Travel to the floating mountains of Pandora    TransAsia Airways launches flights to Zhangjiajie

Travel Center / Taipei Report

Another new route has just launched ! TransAsia Airways officially commenced its Taoyuan-Zhangjiajie route on June 2, marking the airline’s first new cross-strait route in 2013. With the addition of Zhangjiajie, TransAsia now operates a total of 24 cross-strait direct routes, serving 14 cities in China, making its cross-strait air network even more extensive and complete.


▲ Zhangjiajie is home to China’s first forest national park and is world-renowned for its landscapes. (Photo / from Wikipedia)

Zhangjiajie is not only home to China’s first forest national park, but its Wulingyuan Scenic Area has also been listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. It is globally famous for its stunning landscapes, especially the floating mountains of Pandora from the movie "Avatar," which were modeled after Zhangjiajie’s Southern Sky Column. This has significantly boosted the area’s fame. According to statistics from the Zhangjiajie Municipal Government, the destination welcomed 35 million visitors in 2012, representing an annual growth rate of about 15%. Of the 2.2 million international visitors, 150,000 were from Taiwan, ranking second only to South Korea in terms of foreign tourist sources.

The TransAsia Taoyuan-Zhangjiajie route will be operated using either the A320 aircraft, which accommodates 150 passengers, or the A321 model, which seats 182. The route will operate three times a week (Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays). Flights depart Taoyuan at 3:50 PM, arriving in Zhangjiajie at 6:50 PM, then depart Zhangjiajie at 7:50 PM and return to Taoyuan at 10:40 PM, with a flight duration of approximately three hours.

To celebrate the official launch, TransAsia Airways, in collaboration with 11 authorized travel agencies, is offering special group tour packages for the inaugural flights. Five-day itineraries start from NT$11,800, and seven-day itineraries from NT$16,800 (excluding tax, limited to group tours departing before the end of June). For those wanting to explore the full beauty of Hunan, there are also in-depth group tours that connect with Changsha, featuring different entry and exit points and no backtracking. Additionally, for independent travelers, there are flight-plus-hotel package deals designed for two-person travel to meet all kinds of travel needs.