Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon

It’s located close to the Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan  scenic area.  Our bus took us to the top of the cliff and we had to descend very steep steps into the floor of the canyon.  It’s all one way, descending only and unless you are very strong and sturdy, you want to hang on to the railing as you descend.

 There were many, many people going all the way down.  Some stopped to take photographs of the steep canyon wall while others had to pause for breath.

We thought that the ordeal was over when there were no more steps to descend but we were in for a surprise.  There was a marble slide, winding its way down to the bottom and there was no choice except to slide down on your buttocks.  We were given a piece of material to tie round our thighs to protect our pants and a pair of gloves. We were told to use our knees to slow down if we didn't want to go too fast.  There are two parallel slides, one of which lets you slide down faster.  However, we opted for the slower one and we had to keep a reasonable distance between one another as we slid down.

 On reaching the bottom of the slide, we had to walk out of the canyon.  It was a very long walk, easily a nine-hole round of golf but we passed through beautiful scenic areas.  That was most rewarding despite the wobbly legs.

 We also had to go through a couple of caves, one of which was pitch dark. Luckily someone had a handphone so he was able to provide some light for us to walk through.

 Another surprise was yet to come.  We thought we would see our bus waiting for us once we emerged from the beautiful canyon. But no!! The walking path ended at the edge of the river! Were we going to have to swim our way out??

 Fortunately no!  We were told to wait for a boat that would come to pick us up and take us out of this scenic area.

We boarded our boat and as it plied its way along, the sun was already calling it a day. There it hangs, a golden orb in the sky!

The river was quite wide and the high mountains on either side as we rounded each bend were a formidable sight.

To think that we had been atop one of them and actually walked down most of it, before sliding down the rest of the way.  This is surely a memorable experience.