Five Most Beautiful Highlights of Zhangjiajie in Western Hunan
Fenghuang Old Town in Western Hunan was first built in the 43rd year of the Kangxi reign (1704). After 300 years of vicissitudes, its ancient appearance remains. The East Gate and North Gate towers still stand. Inside are bluestone-paved streets, riverside wooden stilt houses, and buildings such as Chaoyang Palace, Tianwang Temple, Dacheng Hall, and Wanshou Palace—all bearing the old town's distinctive character. Highlights: the old town nestles between hills and water, clear...
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Fenghuang, Xiangxi
Fenghuang Ancient Town was first built in the 43rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1704). After 300 years of wind and rain, its ancient appearance remains. The old city towers at the East Gate and North Gate still stand. Inside the town are bluestone-paved streets, riverside wooden stilt houses, and buildings such as Chaoyang Palace, the Heavenly King Temple, the Dacheng Hall, and the Wanshou Palace, all bearing the distinctive features of an ancient town.
Highlights
The old town nestles against the hills and faces the water, with the shallow, clear Tuo River running through it. Walls built of red sandstone stand on the bank, and South China Mountain sets off the ancient city towers, diffusing the childhood memories of the literary master Shen Congwen.
Introduction
If you want to witness the true flavor of Xiangxi, you must make a trip to Fenghuang City (also known as Tuojiang Town). Fenghuang City is the county seat of Fenghuang County in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Built right beside the Tuo River, it is covered with stilted wooden houses on the slopes. This is the hometown of the literary master Shen Congwen, who depicted its simple and charming customs in 'Border Town.'
The Eight Wonders of Fenghuang:
1. The market by the Tuo River and the women pounding clothes by the water.
2. The stilt houses of Shawan.
3. The open-air dining seats by the Tuo River outside the North Gate.
4. Wenchang Pavilion Primary School, which nurtured Shen Congwen and Huang Yongyu.
5. Huangsiqiao Ancient Town.
6. The Confucian Temple, the Three Kings Temple, the Marquis Wu Shrine, Wenchang Pavilion, and Bijia City—you can find them on a map.
7. The barbershop with a sign inscribed by Huang Yongyu; the master has a special massage skill, specializing in curing stiff necks.
8. The ancient opera stage is a gathering place for local painters.
Dining/Accommodation/Shopping
There is an 'Ambassador Restaurant,' whose specialty dishes include Qianzhou duck, lichen, fern, twice-cooked pork, jar-cultured mushrooms, tofu dregs, and pickled vegetable soup. The portions are generous, the taste good, and the prices low. You can order a few dishes and a bottle of 'Jiugui Liquor' and eat very happily.
Transportation
Coming to Fenghuang from elsewhere, you generally get off the train at Jishou Station. In the station square there are minibuses to Fenghuang, air-conditioned, 12 yuan per person; you can also take a taxi from the train station (about 4 yuan) to the South Bus Station and take a scheduled air-conditioned bus, one every 20 minutes, 12 yuan per person. The whole journey is 52 kilometers along National Highway 209, with fairly good road conditions.
Fenghuang county town is very small, and generally you don't need to take a vehicle. Green taxis start at 2 yuan, and eco-friendly battery cars are 1 yuan per person.
Tickets/Opening Hours
The more convenient way to buy tickets for touring Fenghuang is to buy a through ticket, of which there are two kinds, large and small: the small through ticket (through ticket for nine sights in the ancient town) is 148 yuan; with a student ID, military ID, or for seniors over 70, the ticket is 70 yuan, including Shen Congwen's Former Residence, Xiong Xiling's Former Residence, the Yang Family Ancestral Hall, the East Gate City Tower, boating on the Tuo River, the second floor of Hong Bridge, Chongde Hall, the Fenghuang Museum, and so on; the large through ticket is 226 yuan, which on top of the small through ticket adds Qiliang Cave, the Southern Great Wall, and Huangsiqiao Ancient Town (currently temporarily closed).
Tickets for other sights: Chaoyang Palace 10 yuan, South China Mountain National Forest Park 5 yuan, Wanshou Palace 50 yuan, Chen Family Ancient Residence 10 yuan, Confucian Temple 10 yuan, Zhunti Nunnery 5 yuan.
Ticket prices for some entertainment activities: Bonfire Hall Ethnic Folk Performance 98 yuan, Wanshou Palace Bonfire Party 128 yuan.
Mengdong River
The main reason to visit the Mengdong River is to go rafting. The river is flanked by towering peaks on both banks, and the scenery is beautiful and delightful to the eye.
Rafting generally runs from Hani Palace to Monkey Jump, a section with many rapids and fairly swift currents; the full run takes about 5 hours. Of course, you can also do just half the route, from Hani Palace to the Nilu River Bridge, which takes 3 hours. If you do the full run, after reaching Monkey Jump a tour boat will take you to Furong Town, which takes about 2 hours. If you start rafting in the morning, you can do the full run and then go sightseeing in Furong Town; if you start in the afternoon, you'll only have time for half the route.
