Tianzi Mountain: where you look down on the whole forest of peaks

The name

At the end of the Yuan dynasty and the start of the Ming, the Tujia leader Xiang Dakun rose against the court here and styled himself the “Son of Heaven” — Tianzi. His rising was crushed in 1385 and he is said to have thrown himself from the cliffs at Shentang Bay. The mountain has carried his title ever since, and Shentang Bay is still a gorge you can only look down into.

What is on top

The shuttle bus stop called “Tianzi Mountain” is He Long Park. The park holds the bronze statue of Marshal He Long, unveiled in 1986, 6.5 m tall and, with his horse, more than nine tonnes; beside it the six-storey Tianzi Pavilion rises about 30 m. The Imperial Brush Peaks (Yubifeng), the Fairy Scattering Flowers (Xiannü Sanhua) and Yunqing Rock are all inside the park, five to ten minutes from the bus stop on level, railed paths. The Brush Peaks are a row of slender pillars standing like pens in a holder; the Fairy is a lone pillar with trees on its crown; Yunqing Rock is the big platform from which you look out over the West Sea stone forest.

For fewer people, go one stop further. From He Long Park the bus takes about three minutes to Shentang Bay and Dianjiangtai; a walk of about eight minutes downhill brings you to a railed platform on three levels. The two are next to each other and take about an hour together. Tell the driver you want Shentangwan when you board. Daguantai, near the Sancha junction, gives the best angle on the wall of peaks. These secondary viewpoints can close at short notice; ask at the gate on the day.

Kongzhong Tianyuan, the “fields in the sky”, is a stretch of terraced rice fields on a cliff edge with two platforms beyond them that face the Bailong Elevator and the Yuanjiajie pillars. You reach it by an electric cart from the Sancha junction, run by a separate company: about ¥64 return and some twenty minutes each way, not covered by the park or shuttle ticket. The fields are at their best when the rice is ripe. Confirm the cart before you count on it.

When the cloud sea comes

The classic view needs a clear morning after rain, most often between half past six and half past eight, from Dianjiangtai, Shentang Bay or Yunqing Rock. When the cloud is too thick the far view goes, and the near pillars drift in and out of the mist — a different kind of morning, not a lost one. It is noticeably colder up here than in the city; bring a layer. More on how to read the forecast on the weather page.

The cable car

The line runs about 2.1 km with a rise of about 690 m and takes a little over six minutes; ¥72 one way, ¥36 at the half fare, and only one-way tickets are sold. Since it was enlarged in 2016 it carries up to 2,100 people an hour. It stops for about two weeks of maintenance early each year — in 2026 from 5 to 16 January — and the mountain stays open while it does: go up by the Bailong Elevator or the Yangjiajie cable car and take the shuttle bus across. Prices and timetables last checked October 2026; they change — treat them as a guide, not a quote.

Fitting it into a day

From the East Gate the standard tickets are Line A — Tianzi cable car up, Bailong Elevator down — and Line B, the reverse. The day we would plan: Bailong up to Yuanjiajie, walk the cliff path, shuttle bus across to Tianzi Mountain, see He Long Park and the West Sea, cable car down, bus out. If Golden Whip Stream matters to you, turn it round: cable car up, Tianzi then Yuanjiajie, Bailong down to Shuiraosimen and a stretch of the stream to finish. The forest park page has the whole layout.

Walking down

Two trails down are open: Wolong Ridge to the Ten-Mile Gallery, two to three hours entirely on steps, and Nantianmen. They are for strong walkers only, and they can close for repairs or weather, so ask on the day.