Zhangjiajie Travel Guide|Introduction to Classic Tourist Attractions
Zhangjiajie Travel Guide|Introduction to Classic Tourist Attractions. Classic natural landscape scenic areas in Hunan. Yaozizhai. Yaozizhai is located in the northeast direction of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and forms a “three-legged tripod” with Huangshizhai and Yangjiajie. It is on the right side of Golden Whip Stream. Apart from one road from Huaxiyu to Laomowan, there is no other tourist route. Starting from Luogu Tower toward Yaozizhai, along the way you enter mountain streams, pass through dense forests, step on stone slabs, cross small bridges, climb steep cliffs, ascend the Heavenly Ladder,…
Zhangjiajie Travel Guide | Introduction to Classic Attractions
Classic Natural Landscape Attractions in Hunan
Yaozizhai
Yaozizhai is located to the northeast of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, forming a "three-legged tripod" with Huangshizhai and Yangjiajie. It lies to the right of Golden Whip Stream, and apart from one path leading from Huaxiyu to Laomowan, there is no other way to go. Setting out from Luoguta toward Yaozizhai, along the way you enter mountain streams, pass through dense forests, step on stone slabs, cross small bridges, climb steep cliffs, ascend the Heavenly Ladder, mount the Heavenly Bridge, and view ancient relics — there are many unique natural sights. It is named for its shape, which resembles a sparrowhawk spreading its wings to fly. It stands at an elevation of 1,050 meters. The summit is a narrow ridge, a flat viewing platform standing tall in the clouds, with cliffs over 300 meters deep on its west, north, and east sides, famous for its precipitousness. Its main attractions include the Heavenly Bridge and Layer Upon Layer of Rocks Surging Like Pagodas.
The summit of Yaozizhai stands at 1,500 meters and is known for its perilousness. It is said that even sparrowhawks find it hard to fly over, hence the name Yaozizhai. It was originally called Yaozizhai (Kidney Village) because its shape resembles a kidney. It faces Huangshizhai from afar, with deep ravines and sheer peaks, and the mountain terrain is very steep, yet the summit has an open flat area — a marvelous natural viewing platform of about 60,000 square meters, surrounded by cliffs and deep valleys, extremely precipitous. It is said that during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, this was a place where local people took refuge from soldiers and bandits, and the ruins of a stone fortress still remain.
Most of the scenic spots at Yaozizhai rise straight into the air, making it extremely suitable for adventurers. The main sights along this route include the Heavenly Bridge, Eagle Beak, Ten Thousand Rivers and a Thousand Mountains, Spear Rock, Padang Manglietia, and Jade Rabbit Gazing at the Moon.
To climb Yaozizhai, one used to have to scale the Heavenly Ladder, and ropes and hooks were also needed. The Heavenly Ladder consists of two tiers of wooden ladders built by hand. Generally speaking, younger visitors in good health can climb the Heavenly Ladder, which offers a shortcut, saves time, and also exercises one's willpower. Once you climb up, you feel the victory and pride of "however high the mountain, it is still beneath my feet." Along the ladder you can also see scenic spots not visible elsewhere. Elderly and frail visitors are advised not to climb the Heavenly Ladder; the winding cliff path is slower but safe and reliable.
On the summit of Yaozizhai stands an ancient temple called the "Welcome Temple." Standing here and gazing into the distance, to the east you can see Water Winding Around Four Gates, to the south Huangshizhai, and you can also see the "Seven Pagodas to Suppress Demons." Yaozizhai
Yaozizhai Scenic Area is named for the Eagle Beak, which resembles a mighty eagle spreading its wings in flight, and for the many sparrowhawks that have long roosted here. It is located in the core area of the World Natural Heritage site, World Geopark, and China's first National Forest Park. The scenic area covers 12 square kilometers. It is the largest touring area within Zhangjiajie's core scenic zone, with the longest routes and the most attractions. The names of the scenic spots were all named and inscribed by generals of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The scenic area's development emphasizes the combination of environmental protection, fitness, and ethnic customs, blending ecological culture with folk customs. Tourism experts and industry insiders alike say that "Yaozizhai is the best place for adventure, fitness, and leisure."
Yaozizhai is characterized by peril, wonder, grandeur, and wildness. Its "peril" lets you experience that "infinite scenery lies on the perilous peaks," with heart-stopping, endlessly memorable thrilling experiences; spots such as "Soul-Stirring in Midair" leave you full of emotion and are unforgettable highlights of life's journey. Its "wonder" makes you marvel at the Creator's vitality and greatness, with vividly lifelike spots such as "Spear Peak" and the "Heavenly Bridge" that you can go up and down. It adds new experience and memories to your travels far and wide. Its "grandeur" lets you savor the heroic feeling of seeing all other mountains as small, with spots such as "Ten Thousand Bamboo Shoots Vying for Spring" and "The General Reviews the Troops," which bring you into the imposing presence of "looking down from on high" with a myriad of rivers and mountains taken in at a glance. Its "wildness" lets you escape the clamor of the city, with clear springs flowing over stones, "mountain flowers in full bloom" fragrant in all seasons, birds singing and cicadas chirping, and monkeys playing while fish glide in the water. Spots such as "Fragrant Flower Stream" and "A Hundred Flowers Vying in Beauty" give you enjoyment, the fragrance of flowers, and the sounds of nature.
