Location: Zhangjiajie
Top Things to do in Zhangjiajie
10 Things to do in Zhangjiajie That You Shouldn't Miss
Zhangjiajie (simplified Chinese: 张家界; traditional Chinese: 張家界; pinyin: Zhāngjiājiè) is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. It comprises the district of Yongding, Wulingyuan and counties of Cili and Sangzhi. Within it is located Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as well as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.
Restaurants in Zhangjiajie
1. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,266 reviews
Zhangjiajie is in the northwestern part of Hunan Province in central China. The main draw is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, including Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain and Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. Here, traveling through countless cloud-kissing mountains, clear streams and leafy trees, you may easily blend with nature around, thus enhancing your love unconsciously. Want to explore the Avatar mountains with camera? Join us now!
Reviewed By andrewgrif - Sunderland, United Kingdom
This place is amazing and well worth a visit. Such amazing scenery and views. So baring this in mind I'll go into a bit more detail with things to be aware of. Firstly the park opens well before 7am. I arrived at the park about 6:50am and there was already lots of people there being let in. For the most part there is really good signage as to where to go. There are a couple of the bus stops that don't have English but there's pretty much always someone to ask. The queue for tickets goes down quickly, tickets are 228¥ (hotels might try selling you a ticket to "beat the queues" but they will over charged so it's not worth it.) The ticket lasts for 4 days. Secondly, it is always busy pretty much everywhere. Even when it's not busy there is still a crowd to push pass to get a good picture, but be rude and push pass them, otherwise you will be waiting a long time. There are plenty of facilities at intervals along all the routes even the steep stair routes have toilets and food stalks along the way. You have to use the buses and you have to queue there's no getting round this but the queues go quickly for the most part. All of the routes are well marked and have good footing. However they are long so wear sensible shoes (the amount of Chinese tourists wearing flip flops is surprising). There are multiple ways to the upper routes, 2 walking, 1 elevator and 2 cable cars (that I came across anyway) you have to pay for the cable cars and elevator individually which are about 60-80 ¥ which isn't too much really. The route I took the first day took me up the elevator, there was initially a queue for the first stage you go up but for the second and glass elevator there was no queue so I got close the window and it was a great view. I then took the bus round to the enchanting view which was great, again not too crowded early. You can walk round to the natural bridge from here. If you're there early then it's worth a walk round. On the way there are a few spots with quiet viewpoints. There are a couple of points where there are Y junctions that get pretty cramped with people pushing and shoving, be bold and push through, there is no other way. The worst was the junction before the natural bridge you either go up to bypass the bridge or go left to go over. Once over it's bit too crowded. Once over go upwards but rather than going to the peak go around and there's some quite spots with great views. Follow signs to the car park to get the bus to the next stop. Yangjiajie is the next stop with the great Wall of natural, and tianbo mansion. The wall is worth a look but not the best view. I would about the trek to tianbo. It is steep with a route that has well worn stones that are slippy that make an already dicey route even worse. There's also very slim gaps through rocks. Push through these and you end with a climb up very questionable ladders to a lookout that isn't that amazing, the climb is vertical so if aren't great with heights don't bother. Another tip, if you do this route rather than waiting for people going up and down there a route round the base so go down but then go round not up. The route back from here is also not great so as I say avoid if you aren't looking to push yourself. From the Yangjiajie stop you can get a bus to tianzi mountain. This has some great views and is worth a wander around. This is also where there is a McDonald's. There's also a tower you can climb that was free and not too crowded. The best views were down past the tower, they were also pretty much empty. Next tip, the bus stop going from tianzi mountain to Yangjiajie was always ridiculously busy whenever ever I passed so avoid going this route. From tianzi mountain I got the bus to the cable car and down and this was great as the views were amazing and I got a car to myself. Day 2 I walked the golden whip stream which was nice and quiet early on I walked along and then back to the step up luancuan slope. This is a tough climb, over 2000 steps, an hour of steps with no flat. It was very difficult and to be honest but really worth the effort, the only views are at the top. Next tip before going to the enchanting viewpoint, head between the shops following signs down, go along and there's some great views with no one there. There are monkeys though. Most were fine but 1 did try and jump for a guys backpack. Day 3 I was extremely tired so just popped in to see the 10 mile natural gallery (not 10 miles at all) I went here first thing at 6:50 and there were already crowds of tour groups. You can walk or get a monorail which you pay for. I walked and the route is awful. It's totally flat but it's a railed walkway where you can only walk 2 people wide, this is the up and down route so you have tours stopping and tours coming down and people pushing passed. It's not a pleasant walk at all and the views were good but not essential. Rather than heading back down this route you can take steps to the tianzi mountain section. I didn't do this but it might have been worth it to avoid going back the way I came in. Next tip, apart from the buses, don't queue, Chinese tourists will randomly stop along routes for no reason or to admire a view for a long time. Push passed and stay ahead of the crowds, especially tour groups. Be prepared to get your photo taken. I'm a white guy with a beard which the Chinese find facinating. But don't be afraid to say no, if you really don't want to just walk away. It is more fun to just embrace it but if you are hot and sweaty it can be too much. In conclusion it's definitely worth a visit as the views are breathtaking. But be prepared for crowds and plan your route carefully. Know what you want to see and the best route to get there.
