Zhangjiajie is home to many monkeys. Some of them sure look innocuous.
I planned to spend several days in the park, so I carried a large bag of groceries with me. I shot photo after photo of the macaques, while guarding my food bag closely. One monkey, about twenty feet away, suddenly rushed at me with unbelievable velocity. I let out a roar and in one fell swoop, I spun to the side and slapped it on the butt. It ran away, but not before digging a single claw into my food bag. From that point forward, I was even more careful. These guys really know how to charge!
Once I had gotten my fill of pictures, I bought three hard-boiled eggs and waited for my turn at the Bailong (百龙, or Hundred Dragons) elevator that would take me 1070 feet up, to the top of the canyon. While I was admiring the elevator, I felt a slight tug at my side. I thought someone was tapping me to get my attention, but it was another bastard macaque! It clawed open my bag and ran away with my eggs. But instead of disappearing into the forest, it simply jumped down to a lower level and ate my eggs in plain view, much to the amusement of the other tourists. Every few seconds, it would look up at me mockingly and let out a screech. Beware!
This one stole my hard-boiled eggs, then jumped down and ate them in front of me. Bastard.
If you're afraid of monkeys, maybe this park isn't for you. You have to walk directly past this disease-ridden macaque to get to the scenery.
Want more? Here's my complete set of photos from Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
