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Explore the region
About Tianyan Scenic Area
The area is set in primeval forest and is presented by the forestry district as a national forest park and an Asian biodiversity demonstration base, with themes drawn from the legends of Shennong, from local mountain-forest culture and from the surveys of flora, fauna and the reported 'yeren' or wildman. Its listed sights are mostly features of rock, cave and weather rather than built attractions: swiftlets in the cave at Jinyan Xidong, the optical effect known as Foguang, waterfalls falling into cloud, islands of green rising from a sea of cloud, the aerial crossing called Yuntian Feidu, frost on a midsummer morning, snow at the mid-autumn festival, and the old stronghold of Liuxiangzhai. A 'yeren' scientific-survey exhibition hall has been built in the area.
Both passes lie on National Highway 209. Yanziya is not a natural gap but a cut driven through the ridge when the highway was built, and a steel bridge nicknamed the rainbow bridge is slung above it, from which Huanglongyan, Taipingya and the Zizhu River come into view. Tianmenya is the highest point on the central-China trunk section of the same highway, and after rain the Zizhu River valley below it commonly fills with cloud. Tianyan is one of the six Shennongjia scenic areas ticketed together with Shennongding, Guanmenshan, Shennongtan, Tianshengqiao and Dajiuhu.
What to look for
- Yanziya, a pass cut through the ridge during the building of National Highway 209
- The steel bridge above Yanziya, from which Huanglongyan, Taipingya and the Zizhu River can be seen
- Tianmenya, the highest point on the central-China trunk section of National Highway 209, above the Zizhu River valley that fills with cloud after rain
- The 'yeren' scientific-survey exhibition hall, which records the searches made in these mountains
- Liuxiangzhai, an old stronghold listed among the area's named sights
Location & getting there
Getting to Tianyan Scenic Area
Check weather, trail access and the last return service. A mountain or forest area is not one entrance, and a map’s central pin may be far from the trailhead.
- Search for 天燕 with 神农架林区 and 林区.
Find Tianyan Scenic Area
天燕 · 林区
No reliable map pin yet: search by the Chinese name.
Sources & visit information
The linked sources support the identity and background described in this introduction. Opening hours, admission, activity availability and exact arrival arrangements have not been comprehensively checked. Confirm current visitor information with the venue; the original catalogue locality and editorial review flag are retained.