Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain
天门山
Highest point
Elevation	1,518.6 m (4,982 ft)
Prominence	1,518.6 m (4,982 ft)
Coordinates	29°3′9.65″N 110°28′58.8″E / 29.0526806°N 110.483000°ECoordinates: 29°3′9.65″N 110°28′58.8″E / 29.0526806°N 110.483000°E
Geography
Tianmen Mountain Location in Hunan.

Tianmen Mountain (Chinese: 天门山; pinyin: Tiānmén Shān) is a mountain located within Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in northwestern Hunan Province, China.

A cablecar was constructed by the French company Poma from nearby Zhangjiajie railway station to the top of the mountain. Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the "longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world", with 98 cars and a total length of 7,455 metres (24,459 ft) and ascent of 1,279 metres (4,196 ft) The highest gradient is an unusual 37 degrees. Tourists can walk on kilometres of paths built onto the cliff face at the top of the mountain, including sections with glass floors. An 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) road with 99 bends also reaches the top of the mountain and takes visitors to Tianmen cave, a natural hole in the mountain of a height of 131.5 metres (431 ft).^[1]

A large temple is also located on the summit with chairlift or footpath access. The original temple here was built in the Tang Dynasty. Today a more recent construction with Tang dynasty architecture occupies the site and includes a vegetarian restaurant in the 10000 sq mi of setting.

On September 25, 2011 Jeb Corliss glided through the 100 feet (30 m) wide archway in the mountain using a wingsuit. The flight began from a helicopter at 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and ended with a safe landing on a nearby bridge.^[2][3] The World Wingsuit League held the first and second World Wingsuit Championships in Tianmen. On October 8, 2013, during a training jump for the second world championships, Viktor Kováts plunged to his death when he was unable to open his parachute.^[4][5]

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  View of the Heaven-Linking Avenue from a cable car.

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  View of the natural arch and the stairway leading to it.

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  View under the arch.

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  Plaque commemorating Alain Robert's climb in 2007.

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  Tianmenshan Temple

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  The cliff path that encircles the mountain top.

References

1. Tianmen Mountain, Hunan Zhangjiajie Tianmenshan Tourism Co. Ltd.
2. Higgins, Matt (December 10, 2007). "Flying Humans, Hoping to Land With No Chute. In order for this to happen he plans to build a landing strip in Las Vegas Nevada. Corliss needs to raise four million dollars for its construction". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
3. Finighan, Gareth (September 25, 2011). "Mind the gap! Wingsuit stuntman shoots through narrow slit in mountainside at 75mph". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
4. Armstrong, Paul (October 12, 2013). "Wingsuit flier Viktor Kováts dies after cliff crash horror". Hong Kong. CNN. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
5. Cadenbach, Christoph. "Sprung ins Ungewisse" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin. Retrieved 1 December 2013.