Why people come here

Tianmen Mountain is named for Tianmen Cave, a huge natural arch near the summit believed to have formed when part of the mountain's roof collapsed. Locals call it "Heaven's Gate," and on a clear day you can see straight through it to the sky on the other side. Getting up there is most of the experience: the mountain is reached by a long cable car that climbs from the city almost to the summit, swinging out over cliffs and switchback roads the whole way up.

Once you're up top, a network of cliffside walkways — including sections with glass floors — wraps around the mountain's edge, giving you a straight drop view down to the valley floor with nothing but a few centimetres of glass in between.

Glass skywalk wrapping the cliff edge of Tianmen Mountain
The cliffside glass walkway near the summit.
Photo by Xiquinho Silva on Flickr. Used with permission.

What to actually do

  • Take the cable car up. One of the main draws in its own right, running for several kilometres from the city center up to near the summit — plan for it to take a while, and don't rush it.
  • Climb (or skip) the 999 steps. A steep staircase leads directly up to Tianmen Cave itself, said to represent the nine levels of heaven in Chinese cosmology. There's a shuttle bus alternative if your knees vote no.
  • Walk the glass skywalk. A section of clear glass flooring runs along the cliff face at Tianmen Mountain's edge — genuinely unsettling for the first ten steps, oddly calming by the last ten.
  • Look back at the road below. The mountain road leading up, Tongtian Avenue, is famous in its own right for its 99 hairpin bends — visible in dramatic switchback form from several viewpoints.
Good to know

The glass walkway sections provide cloth shoe covers at the entrance — required, both to protect the glass and to stop you from sliding around on it in regular shoes.

Getting there

Tianmen Mountain sits right at the edge of Zhangjiajie city, making it the easiest major sight in the region to reach — the cable car base station is a short taxi ride from most hotels downtown. It's entirely possible as a half-day trip if you're staying in the city rather than out near the national forest park.