TianWen – Heaven Questioning Platform

Hunan Part 2 – Read Part 1 here!

Since it was the National Holiday week, we got an early start to the Xiangxi Geopark to visit TianWen.

We used our ever-growing basic Chinese skills and the help of the Didi app (think Uber, but only in China) to head out of town. We thought we were going to Dehang, a Miao cultural village, and hiking up a river bed and 2,000 stone stairs, but the driver dropped us at an entrance closer to the platform so we walked right up to the ticket counter (no line!) and were at TianWen, the Heavenly Questioning platform in about 7 minutes. We also had the platform to. our. selves. How was this even possible? To have an attraction, let alone anywhere, to yourself, in China, during a holiday? Heaven Questioning platform, I think not… more like Heaven Answering…

After wandering the traditional Miao village along mountain terraces, it was still only 9:30 am. So we took the reverse of what we originally thought would be our route and descended the 200 flights of stone steps. 

As a bonus, the entry to the geopark included the AiZhai bridge. Not only could we venture out onto the walkway on the underside of the bridge, but we also got to get the birds-eye view of the deep valley below – through the glass-bottom portions of the walkway. One statement that caught our attention on the informational bridge placards was how

“this bridge is a great demonstration of the harmony between nature and mankind”.

I think this is one of those areas where we recognize different perspectives.😉 

Later that evening, we decided to turn on the TV, which we rarely do in our daily lives, to practice our Chinese language and rest after our hikes. The 70th anniversary celebration and parade played on repeat for several days, if not the whole entire week. Think A Christmas Story in December, but on a dozen channels. Next, envision Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade alongside Cirque du Solei at the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, with the national pride of the 4th of July in the heart of Texas. That’s what this national day celebration looked and felt like in Beijing. 

In between the parade, the majority of what we came across was military movies in Chinese. When we found China’s Got Talent, it was amazing how much could be communicated through a talent show in a language you’re learning. And we also took an unusual interest in space exploration and off-shore drilling documentaries and women’s sports because they had a few sentences in English. 

The next day we took the train back to Zhangjiajie city to head to the national forest park. How convenient that I could read my eBook AND watch the National Day parade once again on the guy’s phone next to me at the same time, because there were four people on my bench with three seats.

Hunan Part 2 – Read Part 1 here!