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The mist glides across hundreds of towering, sandstone pillars topped by trees before plunging down into the green-swathed ravines below. A verbose description of Zhangjiajie's scenery will never quite do the place justice, perhaps this is why the area is such a popular filming and tourist destination. Lying on the border of Hunan, the main draw is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and is made up of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxi Valley, Tianzishan mountain ranges and Baofeng Hu. Avid hikers and nature lovers flock to Zhangjiajie explore the mountains, caves and forests of the area, enjoying one of China's most famed landscapes.

While Zhangjiajie is most known for its unusual sandstone pillars, its caves with their numerous stalactites, underground cataracts and rock formations are also impressive: Huanglongdong and Longwangdong are both worth a visit. The wildlife in the National Forest Park is one of the main draws: giant salamanders, rhesus monkeys and golden pheasants are among the usual suspects you might stumble upon. And if you are not the hiking type, access to many of the mountains and caves has been made easier with paved paths and even a new glass elevator that hoists you smoothly to the top of one of the peaks without you even breaking a sweat. Sixty percent of the city's 1.5 million person strong population are Tujia, Miao and Bai minorities–giving the area a unique cultural feel.

Zhangjiajie city was originally named 'Dayong' and has historical records going back as far as 221 BC. The name Zhangjiajie was assigned in 1994 in order to draw attention to the area after being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The Zhangjiajie region covers an area of 91,563 square kilometers and is made up of two districts: Wulingyuan and Yongding, and two counties, Sangzhi and Cili. The region was at one time heavily under Korean influence, both because of investment and tourism, however, more recently, visitors are flocking in by the thousands from China and other Asian countries [Taiwan]. International tourists are still in the minority.
[www.chinatravel.net/china-destinations/Zhangjiajie/cityin...]

Huang Shan (meaning "Yellow Mountain" in Chinese) is actually a series of 77 mountain peaks in eastern China's Anhui Province. Added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990, Huang Shan is generally regarded as China's most picturesque mountainous area, and it has captivated and inspired artists for hundreds of years. Huang Shan's panoramic clouds views, strangely-shaped rocks, distinctive pine trees, and bubbling hot springs now draw tourists from all over the world, eager to view the "loveliest mountain in China".

The Huang Shan mountains were formed in the Mesozoic era, about 100 million years ago, when an ancient sea disappeared. Later, in the Quaternary, the landscape was molded by glacial action. Although the mountains are not that high (the highest peak is 1873m / 6143ft), the peaks are often enshrouded in mist and fog, and covered in snow during winter months. Because the mountain tops are often above cloud level, they offer spectacular views of the clouds from above (the "cloudsea") and glorious lighting, and Huang Shan is renowned as a photographer's paradise. [Daniel Allen - www.beijing-visitor.com]

Huanglong

Huanglong

This is the photographic record of a train trip from Guiyang to Zhenyuan, showing a typical cross-section of the countryside of Guizhou Province in China; the photos show all aspects of the landscape, the villages, the towns the rivers and mountains, the agricultural methods, the crops (including the rice terraces and paddies), the farmers, the industry and aspects of the infrastructure of southern China.

The photos were taken through an open train window of landscape flashing past at upwards of 60 mph (100 Kmph), so the battles were with movement, camera-shake, focus, lighting, and composition - indeed most composition had to be done of the crop-board. Despite the problems and flaws, for me this is an excellent record of an unforgettable journey - there are a lot of photos and they will take me a while to upload them. Oh, and the journey started around 8 am and took almost 5 hours; there was initially quite a lot of mist.