2008 Autumn/Winter Zhangjiajie & Fenghuang Travelogue (Part 2)
At 14:30 we departed on schedule from Wulingyuan Bus Station for Fenghuang. The scenery along the way was beautiful; for over five hours we never slept, just watched the views and chatted. Due to some issues on the road, we reached Jishou after 18:30, then drove another hour-plus to Fenghuang. The driver was very...
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.
At 14:30, we departed on time from Wulingyuan Bus Station heading for Fenghuang.
Speaking of Fenghuang, the scenery along the way was very beautiful. During the more than 5 hours on the road, we didn't sleep at all — we were too busy looking at the scenery and chatting! Because the vehicle encountered some situations on the road, by the time we reached Jishou it was already past 18:30. After another hour or so of driving, we arrived at Fenghuang! The driver was very nice. Seeing that our whole bus was tourists, he directly took us to the New Bridge, so we didn't need to take a taxi to Fenghuang Ancient Town. We just walked down from the bridge along the Tuo River and reached our booked guesthouse!
Dinner was at Wanmu Zhai. We ordered the famous Miao-style sour pickled fish and blood cake duck, plus a bottle of beer — a little treat to reward our stomachs, which had gone without much oil these past few days! The price wasn't cheap — the meal came to over eighty yuan for two people! After dinner, we strolled around Rainbow Bridge for a bit and then went back to sleep. The nights here are really very cold!
2008-12-10 Day5
Early in the morning, we were awakened by the mountain songs of the Miao sisters and brothers. I got up and walked to the terrace. Ah! What a beautiful morning, like a fairyland on earth. The grandmothers were washing clothes and bedding by the river, and early-rising tourists were already in the Tuo River. The mountain songs echoed for a long time along both banks of the Tuo River!
After washing up, I decided not to go to the Miao village today and just spend a leisurely day in the old town! To make up for the regret of that day's trip to Lijiang! Enduring my hunger, I finally found Hongrui Specialty Beef Rice Noodles after great effort (let me reiterate the address here: it's under the New Bridge, actually right in the old town. We misunderstood it as being in the new district, so we made a detour and came back. If you ask for directions, just ask for Hongrui Beef Restaurant, not a guesthouse. First, there are simply too many guesthouses in Fenghuang, so people won't know it; second, most people here run inns, and others will think you're looking for accommodation, so of course they won't tell you—they hope you can't find one so you'll stay at their place.
Started leisurely wandering around the old town! Basking in the warm sun! In a very distinctive little shop, I unexpectedly picked up a rose-red patchwork scarf and a beautiful handmade patchwork hat, and was quite pleased! Browsed a bookstore and bought a Fenghuang map; the owner stamped lots of Fenghuang Old Town seals for me! In the afternoon, we went boating on the lower reaches of the Tuo River; the price was the publicly listed online price! 10 yuan per person. Afterwards, we went to Shen Congwen's grave. This is a very sacred place—simple and beautiful, yet unforgettable even after many years!
Back at the hostel, my boyfriend fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed, while I began wandering alone, basking in the setting sun, sitting by the riverbank, quietly enjoying my own fragrance!
Who knew he would sleep for over two hours? The first thing he said when he got up was, "So I can still fall asleep even after drinking coffee." It seems he was really worn out from walking, haha.
For dinner in the evening, we had barbecue at Hongqiao. The taste was good, but the meat skewers were no longer 1 jiao each but 10 yuan for a bunch—as for how many skewers, I had no time to count! I tried the pickled radish, but didn't like the taste! A little interlude: the leftovers we had just left on the table were snatched away by a man who looked like a beggar! A sense of pity welled up in me! My boyfriend and I went over, patted him, handed him ten yuan, and said, "Go buy something to eat!" He turned around—a young, handsome face. He was clearly quite surprised! But why, so young and able-bodied, beg here? It really makes one think!
2008-12-11 Day6
I got up at 9 in the morning—slept in! After breakfast, I was reluctant to say goodbye to Fenghuang.
Fenghuang is beautiful; at least if you were dropped in any corner, you'd find it hard at first to tell whether it's Lijiang or Fenghuang! Her beauty is made even more moving by the waters of the Tuo River!
We took a taxi directly to the bus station. Fenghuang's bus station is outside the town, relatively far away! The taxi cost 7 yuan. For the return trip, we planned to take the train from Jishou to Zhangjiajie—this was indeed much more comfortable than the bus, and much cheaper too! There are many buses from Fenghuang to Jishou, one every 20 minutes, fare 15 yuan, and it takes about 1 hour to reach downtown Jishou. We first went to the train station to buy tickets for the 13:44 train, heading to Shenzhen West. The train was much more comfortable, and I even took a short nap on it. The route of over 2 hours was basically all mountain roads! Tunnels! So the train mostly traveled in darkness. We arrived in Zhangjiajie before 4 p.m., and from the train we could even see Tianmen Cave in the distance! Worth the ticket price!
Back in Zhangjiajie again. We looked at Zhangjiajie by day and strolled around Dayong Fu City! We went early to eat Master Hu's Sanxiaguo—business was really good! It wasn't even a holiday, yet the place was full of customers inside and out. Frankly, the taste was just so-so! I don't know why it's so popular! Zhangjiajie's city center is really small. After dinner, we walked and walked and ended up back near the city center by Dayong Fu. Since our flight was late, we had no choice but to sit and rest in KFC for the remaining time! Finally, we took a taxi to the airport—all the drivers refused to use the meter, charging 20 yuan, because the distance to the airport is really too short!
At 2 a.m., curled up in the warm quilt at home, I had a wonderful sleep!!!
Strong recommendations:
From Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang, it's better to take the train to Jishou and transfer! After all, buses on mountain roads are much slower!