Quick Guide to Food, Accommodation, and Transport in Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie is located in the greater Xiangxi region with rich ethnic minority customs. Its cuisine features strong Tujia ethnic characteristics while blending the essence of Hunan cuisine. Spiciness is a hallmark of Hunan food, and Tujia cuisine is no exception. Beyond spice, Tujia people especially favor smoked, sour, and pickled foods with unique flavors. Zhangjiajie specialties include Tujia Sanxiaguo (three-item pot) and stir-fried kudzu root.
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.
Zhangjiajie is located in the greater Xiangxi region, with rich ethnic minority customs. Its cuisine has both strong Tujia ethnic characteristics and the essence of Hunan cuisine. Spiciness is a hallmark of Hunan cuisine, and Tujia cuisine is no exception. Besides spiciness, the Tujia people are also especially fond of cured, sour, and pickled foods, with a unique flavor.
Zhangjiajie's specialty dishes include: Tujia Sanxiaguo, stir-fried cured meat with kudzu root, rock ear fungus, Xiangxi beer duck, dry-pot game, and blood cake—these dishes are very local in character and worth tasting.
Dining inside the Zhangjiajie scenic area is rather expensive: meat dishes cost 30 yuan or more per portion, a portion of game costs 80 yuan or more (including wild boar, bamboo partridge, pine mushroom, wild wood ear, etc.), and vegetables generally cost 15 yuan or more. If you find it too expensive, you can let our travel agency arrange meals: breakfast is generally 10 yuan per person, and lunch and dinner 20 yuan per person. The conditions are ordinary but the food is fairly tasty and filling. For something more upscale, famous restaurants with better flavors include "Shangui Zhai," "Linye Restaurant," "Wulong Zhai," "Madame Xiang," and so on. Although the prices are higher than the above, the dining places are more hygienic and the range of dishes is greater.
Transportation tips for arriving in Zhangjiajie:
By plane:
Hehua Airport is located in Hehua Village, Guanliping Subdistrict, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City, 5 kilometers from the urban area. Flights to and from more than 20 cities across the country have already been opened. Although it is not far from the city center, taking a taxi generally costs 40-50 yuan. But if you join a tour with our travel agency, no matter how late it is, we will arrange for a guide to pick you up on time, and the pickup is free.
By train:
Zhangjiajie is connected to other major railway arteries via the Shichang Line, and passenger train services have been opened with more than ten large and medium-sized cities across the country. There are especially many people who come traveling by train, making it very difficult to book train tickets directly. Generally, train tickets heading to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou all require paying a bit of a service fee, which leaves both our travel agency and the tourists helpless.
(1) Beijing has daily train K267 to Zhangjiajie, departing at 12:20 each day and arriving in Zhangjiajie at 10:25 the next day; the three northeastern provinces, Tianjin, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia have no direct trains, so you must take train K267 in Beijing.
(2) Shanghai South has daily train K533 to Zhangjiajie, departing Shanghai South at 12:00 and arriving in Zhangjiajie at 07:35 the next day. Tourists from the East China region can all transfer to this train.
(3) Guangzhou has daily train N590 to Zhangjiajie, departing Guangzhou at 19:58 and arriving in Zhangjiajie at 09:53 the next day.
(4) Tourists from Guangxi and Hainan must go to Zhanjiang or Nanning to transfer to train 1474 or 2012.
(5) Xiangfan and Yichang have trains directly to Zhangjiajie. Tourists from Hubei and Anhui regions must first come here and then transfer to train K267 or 1473 to Zhangjiajie.
(6) Tourists from Jiangxi can take train K533 to Zhangjiajie at Shangrao, Yingtan, Xinyu, Yichun, and Pingxiang stations, arriving in Zhangjiajie at 07:35; tourists from Fujian must go to Yingtan and take train K533 from Yingtan at 20:23 to Zhangjiajie.
Zhangjiajie Railway Station is about 1 kilometer from the city center of Zhangjiajie, which is very convenient. Bus No. 6 goes directly to the city center, and a taxi generally costs about 15 yuan.
Bus:
Zhangjiajie Bus Station is located in the city center,
The Changzhang (Changsha-Zhangjiajie) Expressway has already opened. Buses run every day from 7:00 to 18:00, with one departure every hour, and tickets cost about 100 yuan.
From Jishou to Zhangjiajie, there is one departure every hour from 7:00 to 18:00 daily. The journey takes 3 hours and costs about 60 yuan.
From Fenghuang to Zhangjiajie, there is one bus every morning at 8:30.
