In 2019, I visited the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park portion of this World Heritage Site.

The scenery is stunning; absolutely, wonderfully, and undeniably.  It is as if an imaginative painter decided to paint a fantastical world rather than one based on the mundane earthly reality.

The park is very large and easy to access, both in terms of getting to the park itself (about 50-90 minutes by bus from Zhangjiajie City) and within the park.  The paths are paved, shuttle buses take you from one part of the park to another, and there is even a 326 metres tall elevator to whisk you to the top of the cliff.  There is certainly enough to see to spend two full days at the park.

Despite the superlative landscape, the experience is marred by the incredibly large crowds.  I am well aware of the hypocrisy of this tourist lamenting about the existence of other tourists.  However, the problem of how many tourists visit the park is worsened by the types of tourists who visit, that is to say, hordes of tour groups.  And I am about to tell you something that makes it even worse.  They all have selfie sticks.

If you think taking a good photo is difficult where there are 20-30 people in front of you, then try doing it when they are all sticking selfie sticks into the air.

Especially with the park being so large, you would hope that the usual theory that 80 percent of the people stick to 20 percent of most accessible part of the tourist site would hold true.  Unfortunately, I was unable to discover a part of the park where I could escape the crowds.

The other problem with the experience is that the park feels like an amusement park, with the above mentioned elevator, amenities, and carefully created paths to control the flow of the crowds.

Despite the compromised experience, please don't think that Zhangjiajie is not worth the visit.  It definitely is worth the visit.  You just have to share this gorgeous and unique landscape with thousands of other people.