Located in the northwestern corner of Hunan province of Zhangjiajie, China, and established in 1982, the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, covering an area of 4,810 ha (11,900 acres), is the first national forest park of China, containing typical pillar-like rock formations, dense forests, deep ravines, numerous caves, deep canyons and unusual peaks. The park, one of the four scenic spots within the larger Wulingyuan Scenic Area, was enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and was also listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 20011.

Best known for its towering peaks, cloaked in clouds and mist, the unique landscape of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was the result of the gradual uplift of the ground, caused by tectonic activity 380 million years ago, when the area was submerged under the sea. The upliftment of the ground elevated the seabed above the water surface, and submerged other tracts of land, while the displaced rivers started to cut through the uplifted sandstone and softer siltstone rocks, and started to flow below.

The downward pressure of the river water caused the siltstone, also known as aleurolite, to erode or even collapse entirely, leaving narrow, deep troughs. The process continued for millions of years, until the deformation of the Yanshan Mountain, when the entire area rose up from the sea, splitting rock layers, and expanding the crevasses, to become the current Zhangjiajie, whose ruggedness is also the result of million years of physical erosion bywater, wind and rain erosion.

It is estimated that the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park contains around 3,000 peaks and 800 bodies of waters, including springs, streams, lakes, and pools, which never dry up even in drought years, and remain crystal clear even after a heavy shower.

The Baofeng Lake, an artificial fresh water lake, located in the wider Wulingyan Scenic Area, is one of such crystal-clear alpine lake, cupped in green mountains. The forest park also has several waterfalls, like the beautiful Yuanyang Waterfalls, cascading from a height of more than 300 feet (100 m) with thundering noise echoing through the mountains. The 3540 feet (1080 m) high Southern Sky Column, one of the quartz-sandstone pillars of the park, was officially renamed Avatar Hallelujah Mountain, as it featured in the 2009 epic science fiction blockbuster movie, titled Avatar.

The complicated topography of the area, comprising steep cliffs, and deep gullies, along with the heavy rainfall and dense forests, provides an excellent cover, as well as environment, for the animals living in the park, which include the jackal, deer, bison, wild goat, wild boar, wild cat, civet cat, pig, bat, the flying squirrel, the weasel, and many more.

However, the largest animal population in the park is the rhesus monkey, numbering more than 3,000, which can be found everywhere in the park, while the Macaque monkeys are found in the larger Wulingyuan Scenic Area. The leopard, the clouded leopard, the pygmy slow Loris, the yellow-bellied pheasant, the white-necked and long-tailed pheasant, the giant salamander, the five step snake are considered rare and endangered animals, and are listed as the first class protected animals, while the second-level protected animals include the macaques, the stump-tailed macaques, the pangolin, and the black bear.

The plants of the park include dove trees and dawn redwoods, listed in China National First-level Protected Trees, and also include Bretschneidera sinensis, a species of tree with large inflorescences; Ginkgoes, also known as the maidenhair tree; Emmenopterys henryi, a species of flowering plant; as well as Liriodendron Chinense, Fragrant-leaf Nanmu, Tapiscia sinensis, Chinese yew trees, and many more. Apart from that, the garden plants and flowers of the park include the white magnolia, the red magnolia, Rhododendrons, and Cerasus dielsiana, also known as Rosaceae, one of the most characteristic wild flowering cherry species with high conservation value from ornamental, economic, and ecological perspectives.

While there are several walking and hiking trails for the visitors to discover the virgin natural beauty of the park in its wilderness, there are also three gondola lift systems, known as the Tianzi Mountain Cable Car, the Yangjiajie cable car and the Huangshizhai cable car. Even, there is also an elevator for the benefit of the visitors, known as the Bailong Elevator, means Hundred Dragons Elevator, which is a double-deck glass elevator built onto the side of a cliff in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, noted for more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks across most of the site, many of which are more than 660 feet (200 m) in height. Apart from that, the 328 feet (100 m) long and 5.2ft (1.6 m) wide walkway, attached 4,600 feet (1,403 m) up the side of Tianmen mountain, known as the Coiling Dragon Cliff skywalk, which is scary, but safe. The park is actually home to three glass walkways, which include the 1,410 feet (430 m) long Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, the highest pedestrian glass bridge in the world, suspended 590 feet (180 m) above the ground. In addition to that, there is also a monorail to take visitors up the Ten-Mile Gallery, which is close to the Tianzi Mountain cable car station for travelling between the Ten Mile Gallery and the Tianzi Mountain.