This image is included in a gallery "INTERPHOTO * TOP FLICKR 2021" curated by Gianfranco Marzetti.

The Red Stone Forest (Hongshilin National Geopark) is located in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. These red carbonate rocks are believed to be formed during Ordovician, the second period of the Paleozoic era, between the Cambrian and Silurian periods. The stone formations originated underwater, later rising above sea level following tectonic shifts. The natural elements and 450 million years of erosion gave them their striking wavy texture. The rocks are known to change hues with the weather and seasons, with a deep rusty red being their most distinctive, hence the park’s name, the “Red Stone Forest.”

This was taken in an overcast, autumn afternoon.

紅石林國家地質公園是中國湖南省湘西土家族苗族自治州古丈縣紅石林鎮的國家地質公園。園內有罕見的紅色碳酸鹽岩石林，形成於奧陶紀，石林顏色會隨季節和天氣改變。這些石柱不但顏色各異，而且大小不等。有的高達七、八米，而有些則像半埋於地下的巨獸骨架。

(Explored Oct 13, 2021 #153)

Tags:   The Red Stone Forest Hunan Province China 紅石林國家地質公園 紅石林秋色 Geological feature geo tagged National Geographic Nature closetonature Concordians Landscape Grande Mare Group Scenics,not justlandscapes! Travel Autumn afternoon still water reflection green water 天池 古丈縣 中國湖南省 Oil painting filter overcast wide angle lens CPL filter HDR fresh water pool Sky Pool Miao Autonomous Prefecture 湘西土家族苗族自治州 autumn foliage (Hongshilin National Geopark Ordovician rusty red rocks rock erosion 紅石林天池 in gallery outdoors waterscape Xiangxi Tujia red carbonate rocks wavy texture in explore explored

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This image is included in 3 galleries :- 1) "Magical Dreamscapes" curated by Fadmaa Farasha, 2) "Zhangjiajie" by JimBab and 3) "Photo Gallery" by Ryan Walker.

Mount Tianmen is a majestic mountain range situated in the south town of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan, China. The peak stands at 1518m high. Tianmen Cave (Heaven’s Door Cave | Heaven’s Gate Cave | 天門) is the world’s highest cave of its kind. It was formed naturally as a result of soil erosion. It’s alleged that in the year of 263, a large chunk of the mountain just fell off, creating a huge cavity (131.5 m height, 57 m width and 60 m long). Сloud capped “Heaven’s Gate” is impressive. In 1999, The World Wingsuit League held the first and second World Wingsuit Championships at Tianmen Mountain, flying through Tianmen Cave. 6 airplanes simultaneously flew through the cave successfully. There are 999 steep and narrow steps up to the cave - “The Stairway to Heaven”. It is a hard and tiresome climb (about 30 minutes). The views from the cave are quite plain, and it is always crowded, and hard to find a good place for photos. So it’s only really worth doing to say you’ve “climbed the stairway to heaven” and “knocked on Heaven’s Door”.

In February 2018 at the Dragon Challenge - Extreme Climb, a Range Rover succeeded in driving up the dizzying 99 hairpin turns from the foot of the hill (Tianmen Mountain Road 11.3km) and climbing the 999 steps, all the way to the Heaven's Gate.

This is an HDR image taken on an Autumn evening. With tight time constraint, I deployed a rubbish bin as an improvised tripod.

天門山位於湖南省張家界永定區，因自然奇觀天門洞而得名，也因天門洞而蜚聲世界，被譽為「湘西第一神山」、「武陵之魂」和「張家界之魂」。三國時期(公元263年)，天門山突然裂開一個大洞，當地官員報告給吳國君主孫休，孫休認為是吉兆，故而命名天門洞。131.5米，寬57米，深60米, 是世界海拔最高的天然穿山溶洞。1999年，俄國、美國、匈牙利、哈薩克斯坦、捷克、立陶宛六國飛行員架機穿越山洞，創造世界吉尼斯紀錄。

Tags:   Gateway to Heaven Mount Tianmen Hunan Zhangjiajie Heaven's Gate Cave Heaven's Door Cave 天門洞 湖南 張家界 Travel Autumn evening blue sky Geological feature Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians Landscape evening scene China Stairway to Heaven 999 steps stairway HDR 武陵源 illuminated open cave in gallery Scenics,notjustlandscapes! geo tagged

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This landscape belongs to the sandstone peak forest landform in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China. Crustal uplift changed the sedimentary rock stratum into a hilly and mountainous area, then the sandstone was carved by exogenic processes like weathering and erosion into rugged rock pillars.

攝於仙女獻花觀景台附近。

Tags:   湖南 Hunan China Zhangjiajie 武陵源 Travel Concordians closetonature Nature National Geographic HDR Geological feature Landscape hazy UNESCO World Heritage Site autumn foliage autumn morning 張家界秋色 sandstone peak forest landform autumn colours Avatar landscape 中國 Scenics,notjustlandscapes! side-lit

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This image is included in a gallery "MyflickrYear2021 2" curated by Yvonne Yvonne.

Zhangjiajie 張家界, also known in Tujia language as Zhangx, is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, China. It comprises the district of Yongding, Wulingyuan and counties of Cili and Sangzhi. It contains the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as well as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.

The floating ‘Hallelujah Mountains’ movie Avatar by James Cameron were inspired by a real place on Earth - Zhangjiajie.

This was taken on board a cable car going up to see the scenic spots. The autumn mist makes this vista atmospheric, like a Chinese water colour painting.

Tags:   #MyFlickrYear2021 #photography geo tagged Zhangjiajie 張家界 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Hallelujah Mountains 武陵源 湖南 Hunan China 張家界秋色 travel National Geographic nature closetonature Concordians autumn morning autumn mist landscape Scenics,notjustlandscapes! oil painting filter quartz-stone pillars backlit geological feature rock formation UNESCO World Heritage Site Natural Heritage 張家界霧色 阿凡達 石英砂岩峰 石英石柱 side-lit

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This landscape belongs to the sandstone peak forest landform in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China. Crustal uplift changed the sedimentary rock stratum into a hilly and mountainous area, then the sandstone was carved by exogenic processes like weathering and erosion into rugged rock pillars.

Zhuangjiajie is known for its breathtaking landscape of majestic mountains. It made the news after James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar movie and by the success of wingsuit skydivers flying through the hole in the needle of Tianmen Mountains. UNESCO World Heritage site Wulingyuan is within the Zhuanjiajie National Park.

張家界市, 舊稱大庸, 位於湖南省西北部。市境東臨常德市，南達懷化市，西南界湘西州，西北接湖北省恩施州。地處武陵山脈腹地，地形以山地為主。石灰岩分布廣泛，多岩溶、峰林、溶洞等地貌。澧水橫貫全境，並有漊水等支流。張家界是著名的旅遊城市，素有「奇峰三千，秀水八百」的美譽。武陵源砂岩峰林地貌景觀為世所罕見，1992年12月獲聯合國教科文組織列入世界自然遺產。

Tags:   Zhangjiajie 張家界秋色 misty Autumn Morning CPL filter HDR Geological feature geo tagged Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians Landscape Scenics,not justlandscapes! Travel 湖南 Hunan China 武陵源 Avatar landscape backlit Autumn foliage Zhangjiajie UNESCO Global Park layered landscape wide angle lens

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