Found ! The stunning mountain that inspired Avatar ' s ' floating peaks ' By Mail Foreign ServiceLast updated at 6 : 19 PM on 27 th January 2010 Its soaring steeple of rock topped by a small oasis of trees looks straight out of the 3 D blockbuster Avatar . But this is no special effects illusion , it ' s a real - life tower of quartz - sandstone deep in the rugged mountain terrain of southern Hunan in China . The 3 , 544 ft Southern Sky Column is one of 3 , 000 in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and became the inspiration for the magical ' floating peaks ' in James Cameron ' s film after a Hollywood photographer spent time shooting there in 2008 . ' Pandora is far but Zhangjiajie is near , ' the municipal government added on its website . ' Welcome to Zhangjiajie to see ' Avatar ' s Hallelujah Mountains ' and discover the real world of Pandora . ' Yesterday ' Avatar ' surpassed ' Titanic ' to become the highest - grossing movie worldwide , distributor 20 th Century Fox said . The worldwide total for the James Cameron movie stands at £ 1 . 15 billion after Monday ' s sales , beating the £ 1 . 14 billion haul racked up by ' Titanic ' in 1997 - 1998 , said Greg Brilliant , spokesman for the News Corp - owned studio . ' Avatar ' broke the seemingly insurmountable record set by ' Titanic ' in little over six weeks , handing Cameron the remarkable feat of directing the world ' s two biggest movies of all time . It has reigned at the top of North American box office for six weeks . It has also led the field in France , China , Germany and Russia . The action - adventure movie , starring Sigourney Weaver , is set in 2154 and tells the tale of a disabled ex - Marine sent to Earth to infiltrate a race of 10 - foot ( 3 - metre ) blue aliens and persuade them to let his employer mine their homeland for natural resources . The film took more than five years to make and was reportedly one of the most expensive films , with a budget of at least $ 300 million . It has wowed both critics and fans , winning a Golden Globe last week . It is expected to garner an Oscar nomination next month . 제임스 카메론 감독 의 영화 ' 아바타 ' 가 세계 적 인 흥행 돌풍 을 이 어 가 자 , 중국 관광 당국 은 후난 ( 湖南 ) 성 장자제 ( 張 家 界 ) 풍경 구 ( Zhangjiajie National Forest Park ) 내 에 위치 한 바위산 ' 난 톈이주 ( 南天 一柱 ) 의 이름 을 할렐루야 산 으로 개명 하 고 국내외 관광객 유치 에 적극 적 으로 나서 기 로 했 다고 합니다 . 난 톈이주는 영화 ' 아바타 ' 에서 떠다니 는 산 으로 나오 는 ' 할렐루야 산 ' 의 모델 이 되 었 던 산 입니다 . 역시 상술 의 귀재 인 중국 다운 발상 이 아닐 수 없 습니다 . The Avatar Mountains ( 14 pics ) 27 Jan 2010 In a beautiful part of southern China there are some mountains called the Southern Sky Column Mountains which have recently been renamed to the Avatar Hallelujah Mountains after the floating mountains that were featured in the blockbuster movie Avatar . The floating Hallelujah Mountains in the movie were the inspiration of a Hollywood photographer who , in 2008 , shot photos of the Southern Sky Column Mountains . Now , tourists can go on a tour to see Avatar ' s floating mountain and learn that they were once ? 대인 따라오 시 죠 ! ! ( ! ! 클릭 . . ㅎㅎㅎ )