Tianmen Mountain, a Glass-Shattering Experience?

Tianmen (天门山) is a famous mountain, located near Zhangjiajie City in China's Hunan Province. Like nearly all famous mountains in China, there's a cable car to the top. In this case, the ride is almost five miles long, making it (maybe) the longest cableway in the world. There are walkways carved into the sides of the mountain that lead you all around its edges, with sweeping views of the landscape, far below.

I rode to the top with my new friend Tony. Before we were allowed to walk on the glass walkway, we had to put red slippers on over our shoes. Unfortunately, I couldn't stretch the tiny slippers over my hiking boots. Two months before this, a similar glass bridge on Yuntai Mountain (云台山) cracked shortly after opening. Officials claimed that even though the glass was cracked, it “will not pose threat to safety.” Despite this airtight endorsement of the safety of the glass floor, I was still apprehensive about walking across this bridge without the protection of the cute red slippers. Against all odds, I managed and tip-toe across, thus avoiding an international incident.

Tianmen Mountain is almost always foggy, and the day I went was no exception. I may not have gotten the greatest views from the top, but luckily for me, this was only a preview of the region's spectacular scenery. More on that later. For now, you'll have to settle for these mediocre photos of Tianmen Mountain:

Pick any popular mountain in China, and I bet you'll find a cable car.

There are still a few villages left in China.

About to enter the clouds.

One of the drop-off points.

The cable car isn't the only way up.

Tianmen Mountain has a sheer cliff.

There's a walkway carved into the mountain. Part of it is glass.

They gave us these slippers so we wouldn't break the glass. They didn't fit over my hiking boots.

I had to tip-toe across the glass walkway.

There's a ladder down the cliff. Uh, no thanks.

There are a few shrines on the mountain.

The Mercedes of bridges.

The walkway has an overhang. I'm sure there's not much of a drop-off.

Don't worry, it's perfectly safe.

You can write your wishes on a red ribbon. Vandalism at its finest.

Ready to head down.

Here's the other way down – a series of seven escalators, each of which was longer than any other escalator I had ever ridden. These led us through a tunnel, carved into the center of the mountain. Holy shit.

At the base of the mountain, far below Tianmen Cave. The cave's mouth is 131 meters tall and 57 meters wide, yet I couldn't see it from here because it was so foggy.

Here are some more of my photos from Tianmen Mountain