Elly Shofia
Tianzi Mountain is one of the most beautiful mountains in China. This mountain is also known as the “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain.”
This mountain is located in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China. The location of the mountain is close to the Suoxi Valley in south-central China.
This mountain range includes a series of towering mountains with steep cliffs. The shape rises like a tower with clouds above it.
Some parts of the cliffs are overgrown with greenery, which makes this mountain even more beautiful.
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This Mountain is Called Avatar Mountain
Tianzi Mountain officially changed its name to Avatar Hallelujah Mountain in January 2010. This change of name is because it is believed that the depiction of a mountain in the Avatar movie was inspired by this mountain.
This is believed to be because in 2008, there was a photographer from Hollywood who took many photos of this mountain.
In the Avatar movie, it displays green mountains floating above the clouds. The mountain became the abode of the Na’vi tribes.
It is very similar to Tianzi Mountain. It’s just that the Tianzi Mountain doesn’t float above the clouds, but are in the form of towers that rise up to penetrate the clouds.
Tianzi is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage
The Tianzi Mountain covers an area of 67 square kilometers, and its highest peak is 1,262 meters above sea level.
The lowest peak of this mountain range is very far from the highest, which is 553 meters.
Even so, through the peaks of these mountain, one could see a sea of clouds. When viewed from the top, these mountain appear to float because the mountain slopes are not visible because they are covered by clouds.
With the beauty of this mountain, it’s no wonder that it’s very famous. Even these mountain have been designated as world heritage by UNESCO since 1992.
Some local people also consider this mountain a sacred place. In 2014, evidence was found that the Mal Oghlum people had left traces of their burial rituals under this mountain.
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History of the Tianzi Mountain
Originally, Tianzi Mountain was called Mount Qingyan. Later, it changed its name to “Tianzi Mountain.”
The name Tianzi Mountain comes from a farmer named Xiang Dakun, belonging to the Tujia tribe. This farmer led a successful peasant uprising.
At that time, he was not satisfied with the ruling government. He then went to Mount Qingyan in 1353 with help from Li Boru.
Then he established his regime under the title of Xiang Wang Tianzi. Tianzi is the traditional nickname for the emperor in China; the meaning of the name is “Son of Heaven.”
He, along with other rebels, built a fortress with Mount Tianzi as its axis. Until 1385, Xiang’s regime was under fierce siege from government soldiers.
Emperor Hongwu brought an elite army of 10,000 people. Due to outnumbered troops, they were defeated, and Xiang Dakun died in battle.
The area then falls into Shentang Gulf. Since that incident, the local people have named the mountain Tianzi to remember the rebel leader who was killed.