When rafting, usually 6 to 10 people ride one rubber raft, and everyone wears a life jacket. The boat is poled by a local boatman, so it's thrilling but safe.
Transportation
From Zhangjiajie City, take the around 17:40 Zhangjiajie-Guangzhou No. 208 or No. 205 air-conditioned train, arriving at Mengdong River Station after about 1.5 hours (ticket 8 yuan per person); the train station is right near Furong Town. You can also take the around 22:30 Xiangfan-Liuzhou No. 473 express train. At noon, the 11:28 Zhangjiajie-Huaihua No. 203 tourist air-conditioned train also goes to Mengdong River. From Furong Town there are shuttle buses to the Mengdong River rafting site, arriving in about 1 hour. In addition, there are buses from the Jishou Bus Station.
Tickets/Opening Hours
Full rafting trip 158 yuan/person; half rafting trip 110 yuan/person; Pinghu cruise 60 yuan/person
Furong Town
Furong Town, originally named Wangcun, is an ancient town inhabited by the Tujia people. The town still preserves intact bluestone-paved roads and ancient dwellings (mainly stilted houses). Xie Jin's famous film "Hibiscus Town" was shot here. When in Furong Town, you must try the local specialty "rice tofu." It's said that the most authentic shop is near the memorial archway—it's the very rice tofu shop featured in the film.
Transportation
Furong Town is a must-pass route to the Mengdong River. After taking the tourist train from Zhangjiajie to Mengdong River Station, Furong Town is nearby.
Huangsiqiao Ancient Town
Huangsiqiao Ancient Town is the best-preserved ancient castle in China to this day. The ancient town was first built in the third year of Chuigong of the Tang Dynasty (687 AD). It was anciently a garrison site and a forward outpost for rulers of successive dynasties to prevent unrest among the Miao people in the west. In the past, General Fubo Ma Yuan and Fukang'an, who shook Tibet, both met their deaths here, and the Miao people were also forced deep into the mountains, their population sharply reduced.
The ancient town is built of bluestone. The city wall is 5.6 meters high, 2.9 meters thick, and 2.4 meters wide, covering an area of 2,900 square meters. The stone used for building the town is all limestone bluestone, the smallest pieces weighing over 1,000 jin. During construction, glutinous rice porridge mixed with lime was used as mortar to fill the seams, making the several-hundred-meter wall a seamless, solid whole. The ancient town has three city gates, namely "Heyu Gate," "Shicheng Gate," and "Riguang Gate," each with a tall gate tower over ten meters high in Qing-style architectural form. The roofs of all three gate towers are in the xieshan style, with lower levels covered by waist eaves and topped with small green tiles, with upturned flying eaves, exceptionally spectacular. The upper part of the city wall is saw-toothed in shape, with 300 crenellations and two protruding artillery platforms.
Transportation
From Fenghuang County town to Huangsiqiao Ancient Town, you can take a taxi; a Santana is quoted at 80 yuan. You can also take a minibus from within Fenghuang heading toward Alaying to Huangsiqiao (3 yuan).
Tickets/Opening Hours
20 yuan; a combined ticket with seven other attractions—Miao Frontier Great Wall, Shen Congwen's Former Residence, East Gate City Wall, Yang Family Ancestral Hall, Qiliang Cave, Tuo River Boating, and Xiong Xiling's Former Residence—is 150 yuan.
Southern Great Wall
China's Southern Great Wall was first built in the 33rd year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1554 AD) and completed in the 3rd year of Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty (1622 AD). The wall runs south from Tingzi Pass at the border with Tongren and north to Xique Camp in Jishou, with a total length of about 190 kilometers. It is called the "Miao Frontier Ten-Thousand-Li Wall" and is one of the ancient structures of massive scale in Chinese history.
Along the Southern Great Wall, border passes, military camps, and sentry posts were set up every three to five li to guard against Miao uprisings, such as Tingzi Pass, Wuchao Pass, Ala Pass, and Jingbian Pass. Today, along this line, watchtowers, artillery platforms, and border walls can still be faintly seen. It separated the Miao frontier of western Hunan into north and south. To the north was the "raw territory" of "uncivilized people," with the rule that "Miao shall not leave the frontier, and Han shall not enter the Miao villages," prohibiting trade and cultural exchanges between the Miao and Han.
The Southern Great Wall is a tangible historical and cultural relic. It embodies the characteristics of a dynasty, encompasses the political, economic, military, and cultural phenomena of that dynasty, and constructs the spiritual essence of that dynasty's methods of governance. It is vivid historical material for studying the conquest and rule of remote ethnic minorities during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Transportation
After arriving in Fenghuang, take the shuttle bus from the bus station heading to Ala; the fare is about 3 yuan. Get off at the Southern Great Wall.