Tianmenshan & Cableway- the world longest cableway

In ancient time, Tianmenshan was called Yunmen mount., Yuping mount., but in 6th of Yongan in Three-Kingdom Dynasty, there happened an earthquake, then a giant gap opened. Therefore, it got this name since then. With the altitude of 1,517.9m Tianmen mountain has pretty unique natural prospects. Among its 16 peaks and 16 caverns, the Tianmen Cavern is the most special one. Near the top of Tianmenshan there is a temple. With its reputaion throughout the provinces of southern Yangtze river, it makes the visitors coming and oil lights shining for centuries. (quoted from a tourist guide book)

Hallelujah, it's shiny today! Are we lucky? The guide said that out of 365 days a year 260 days are raining and a half of the rest 100 days are cloudy, foggy and .... we are in the sun shine.

The miniature of Tinamenshan cableway dispalyed at the lounge to provide a birdseye view to tourists. The cableway of 7.45km(4.67miles) long connects between the city center and the mountain top and it takes 35 minutes one way. It is the longest cableway in the world. the guide said.
There is a stop station in the middle where buses run along the zigzag roadway, the world most scary road, to the Tianmen Cave moving tourists back and forth.

Two cablecars are dangling on a cable crossing over the city.

Looked at back down the city where we had started twenty minutes ago. The car is about to pass the middle point where we are going to get off when we come down from the top for a bus tour to the Tianmen Cave (Heaven Gate 天門洞) taking the most scary  roadway in the world.

The zigzagging road is seen on the mountain cliff in the picture below and way down the city center where cableway started.

Tianmen mountain cabelway, the longest passenger cabelway of high mountain in the world, has 98 cars and 57 brackets altogether (including 3 recruiting brackets), all of which are original imported facilities from POMA, the French corporation. The cableway has a total length of 7,455 meters and a height gap of 1,279 meters. It is one of the few cable cars within China with a height gap 1,000 meters. The local gradient from the middle station to the upper station is as high as 37 degree, which is rare in the world. It is the cableway with the largest local gradient as well as one with most brackets in Chinal.(quoted from a tourist guidebook)

Looking up at the destination, the top of Tianmenshan(天門山). Looks like we have come a long way but still have a long way to go yet.

One Hundred Dragons Sky Stairs

In Chinese fables, dragon appears quite often, and there are many monuments and symbols of dragon in China. Below is the entrance of a man-made tunnel that leads to the double-deck-elevator that carries one hundred people at a time between the foot and the top of the hill. The rail of the elevator is built on the face of vertical rock cliff as high as over three hundreds meters as you see the left picture below.

I think ninety percent of the tourists in Zhang jia jie (張家界) area are Koreans. Most of the shop keepers and road vendors can speak a little Korean. They lure foreign tourits with offering "Every thing One dollar, One dollar (chon won, chon won)" Almost every thing they sell is priced only one dollar. (actually Korean Won 1,000won) So cheap but don't think about quality.

Tianzishan, Zhang Jia Jie

It was again raining when we hop on a Tianzishan (天子山)Cableway. Under the cable car a deep valley and high rock cliffs were  unclearly visible through window due to fog, clouds and rain.

The highest natural bridge on earth

Tianzi mount(天子산) is named after the Tujia people(native) rebellion chief Xiangwng Tianzi. The platform, rising above the surrounding countryside, is the most conspicuous feature of Tianzi mountain. The sightseeing line circles the mountain 45 kilometers. The total area covers 67 square kilometers. Looking from Tianzi mountain, you will get the broad sight of peaks in peaks, peaks beyond peaks. Cloudy mist, moon light, sun rising from the morning clouds and the snow in the winter are the four spectaculars of Tianzi mountain.(Quoted from a tourist guide book)

When I got on the Tianzishan, photographing was almost impossible due to low casted clouds and fog swirling over and around the peaks and valleys, and with sometimes rain.

If it were fine we could have enjoyed the panoramic view of Chinese Grand Canyon from this terrace. Nothing is visible. Maybe next time?

Tesla사 Daimler의 Smart 전기차 개발설

인터넷 신문 AutoCar는 전기차 Smart prototype이 San Carlos에 있는 Tesla 공장에서 충전하는 것이 목격됨으로써 Tesla가 Smart Electric을 개발한다는 소문이 퍼지기 시작했다고 보도했다. 이 차의 출현으로 현재 영국 London 에서 시험하고 있는 Smart All-elecric, Smart ED의 개발을 위해 Tesla가 Daimler와 파트너 계약을 맺은 증거라는 것. 지난 달에는 실리콘 밸리에 있는 이 회사는 80 명의 종업원을 감원했으며 단독 개발 예정이였던 Model S 개발을 연기 결정한 바 있다. 그러나 Tesla측은 2009년 3월 제네바 모터쇼에 출품할 것이라고 주장하고 있다고 AutoCar는 보도했다.

Tesla의 Elon Musk 회장은 재원을 확충하기 위해 주요 자동차회사와 합작에 주력하고 있다고 말한 바 있다. Tesla는 Lotus를 기반으로 제작한 Tesla roadster 출시후 전기차의 선두주자로 인정받고 있다. Tesla의 내부 인사에 의하면 상당 수의 주요자동차 회사로 부터 서비스와 기술을 요청 받고 있다고 말했다고 한다.