ZhangjiajieSandstonePeakForestGeopark,thenamereferringtothearea鈥檚scenicspotscollectively,isageologist鈥檚dream.Quartz-sandstonepillarsleftaftermillenniaoferosionrisemajesticallyfromthegroundfarbelow.Thedenselyconcentratedpillarsresembleclustersoftrees,whichinspiredthe鈥淧eakForest鈥漬ame.Anetworkofpathsleadsvisitorsaroundthemyriadsights.Manychoosetoremainonrelativelyflatground,wheretrailsweavethroughthepeaks,providingbreathtakingviewsofcliffsandwaterfalls.Otherstakeamoreadventurousrouteupwardsintotheclouds.Helpfulsignagethroughouttheparkrevealsaplethoraofinformationaboutthevariousrockformations,nearbytreespeciesandlocalwildlife.
Onelocalattractionthatneedsnointroductionistheresidentrhesusmonkeys.Duetoincreasedcontactwithpeople,themonkeyshavebecomerelativelytameandlearnedthatareasfrequentedbyhumansaremostlikelytohavefood鈥攊nexchangeforposingforafewpictures.ThehigherIclimbedfromthebusyareas,thefewermonkeyscouldbefound.Thepark鈥檚gentlestreamsandabundanttreesareworldsawayfromtheconcretejunglesofBeijingandShanghai,butsincepackedbusloadsofcamera-wieldingtouristsbeganarrivingdaily,theclassichallmarksofamajortouristattractionhavestartedtoappear.
Duringmyvisit,ahugeglasselevatorwasalreadyferryingtouristsupanddownacliff,enablingthemtocomfortablyenjoyspectacularviewsfromthetop.Somepeoplewaitedinlineforhoursjusttoexperiencearidethatlastsonlyafewminutes.Foodandsouvenirvendorslinedthebusiestpaths,manyofthemusingmegaphonestoadvertisetheirproducts.TherewasevenabustlingMcDonald鈥檚.Sincemyvisit,a430-meter-longglassbridgeconnectingtwopeakshasopened,allowingseethroughpassageabovea300-meter-deepgorge.Tocallthenewadditionpopularmaybeanunderstatement:just13daysafteropening,thesix-meter-widebridgehadtobeclosedtemporarilyforreinforcementsbecausesomanypeoplewantedtouseit.Asecond,evenmoreextremebridgeiscurrentlybeingdeveloped:thisonewillusereflectivematerialstocreatetheillusionthattheentirebridgeisinvisible,evenwhileyouwalkacrossit.
Atsunset,theparktakesonanotherlight,castingamagicalglowoverthemysteriouspeaksandvalleys.
Seenfromabove,thedizzyingheightofthesemountainsbecomesalltooclear.
TheotherworldlymountainsceneryofZhangjiajieissaidtohaveinspiredtheblockbusterfilmAvatar.Eachstonepeakhasbeencreatedinauniqueformationbytheforcesoftimeandtheelements.Ifthegoalistoattractmoretourists,thesedevelopmentsmakeperfectsense.Theelevatorandthebridgesarecreativewaystofullyharnessthebeautyofthelocalareainawaythatinspiresconversationandfacilitatesawealthofstunningpicturescirculatingaroundtheworldonsocialmedia.Thefoodanddrinkvendorsaresimplyseizinganopportunitytomakesomemoney,andthelocalsofZhangjiajieareallbenefittinggreatlyfromthefundsinjectedbytourists.Butconsideringthattheresourceattractingthosetouristsisuniquelybeautifulscenery,developmentmustbecarefullybalancedwithpreservation鈥攅s-peciallyasChina鈥檚tourismindustrycontinuestoexpandatanunprecedentedrate.
TheChineseauthoritiesarewellawareoftheneedtocloselymonitorpopulartouristdestinations.Attheendof2016,theChinaNationalTourismAdministrationreleasedacomprehensiveplantoupgradetheindustry.AdministratorsofZhangjiajiehadalreadymarkedtrailswherevisitorsareallowedtowalk,hopingtopreventdamagetocomparativelyvulnerableareas.Trashcollectionfacilitieshavebeeninstalledeverywherethatpeopletendtoeatanddrink.The鈥渋nvisible鈥漡lassbridgewouldbeabreathtakingattractiononitsown,butplacingsuchastructureinthisparticularlocationisalsomeanttostresstheimportanceofblendingintothesurroundings.
Chinaisnottheonlynationstrugglingtokeepitstourismresourcessustainable.Countriesaroundtheworldhaveexperiencedsimilarproblems,somuchsothattheWorldTourismOrganizationhasdesignated2017the鈥淚nternationalYearofSustainableTourismforDevelopment.鈥漈heconceptofsustainabletourismhasgrowninbothrelevanceandpopularityinrecentyears,aspeoplerealizetheimportanceofprotectingandpreservingindigenousculturesandthenaturalenvironmentalike.InZhangjiajie,asinmanyotherareasofnaturalbeauty,thepreservationofthepristinesceneryisofparamountsignificance.Theuniquelandscapeisworthprotectingforitsownsake,butitshealthisalsoacrucialindicatorofthefutureofthetourismindustryintheregionandthecountry.
AsChina鈥檚domesticandinternationaltourismsectorsgrow,sodoestheneedtoprotectthecountry鈥檚naturalbeauty.Justasengineersmetthechallengeoflinkingtwomountains,nowZhangjiajie鈥檚administratorsmustachieveanevenmoredelicatebalancebetweendevelopmentandpreservation.