2. Golden Whip Brook
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 278 reviews
Reviewed By drplk
A stream which runs along the gorges which gives Serene views of the mountains around it. Takes about 1-2hrs walk time.
3. Tianzi Mountain
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 297 reviews
Reviewed By MikeJuliya - Colombo, Sri Lanka
You can visit this place climb up BaiLong Elevator and then take a shuttle bus or take a cable car from East Side. I would like to give my compliments to Chris and Kelly for there good guidance for navigate me trough the best way all around the National Forest Park. You can see some sort of similar mountains all around the area , really nice views from lot of waypoints. Have a nice Trip. Thank you Chris and Kelly.
4. Huangshi Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 117 reviews
Huangshi Zhai is located in the southwest of the world natural heritage—Wulingyuan Quartz Peak-forest. Quartz sandstone distribution zone that is suitable to constitute large peak-forest starts from the northwest of Huangshi Zhai, and stretches to the northeast direction until the edge of West Sea, Maple Valley, and forms the world’s only magic large peak-forest with 20 kilometers length and 10 kilometers width. Huangshi Zhai is the largest among 3000 large peak-forests consisting of quartz sandstone. Huangshi Zhai is wide and thick with an altitude of 1,092 meters. It is high for looking the distance and wide and flat for rest. When you climb on this largest natural viewing deck and take a broad view, there are countless stone peaks and pillars, tall and straight, trying to make a figure, intensive and widely distributed. All these peaks and pillars form vast peak-forests, making people joyful suddenly and happy. If there is thick cloud covering all the peaks, flickering lofty and steep, or ethereal and fleeting, changing constantly. At this time, stone peaks and pillars seem to be firm rocks in turbulent and roaring waves on the sea, more poetical, and have the good reputation of “it is no avail of your trip to Zhangjiajie, unless you come to the summit of Huangshi Village”. Huangshi Zhai has tens of scenic spots including star gathering stage, double doors for the guest, five fingers peak, front garden and remaining piers of the heavenly bridge etc, among which, the latter two are the most famous.
Reviewed By MikeJuliya - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Thank you very much Chris and Kelly who helped a lot to make our tour as more successful event. The best English tour guides in Zhangjiajie and WulingYuan With help of these two very nice people , we made our dream trip as a real one. Thank you Kelly , Thank you Chris Starting from Lower cable car station we climbed up to the village and used to returned the same path via cable car. There was a walk path also. It's will be take 1.5 - 2 hours up and same duration or less for the down. As Chris initiated we used the cable car for up and down. There were two types of cable cars in this cable car station. Glass Bottom Cable cars and steel bottom cable cars. We selected Glass Bottom Cable cars for make it more attractive. Huangshi Village ( Yellow Stone Village ) is the place with high altitude and covering by lot of mountains. Stunning views all around the village. There was a walking path along with the edge of the Village.It's take around 2-2.5 hours to complete. It was a wonderful experience for us and we were very lucky to have lot of views from different view decks. Have a nice Trip. Thank you Chris and Kelly If anyone needs their tour guides support, please don't hesitate to contact me or them
5. Tianzi Mountain Clouds
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 162 reviews
Reviewed By LamTheFoodHunter - Chiang Mai, Thailand
It was one of the best views in the world that I had ever been to !! It was also the filming location for the famous Avatar movie !!! Amazing !! Try their smelly tofu before the last piece sold out !!
6. Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area of Zhangjiajie
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 858 reviews
Reviewed By agoh69 - Singapore, Singapore
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area , lying to the north of Zhangjiajie City, is a charming tourist attraction. It is one of the 40 famous scenic spots in China. It is said to be 'The ampliative miniascape and the contractible fairyland' and was admitted to the 'World Heritage List' in 1992. The Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area boasts of natural beauty where mountains, valleys, forests, caves, lakes and waterfalls exist in total harmony. Over 560 attraction sights can be found here. The strangely-shaped peaks, the absurd stones, the hidden valleys, the wonderful waters and the limestone caves form the 'Five Wonders' of Wulingyuan and they are really worth seeing. Covering an area of 690 square kilometers (266 square miles), Wulingyuan Scenic Area consists of four parts- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve and the newly added Yangjiajie Scenic Area. For those having to aloof difficulties can find it challenging despite there are buses in between the sites as well as cable car. The walking around the mountain could be challenging. You would also find some spots that you can see the monkey and be careful of your phones . They will snatch from you treated as food! Enjoy..
7. Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,330 reviews
Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is the second national forest park in Zhangjiajie, where the famous Tianmen Mountain is located.
Reviewed By betolevine - Santa Rosa, United States
so many wonders in the zhangjiajie region, and this is right at the top of the list! the awesome cable car trip , the amazing hikes and views, including from the glass walk ways, the extraordinary escalator. the 1000 step climb to heaven's gate absolutely worth doing. don' t miss!
8. Tianmen Fox Fairy Show
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 154 reviews
Reviewed By Eccclips
Wonderful performance even though it was prettty cold. Very beautiful at the base of the mountain with many performers it was amazing!
9. Yellow Dragon Cave
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 353 reviews
Reviewed By thelonious22
The Yellow Dragon Cave is conveniently located on the way back from the canyon or can be reached by a local bus. After the mandatory walk through the vendors, it’s another half kilometer walk to the entrance. The walk is nice as the grounds are beautiful with ponds, pavilions, and water wheels. Here is also a giant salamander (about a meter long) on display which was fascinating to see. Visitors are sent in groups of thirty or so accompanied by a guide but after about fifteen minutes in, it becomes difficult to stay with the same group. As groups all follow slightly different routes and move in different directions, it’s amazing how most groups stay intact until the end. I of course got separated early and ended up walking through the area on my own. The caves are vast and if it’s not busy it would be easy to get lost. I walked around for over two hours and went on a boat ride but still not sure I saw everything inside. The colorful lighting enhances the visuals and on summer months, the cool temperature inside is a nice escape from the heat. Even with all the chaos, it’s an amazing cave that measures up to most of the world class caves.
10. The Grand Canyon of Zhangjiajie
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 368 reviews
Reviewed By JennamurskiRN - Tampa, United States
So he bridge is very very very high up, not a good adventure for those afraid of heights! The cost is 140 RMB/$20.44 USD per person to enter the National park and then an additional 141RMB/ $20.59 per person to go out onto the glass bridge. I believe it is a once in a lifetime experience so why not just do it. I am terrified of heights so I chose to stay back and watch my family and others out on the bridge. It was quite a show, comical, so if you have people afraid to go on the bridge, they will still be entertained. Now with that being said, I see a lot of negative reviews saying it wasn't worth and I say this; It's the tallest glass bridge in the world. 1,180 feet high! The views are phenomenal, including a waterfall and the architecture alone is amazing. Find your joy in whatever you are doing. It is a bridge, yes, it is. No there are no acrobats to entertain you or beer being served, but it is amazing none the less. My family had so much fun being silly and trying to out do each other on giving me a heart attack! Your already there, you might as well do it! I highly recommend the Bai Long glass elevator as well. I suggest getting a guide to purchase the tickets in advance, so much easier as they only permit a certain number of people on the bridge per time slot and it's hard to buy tickets out of the country. You can wear whatever you want, as they give everyone mandatory shoe covers to protect the bridge.
