Chinese forest that inspired James Cameron for Avatar

IN PICTURES - Little known in the West, Hunan Province contains a single forest in more ways than one. Hall of standing stones, the heavenly garden gave ideas to American director dreamlike scenery of the planet Pandora. From dream to reality, wide angle on the Zhangjiajie National Park

  A fabulous stone forest, as if suspended between heaven and earth, the heart of Hunan Province (which literally means "south of the lake"). The Chinese themselves were unaware of the presence of such a natural treasure to the 70s It took perseverance painter Wu Guanzhong Chinese for a disclosure of the magnificence of these places only by the grace of his clever line to make authenticity as grandiose landscapes. At about 1,200 miles west of Beijing, and a little less than Shanghai, Zhangjiajie Natural Forest Park begins to welcome the first Western travelers attracted by the images of 3D blockbuster Avatar. Indeed, the breathtaking landscapes of this sci-fi by James Cameron has fired the imagination of millions of viewers. To find the original of this unusual setting, so you have to get to the center-west of the Middle Kingdom, Wulingyuan District, Hunan Province. 

For 300 million years, erosion carved this prodigious mass that spans nearly 220 square kilometers, where over 3,000 karst peaks soar skyward like sentinels eying the world below ... Exactly , flowing down a river in a canyon 400 meters wide. His name, River Whip Now comes into its own when the peak that dominates, standing like a sword, glows at sunset. The warm soil of a tropical day runs into the cold air of a night that looks cool. The weather phenomenon causes a thick mist like a mattress

Since that canyon begins the discovery of the site by public transport ...! For if Westerners are rare in frequent places, the Chinese, themselves, flock there in droves. A big surprise in such a blank space, wild and unique. From a parking lot - to the extent of this huge country - a cable car (the longest in the world), lift (the highest in the world) and a bus service (the most painful ...) pour a steady stream of local tourists that only go in tight and noisy groups behind a guide with megaphone. Parapets, waiting, turnstiles, corridors arrowings ground ... Everything is designed to harness this human tide. 

Failing to ease remains the option of climbing to the top on foot. Or the obligation to swallow 3,878 steps. For lazy, palanquins climb up there. Holders, a long pipe in his mouth, waiting for the barge crouched under a makeshift shelter. In the darkness, only the dry sound of mahjong tiles laid with fever shows their presence. Under a stormy sky before the cloud was bursting, it was decided to share the cable (the longest ...) which, as the elevator (the highest ...) is registered auGuinness records. For the record, the Bailong Lift descends 330 meters at a speed of 3 meters per second. It can carry 1,380 people per hour in a back-and-forth incessant. A piece of technology that the Chinese are crazy, which express by "Oh" and "Ah!" Perched high. On arrival at the top, some hostels run by farmers provide food and shelter to amateur photographers as lovers of wilderness that may, the next day, at dawn contemplate, and away from the crowds, panoramas wonderful that the park.