The lift that everyone photographs

The Bailong Elevator is the tallest outdoor lift in the world, a glass box that runs up the face of a cliff for 326 meters in about a minute and a half. It carries visitors from the valley floor up to the Yuanjiajie plateau, the part of Zhangjiajie that most resembles the floating mountains from the films.

It is impressive, and it is also the single biggest bottleneck in the park. On a busy morning the queue for the lift can run to two hours. The good news is that there are ways around it, and the view from the top is not exclusive to the lift.

How the lift works

It runs in two glass shafts, each with a double-decker cabin, and it climbs in one go rather than in stages. The ride itself is over almost before you have registered it. If you stand at the front you get a brief view of the cliff face and the valley below.

Tickets are sold separately from the main park ticket, as a one-way fare. You buy at the base station. There is no way to reserve a slot in advance, which is exactly why the queue exists.

Beating the queue

• Arrive at the base station before 7:30 am. The first hour is the quietest by a wide margin.
• Or come after 3 pm, when day-trippers are heading back down.
• Walk up instead. The path from the valley to Yuanjiajie takes roughly two hours of climbing and is genuinely lovely, with far fewer people.
• Use the lift down rather than up. The up queue is the bad one.

Tianzi Mountain

Tianzi Mountain is the other great plateau in the park, and honestly I prefer it. It is reached by cable car rather than a lift, and it spreads the crowd over a much larger area, so it never feels quite as crushed.

The formations here are the classic sandstone pillars, hundreds of them, rising out of the mist in bands. In the early morning the valleys fill with cloud and the peaks float above it, which is the shot everyone comes for.

What to see on top

• Helong Park, with the statue of the general it is named for, and a viewpoint over the pillar forest.
• The Yubi Peaks, a small group of pillars that appear on a lot of postcards.
• The viewing platforms along the ridge path, which are linked by a mix of walkways and shuttle buses.

Shuttle buses inside the park are included in the main ticket and connect the different areas. They are frequent but crowded, and the map is confusing. Take a photograph of the route board at the entrance before you start.

Practical advice

• The main scenic area ticket covers several days and does not include the lift, the cable cars or the Tianmen cableway.
• Buy the multi-day ticket. Trying to see the park in one day is a mistake people regret.
• Wear grippy shoes. The stone steps are polished by millions of feet and slippery when wet.
• Carry rain gear. The weather changes fast and cloud is part of the experience, not a reason to stay in.
• Base yourself in Wulingyuan rather than Zhangjiajie city, which saves an hour of commuting each way.

Is the lift worth it?

Once, yes, for the novelty and the speed. But if you have limited time and a long queue, walking up and taking the lift down gives you the same views and a much better day. The mountains are the attraction here. The lift is just a way of getting to them.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.