Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Zhangjiajie, part of the UNESCO-listed Wulingyuan Scenic Area in Hunan province, is a forest of more than three thousand sandstone pillars, some over two hundred metres high, their tops crowned with pines and often wrapped in cloud. One of them was renamed Avatar Hallelujah Mountain after the film’s floating peaks.

The Bailong Elevator, built into a cliff face, lifts visitors more than 300 metres to the viewpoints, and paths and shuttle buses link the main areas. Nearby, the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon has a glass-bottomed bridge, and Tianmen Mountain is reached by one of the world’s longest cable cars.

Allow at least two full days. Walking shoes are essential, and the park is at its most atmospheric after rain, when mist drifts between the peaks.