Rarely does China’s scenic wonders get to play a role in Hollywood blockbusters. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park however, proves that barriers are meant to be overcome by serving as the landscape inspiration for the biggest box office hit and highest-grossing film of all time–Avatar.
Photo from www.avatarmovie.com
In the 2009 sci-fi epic, much of the action takes place in the fictional Hallelujah Mountains of Pandora. If you’re unfamiliar with Avatar, picture the Hallelujah Mountains as floating islands of rock covered by dense foliage, with waterfalls streaming down their cliffs and hazy mist enveloping the mountain bases.
As ethereal as this setting seems, the Hallelujah Mountains were originally based off a real location–Zhangjiajie National Forest Park! The first ever national forest park in the country, its most notable features are its 3000 quartz-sandstone pinnacles, resembling a landscape much like those represented in Chinese calligraphy paintings.
With pillars enshrouded in greenery and seemingly extending towards the heavens, it’s not hard to see how these natural formations attracted the attention of legendary filmmaker James Cameron.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park at sunset, Wulingyuan, Hunan, China. Photo from Adobe Stock
What really thrusted Zhangjiajie into the limelight was when word got out that a pillar named “Southern Sky Column” was used as reference for the Hallelujah Mountains–a discovery which led to the area seeing upwards of 61 million tourists in 2016 alone. Among them, domestic Chinese tourists make up the landslide majority at 99.99 percent.
That same year, the infamous Zhangjiajie glass bridge was constructed and met with overwhelming response from the public. Over ten times the estimated amount!
Photo from www.avatarmovie.com
And to top it all off, the local government decided to pay homage by renaming the structure “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”. All this thanks to the influence of a sci-fi film.
But Avatar wasn’t always met with open arms. Only two weeks after it premiered in China, authorities ceased screening of the film in theatres nationwide, afraid that it might incite revolts from citizens battling over land rights with the government at the time–a situation similar to what the Na’vi in the film were facing.
With four more film sequels destined to hit cinemas by 2021, it’s safe to say that Chinese filmgoers will be on the lookout for more representation in the films, a desire Cameron is looking to fulfill via Chinese Na’vi actors.
Fun Facts
• James Cameron got the idea for Avatar after watching Disney’s 1995 animated movie Pocahontas.
• Zhangjiajie is also home to the Bailong Elevator, the highest outdoor elevator in the world, made from glass!
Text by Ng Shen Lee
