Photos contributed by my friend, Laytin.
It has been in the news. Avatar claims the highest glossing movie of all time. The floating mountains in the 3-D epic movie are said to have been inspired by the craggy sandstone peaks located within Wulingyuan Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China.

Not surprisingly, since the breaking of the news about the relation between Zhangjiajie and Avatar’s Hallelujah Mountains, more nature lovers especially Avatar movie fans pour into the magical peak forest to see Avatar’s fictional world of Pandora!
After all, “Pandora is far but Zhangjiajie is near.”


The “floating” peaks.

The Southern Sky Column that allegedly inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains (“Thundering Rocks”) in Avatar.



Steep and long flight of steps amid the lofty peaks.

Laytin: Single ( email2laytin(at)gmail.com ) V ^o^ V

The long winding road with hundreds of bends to Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest National Geopark.

Yangmingshan (阳明山) National Park is located in Taipei City, Taiwan. Famous for its hot springs, cherry blossoms, hiking trails, etc, the park has an area of 114.56km². It is named after a Ming Dynasty Chinese scholar – Wang Yangming. Fyi, “shan” means “hill” or “mountain”.
Click on this panoramic shot to enlarge or scroll left-right.
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I missed visiting this Tien Lai Hot Spring Resort but Jacky did. #@&%$*@!! Alright! Forgiven him since he brought back some nice shots. Like the spectacular view over the crests and slopes of Yangmingshan National Park.
Click on this panoramic shot to enlarge or scroll left-right.
A hot spring pool at 40.7 degree Celsius. I ever got into nude hot springs in Taipei. The hot spring receptionist gave us a small towel and a face mask each to cover our face so that no one could recognise us in nude =_=”… Quite true, in case there are some hidden cameras in the hot springs!! Read More »
Gotcha! I AM NOT IN TAIWAN NOW.. XD These photos were taken sometimes ago.
Taipei 101 (台北101) is currently the world’s tallest inhabited building standing at 509.2 m. A panoramic shot from the observation deck. Breathtaking, isn’t it?

The design of Taipei 101 is inspired by bamboo plant, an icon of learning and growth. And Chinese like the lucky number eight, as you can count in this photo, there are eight clearly delineated exterior sections of the building. If you are observant, you can even see at least a Chinese ingot on the lower exterior of this tower.

Someone asks me to post some scenic view of Taiwan. I have this scenic panoramic photo after stitching the successive shots that were taken from our hotel room. This is a nice view of vast Pacific Ocean. Click on image to enlarge or scroll left-right.
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Taipei (台北市) is the capital of Taiwan. It’s easy to travel around Taipei city. We toured around the city by taxi most of the time as it’s convenient and reasonably cheap. In the past, I only heard Singapore National Service men going to Taiwan for army training. In the recent years, more and more Singaporeans like to visit Taiwan. Perhaps we have been watching a lot of Taiwanese entertainment shows and got inspired to see the island?
Simply Irresistible.

Shilin Night Market is the largest and most famous night market in Taipei city. There are two sectors: one is a food court and the other one has specialty shops. At Shilin Night Market Food Court, the Taiwanese sell all kind of innovative foods such as (大餅包小餅) a small bun wrapped in a big bun.
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Update (4 Sept 08): Sigh… I just heard from news that according to the Chinese authority, there may be earthquake that measures at a Richter scale of 7 to 8 at Qing Zhang Plateau. I think we better do our homework first before planning for any trip to Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan.
Hi Folks! Remember the devastating Sichuan earthquake three months ago? Got the
LATEST UPDATE (via email) of Sichuan tourism from the Tourism and Marketing Advisor, Kieran Fitzgerald of
Jiuzhaigou National Park.

After the May 12th Earthquake much of Sichuan was closed to organised tour groups. It was officially re-opened at the beginning of last month. Read More »
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