Tianzi Mountains, China

With an area comprising only 93 square kilometres, Tianzi ("Son of Heaven") Mountain Nature Reserve is the smallest of the three subsections of Wulingyuan Scenic Area. The eastward-pointing, horizontally-oriented triangle describes the three subsections of Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve represents the upper left (NW) point of the horizontal triangle in question.

 

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park represents the lower left (SW) point of that horizontal triangle. Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve represents its eastern point. Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve is characterized by four over-arching features: "forests" of stone towers (eroded mountain peaks), "seas" of clouds (thick mists), spectacular sunrises and breathtakingly beautiful winter snowscapes.

There is now a fourth subsection to Wulingyuan Scenic Area, Yangjiajie Scenic that has recently been opened. Yangjiajie Scenic Area will be added to the list of Scenic Area attractions in the very near future.

The nature reserve gets its name from Xiang Dakun, an ethnic Tujia who led a peasant rebellion during the latter half of the 19th century.This was a period when rebellions against Manchu-led Qing rule, especially on the part of the disgruntled, Han Chinese majority (viz. the Taipeng Rebellion (1850-64)), were increasingly common. The leader of the Taipeng Rebellion had given his movement a "divine" name that challenged the exclusive, divine authority of the emperor.   Xiang Dakun styled himself Tianzi, or "Son of Heaven", a title reserved for the emperor, which also explains why Tianzi Mountain is sometimes referred to as "Emperor Mountain".
Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, like Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, is characterized by old, weathered sandstone mountain-peak remnants (and a few newer and taller, snow-clad ones that still have sharp peaks). Some are in the form of massive blocks and some in the form of freestanding sandstone obelisks or towers. There is also a certain amount of limestone bedrock present in the nature reserve. As a result of aeons of water erosion, usually in the form of underground streams, this has produced karst caves. Limestone is soft and more easily dissolved in the carbonic-acid-rich water that is common to such areas.
Because the sandstone bedrock that makes up most of the nature reserve was created by a long process of stratification, it appears in distinct layers, each layer slightly different in coloration than the contiguous layers. Due to this layering, the bedrock is subject to erosion that constantly whittles away at the outer edges of exposed rock, leaving an uneven vertical surface.
It is generally marked by small ledges that alternately jut out. The ledges provide ideal conditions for the accumulation of soil, which in turn can nurture flowers, grasses, shrubs and even trees. Thus the second distinguishing feature of all of the sandstone mountain   - peak remnants of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, including those of Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, is that these old geomorphological rocks are home to many shrubs and trees which in turn attract birds. Indeed, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve is also home to very dense forests with a plethora of wildlife.
The nature reserve is also home to the largest assemblage of freestanding sandstone towers in the  Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Namely, the Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve site called Yubi Feng ("Imperial Writing [i.e., calligraphic "writing"] Brush Peaks"). It is partially walled by more massive   –   but still very old and time-worn –   tree-clad mountain peaks. Some of the uppermost sections are splintered into freestanding mini-towers. These time -  and - weather -   worn mountains of semi-porous, stratified sandstone bedrock have been subjected not only to lengthy erosion, but perhaps also to extensive and prolonged flooding and frost damage. 
Most certainly, the erosion process required an inordinate amount of time to produce the sublimely beautiful landscapes that the enthralled visitor beholds in Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve. The Emperor Mountain enjoys the reputation of being "more beautiful even than Yellow Mountain", the latter also a strangely eroded scenic mountain located in Anhui Province.
Its many picture-postcard weathered, tree-clad sandstone mountain-peak remnants, inspired the computer-generated, floating Halleujah Mountains seen in the Hollywood film, Avatar.Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve is characterized by snow-capped peaks as well as by forested valleys filled with lakes, rivers, waterfalls, limestone caves, bridges and thick mists that bathe the mountain-peak remnants in ever-changing patterns, thus creating an enchanting if somewhat eerie effect.
The mountain-peak remnants provide over 80 natural viewing platforms at differing heights making it possible to get an inspiring view of the surrounding mist-enshrouded highest peak in the reserve, Kunlun Peak, sits at 1262 metres above sea level, and provides the most spectacular, panoramic views of the entire reserve.
Tianzi Mountain changes aspects depending on the season and the time of day, offering breathtaking sunset and moonlight views, as well as invigoratingly grand sunrise vistas for those who are willing to get up early enough to witness them.
Most of the plant and animal species present in the other subsections of Wulingyuan Scenic Area are also present in Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, though the flora and fauna living on the higher, snow-clad mountain peaks naturally differ from those found at lower elevations.