Heaven’s Gate of China: The rumoured portal to another realm 

Other than COVID-19 and the Great Wall of China, what else draws your attention when you hear about China? Well, there are many interesting facets of this country. One among them is the Heaven’s Gate, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, harboured in the country. This natural arch, or the Tianmen Cave, is located south of Zhangjiajie (remember the inspiration behind Avatar’s Pandora?) in the Hunan Province on top of the Tianmen Mountain. Here’s everything about this geographical wonder. 

Heaven’s Gate: How did it get its unique name? 
To understand why the Tianmen Cave came to be known as the Heaven’s Gate (also called Heaven’s Door), you need to look at its image. But for now, imagine a huge, gaping hole in the middle of a mountain!  

Turns out that till 263 B.C., Tianmen Cave was like any other cave. However, one fine day, a huge cliff of the Tianmen Mountain collapsed, and destroyed the back side of the cave . Guess what was the consequence? The formation of world’s highest natural arch (5000 feet above sea level) with a gigantic opening that is about 430 feet tall and 190 feet wide. Over the years, both soil and water erosion have further widened the arch that is now located between two peaks. It has the appearance of a huge doorway on the face of the cliff and both locals and tourists consider it as a portal to another world, and hence the name. 

Interestingly, one has to climb as many as 999 steps (with occasional inclination of 45 degrees) in order to reach the Heaven’s Gate, something that is often deemed as “Stairway to Heaven.” Sounds straight out of a movie, no?  

Way to Heaven’s Gate 
For those of you who are wondering that it’s impossible to reach the Heaven’s Gate, this isn’t really the case. Yes, the route is exotic, but it can be traversed. In fact, there are more than one way to reach the Heaven’s Gate. One can ride the Tianmen Mountain cable car, that is the world’s longest aerial tramway (takes about 30 minutes), beginning at Zhangjiajie and ending four miles near the Stairway to Heaven. There’s also a bus that one can avail, that takes to the base of the Tianmen Mountain through a narrow road having as many as 99 bends and turns and drops you near the Stairway to Heaven. In case you are also wondering about Stairway to Heaven, it is 1.6 kilometres long and about 1400 metres in elevation, comprising dangerous vertical cliffs. It takes about half an hour to reach the Heaven’s Gate.