Distances between the scenic areas:
Zhangjiajie city center --- Wulingyuan Scenic Area: 40 kilometers
Wulingyuan Scenic Area --- Huanglong Cave: 5 kilometers
Zhangjiajie city center --- Mengdong River Rafting: 100 kilometers
Zhangjiajie --- Fenghuang Ancient Town: 230 kilometers
Zhangjiajie --- Jishou: 180 kilometers
Zhangjiajie — Changsha: 380 kilometers
Accommodation in Zhangjiajie:
Accommodation in Zhangjiajie has now become better and better. There are more and more high-star hotels such as Shengmeida (Zhangjiajie) Resort Hotel, Zhangjiajie Dacheng Shanshui Hotel, Zhangjiajie Jingwu Berman Hotel, and Zhangjiajie Yichen Huatian Hotel. There are also a great many three-star and four-star hotels. One characteristic of Zhangjiajie's hotels is that very few are officially star-rated. This is because most hotels were built only in recent years. In addition, in the scenic areas, due to requirements such as protecting the natural heritage, there are very strict restrictions on building height and so on, generally not exceeding 5 floors, so it is too difficult to obtain a star rating.
If tourists book through other large websites, it is relatively expensive. If they book through some self-guided travel websites, room availability cannot be guaranteed during peak season. By booking through a local travel agency—a certain travel agency in Zhangjiajie—and paying a certain deposit, you can ensure that you can book whatever hotel you want, which is very convenient and guaranteed.
Essential attractions in Zhangjiajie:
The most worthwhile attraction to visit in Zhangjiajie is Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. It is the essence of the essence among all attractions in the entire Zhangjiajie area. It is China's first national forest park, a World Natural Heritage site, and a China AAAAA-level scenic area... Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is quite large, with an area of about 130 square kilometers. It includes smaller scenic areas such as Huangshizhai, Golden Whip Stream, Tianzi Mountain, Ten-Mile Gallery, and Yuanjiajie, among many other scenic spots. Scenic areas such as Huangshizhai and Tianzi Mountain in turn contain countless specific attractions, including Golden Whip Rock, Meeting After a Thousand Miles, Imperial Brush Peak, Herb-Gathering Old Man, Qiankun Pillar (the original scene filmed for the movie Avatar), and the Number One Bridge Under Heaven. It can be said that if you do not visit the National Forest Park, your trip to Zhangjiajie will have been in vain.
Other famous scenic areas and attractions:
Tianmen Mountain: A national-level scenic area located near Zhangjiajie city center. It has famous attractions such as Tianmen Cave, Ghost Valley Plank Road, Tianmen Mountain Cableway, Tianmen Mountain Temple, and the 99-Bend Heaven-Reaching Avenue. It is very much worth visiting.
Huanglong Cave: Located near Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, it is a national AAAA-level scenic area. With its three-dimensional cave structure, vast cave space, broad Dragon Palace Hall, tens of thousands of stalagmites, tall cave waterfalls, and a tour route featuring both land and water, it has been selected as "China's Most Beautiful Tourist Karst Cave."
Baofeng Lake: Located near Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, it is a national AAAA-level scenic area. It is a rare high-gorge flat lake, surrounded by green mountains on all sides, with a stretch of emerald water and charming scenery. It is a masterpiece of mountain-and-water scenery. The exterior scene of the Water Curtain Cave at Huaguo Mountain in Journey to the West was filmed here.
Mengdong River Rafting: View mountains in Zhangjiajie and enjoy the water at Mengdong River—this is the essence of summer tourism in Hunan. Mengdong River Rafting is a 2-hour drive from Zhangjiajie city center and is known as "the Number One Rafting Under Heaven." Verdant forests, wreathing clouds and mist, flying waterfalls and flowing springs, and karst peak forests all enhance one another's beauty.
"Charming Xiangxi": The performance in the Zhangjiajie scenic area that best showcases Tujia folk customs, and the most original ecological feast of folk customs. Its performances of the Tujia crying marriage custom, Xiangxi corpse-driving, and Tujia folk songs leave tourist friends intoxicated.
"Tianmen Fox Fairy": A large-scale live landscape musical located in Zhangjiajie city center. It uses high mountains and gorges as the stage backdrop, employs top-level technological stage design, lighting, and sound, and incorporates Zhangjiajie's unique folk songs and Tujia folk customs, fully bringing the ancient legend of "Liu Hai Chops Firewood" to life at the foot of beautiful Tianmen Mountain.
Fenghuang Ancient Town: Fenghuang Ancient Town is a national historical and cultural city and is called "China's most beautiful small town." Fenghuang Ancient Town is a 4-hour bus ride from Zhangjiajie. The ancient town has beautiful scenery, a long history, and many places of historic interest and scenic beauty. Inside the town are flagstone streets, ancient city towers, and ancient courtyards from the Ming and Qing dynasties; outside the town, the Tuo River winds along, with clear river water, the sound of oars and the shadows of boats, and mountain songs sung in reply to one another—a scene of peaceful and serene small-town scenery. The ancient town at night also has a special charm. Wander through the small streets and alleys, taste local snacks, take a stroll by the river, or sit for a while in a bar...