
Connected with A Strip of Sky, the Sky Ladder is a wooden walkway, narrow and steep. When walking on it, visitors feel like walking on the road to the sky.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Hiking Route
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon hiking takes 3 - 4 hours, and begins with a long and narrow vertical gap between two mountain cliffs known as a gleam of the sky (一线天), with the sun light shining through the gap. A 700-meter-long trail of steep stairs lined with the iron railings leads down the Canyon. The elevation difference between the gap on the top and the canyon on the bottom is over 300 meters. As you descend, some stairs are so steep that they look nearly vertical. However, you will find it is most rewarding when passing through the beautiful, tranquil sceneries, despite the wobbly legs.
Halfway down, there is a 600-meter-long marble slide, winding its way down to the bottom of the valley (it is optional, you can also choose to hike down). Visitors are given a thick canvas to tie around the waist and a pair of gloves to protect the hands (cost 20 RMB in total). You will learn how to control the speed of sliding down and have a lot of fun. After another one hour walking, you will be taken by a boat down a river towards the exit. Just enjoy the relaxed time on boat!
Thousand-year-old Vine
The branches of the vine stretch across almost half of the stone wall. The vine's trunk measures 38 centimeters in diameter, a testament to its age of over 1,000 years old. Furthermore, to the right of the stone wall lies another ancient vine. Locals say the one on the right is the male vine, and the one on the left is the female.
Southern Red Flag Canal
The Southern Red Flag Canal (南方红旗渠) channels spring water from Shenquan Creek (神泉溪) along a winding path over a cliff, stretches over ten kilometers. It is about one meter wide and one meter deep, with a flow rate of 0.5 cubic meters per second.
The Southern Red Flag Canal a man-made miracle created by the local Tujia people. The construction of the canal began in 1964 and took seven years to complete in 1971, providing irrigation and drinking water solutions for the residents of eight surrounding villages.
Recommended Routes to Visit Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon
There are two gates of the Grand Canyon. The North Gate is located at the foot of the mountain, while the Southwest Gate at the top of the mountain. The North Gate only serves as an exit. Therefore, visitors usually enter from the Southwest Gate, explore the canyon, and then exit from the North Gate. If you only come here to experience the Glass Brdige, you can return the way you came, exiting from the Southwest Gate. Here we provide two routes for your inspiration:
Route A
Tourist Center → A Strip of Sky → Rainbow Square → walk in the canyon for about three kilometers → Holy Spring Lake (Shenquan Lake) Cruise → Exit of the Canyon This route is more friendly for those who have a phobia of heights. However, it requires a lot walk, including steep steps. If you’d like to shorten the walk, you can buy a separate ticket to take the Sky Strip Slide.
Route B
Tourist Center → Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge → Qiaodong Experience Center → Glass Plank Road Flying VR → Sightseeing Elevators → Rainbow Lake Cruise → Rainbow Square → walk in the canyon for 3 km → Holy Spring Lake Cruise → Exit of the Canyon
Recommended Zhangjiajie Tour:
★ 5-day Best of Zhangjiajie Tour with Glass Bridge and Tianmen Mountain
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Opening Hours
How to get to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon by public transport
1. From Zhangjiajie city center: take bus from Central Bus Station to Jiangya Hot Spring (usually depart every one hour), arrive at the parking lot at the exit of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, and then change for the shuttle bus (free of charge) to the ticket office.
2. From Wulingyuan Scenic Area: there are regular tourist buses running from Wulingyuan Bus Station to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. It takes 30 to 40 minutes.
