City: Hunan
Top Things to do in Hunan
Top Hotels in Hunan
- 1. No.5 Valley Inn
- 2. Zhangjiajie Pullman Hotel
- 3. Crowne Plaza Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan, an IHG hotel
- 4. Courtyard by Marriott Changsha South
- 5. Zhangjiajie Tongfu Inn
- 6. Hilton Zhuzhou
- 7. Easy Stay Bajie Wulingyuan Branch
- 8. Zhangjiajie Huatian hotel
- 9. Homeward Mountain Hotel
- 10. Home Inn Zhangjiajie Dayongfucheng
Top 10 Things to do in Hunan, China
Hunan is the 7th most populous province of China and the 10th most extensive by area. Its capital is Changsha.
Restaurants in Hunan
1. Mount Yuelu
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 497 reviews
Reviewed By 415dianah - Guangzhou, China
Taking it at a leisurely pace, walking up to Yuelu Temple was worth the effort. Lots of meandering pathways and tombs through the mountainside. Worth the effort if you enjoy the combination of nature and sites. The monastery is working so some places are off limits. A little rundown, it still provides a great insight into the history and heritage of the region. It was reasonably crowded for a day when it was a chilly 6 degrees. I can imagine in warmer weather, there would be even more people.
2. Phoenix Ancient Town
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,042 reviews
Reviewed By Jordydegraaf - Terneuzen, The Netherlands
This is what people often have in mind of visiting an old Chinese town. Architecture of the buildings are stunning, really amazing. The village though increasingly becomes popular and gets commercialized. Still it has a nice vibe and atmosphere. At night it’s particularly beautiful. You won’t need more than one day. It’s best to stay overnight to experience the village at night. By taxi it takes one hour to Tongren Fenghuang Airport, busses available as well but not that frequent. Additionally Fenghuang has express bus connection to Zhangjiajie & Wulingyuan (village of Zhangjiajie National Park) which takes about 4 hours.
3. Changsha Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By V6764XFdavidm - Oslo, Norway
If you are interested in Chinese and Hunan province history then this is must visit. Situated in a modern and spacious building that includes the 2000 year old mummified body of a Chinese lady and so many beautiful artefacts. Don't forget you passport.
4. 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.
5. Xiangxi Hibiscus Town
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 35 reviews
Reviewed By KodoDrummer - Yekaterinburg, Russia
My Chinese colleagues call this Furong Old Town, and formerly officially known by the name Wangcun Village. A 2,000 year old town with a 60-metre in height waterfall, and named after the Hibiscus flower.
6. 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.
7. Hunan Provincial Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 124 reviews
Reviewed By Anabela00
Foreigners to remember to take their passports with. The museum is impeccable. Maybe eat something before you start as there is a lot to see. Security is everywhere and especially watch the foreigners near the more valuable and rare objects, and also near the tomb of Lady Dai as no photography is to be taken there. They watch the foreigners very carefully and so we did not attempt to take pics there. All else we could photograph. The history of Changsha and Hunan province in general are well documented and the beautiful detail of all the artifacts buried with Lady Dai's was equisite and very well preserved. Give yourself a number of hours if you wish to see all the rooms in detail.
8. 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..
9. 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!
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.
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