Yaozizhai Scenic Area, with its natural ecology, gives you the feeling of "where am I" and "what year is this." And the service facilities provided let you feel the essence of Tujia architecture, with the "charm" of various architectural features designed uniquely in the Wuling Mountain style. "Sparrowhawk Fort" shows you the rustic simplicity of the ancient Tujia ancestors; the chess at "Chess-Playing Flat" is just setting up its opening moves for your strategic command; "Sparrowhawk Stone" waits for the moment to fly; the "Fossil Trail" makes you marvel at the great changes of seas turning into mulberry fields; the Mushroom Trail fulfills the joy of your childhood skipping and hopping; the "Military Music Road" echoes with the passion of marching forward; "Footprints" accompany you step by step upward; the "Happiness" path is full of joy; and the wooden boardwalk carries thousand-year-old relics.
For your comfortable journey, in a state of thrills without danger and comfort everywhere, Yaozizhai Scenic Area has developed 169 of the best viewing platforms. On the platforms are calligraphy by generals of the Republic, each with "a general's unique heart," embodying the bearing of generals from different eras and condensing the movements of military travel culture. The 15-kilometer touring path gives different visitors different feelings, and more than 30 facilities for resting, relaxing, and viewing let you, whether accompanied by the clear breeze, inviting the bright moon, watching the red sun, or seeing clouds rise and mist gather, observe without disturbance, savor without annoyance, and tour without any difficulty. In particular, the Baiying Valley Restaurant, a Tujia-style building hidden amid the greenery, is both a dwelling and a fairyland. Tujia cuisine will broaden your horizons and delight your palate. If you bring friends here, holding tea while gazing at the distant peaks, or raising a cup while tasting Tujia dishes, has a distinctive charm. To have the chance to taste rare flavors deep in the mountains is a joy beyond measure. Whether drunk among a myriad of flowers, lying on bluestone slabs, or reclining under the moonlight — how delightful, how wonderful.
Famous attractions of Yaozizhai: Spear Rock, Heavenly Bridge, Flower Valley Path, and Liubin Rock.
Ten-Mile Gallery
Ten-Mile Gallery: Located in the northwest part of Suoxiyu Scenic Area. It is a long, narrow canyon with a stream flowing through the middle. On both sides of the canyon, peaks stand in solemn array with varied shapes, forming a vivid natural sculpture painting. After touring it, the poet Li Shengming wrote: "Strange peaks vie to rise and stir the long sky, a hundred forms and thousand postures are the work of creation. A ten-mile road through a beautiful valley and clear stream — how many visitors are within the gallery." The sculptor Qian Shaowu called it "a corridor displaying a group of natural sculpture masterpieces." Among them, the best sights on both sides of the canyon are the Herb-Gathering Old Man and the Immortals Worshiping Guanyin.
Huangshizhai
Huangshizhai is located in the western part of the Forest Park. Legend says that in ancient times an old man named Huang Shi lived in seclusion here, hence the name. Because the mountain shape closely resembles a mighty lion, it is also called Huangshizhai (Yellow Lion Village). Huangshizhai stands at over 1,200 meters above sea level and covers more than 250 mu. It is surrounded entirely by knife-cut cliffs, making it the best and largest viewing platform for looking down on the sandstone peak forest landscape, and also the best spot for watching the sunrise. If the weather is clear, you can even see Tianmen Cave a hundred li away.
Huangshizhai stands at 1,200 meters above sea level. Climbing high and gazing far, the nearby and distant mountains appear and disappear amid waves of clouds, changing in an instant, as if one were at the Penglai fairyland. Hence the saying: If you don't go up Huangshizhai, your trip to Zhangjiajie is in vain. Main touring spots: Five-Finger Peak, Front Garden, Liuqi Pavilion, Star-Picking Terrace, Golden Turtle in the Sea of Mist, Heavenly Book Treasure Box, and Abandoned Piers of the Heavenly Bridge.
Huangshizhai — There is a saying that evaluates Huangshizhai: "If you don't go up Huangshizhai, your trip to Zhangjiajie is in vain," which shows Huangshizhai's status in Zhangjiajie's scenery. Legend has it that Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu in the Han Dynasty, saw through the vanities of the world, resigned from office, followed Master Red Pine, hid from the world, and traveled to Zhangjiajie, where he was besieged by soldiers, and was later saved by his master Huang Shigong, hence the name Huangshizhai. It is the place where Zhangjiajie's most beautiful scenery is concentrated, and also Zhangjiajie's largest viewing platform in midair. A famous poet evaluated Huangshizhai this way: "Every five steps is remarkable, every seven steps is superb, and beyond ten steps you are left dumbstruck." Therefore, I suggest hiking up Huangshizhai today and taking the cable car down, or first taking the cable car up and then descending from the front mountain; otherwise, you really will have "wasted your trip to Zhangjiajie." The full route of Huangshizhai takes about 5 hours, and walking up the mountain is about 5 kilometers. Huangshizhai has six wonders: wonderful mountains, wonderful water, wonderful rocks, wonderful clouds, wonderful plants, and wonderful animals — truly renowned throughout the world. Its structure is quartz sandstone, and its peak forest is magnificent. It not only has the characteristics of Danxia peak forests but also the spirit of Colorado peak forests in the United States, and is adorned with verdant Wuling pines, giving not only the grand, lofty, and profound beauty of yang strength but also a lingering, splendid, clear, and tender feeling of yin softness — one could say it reaches the highest realm of aesthetics.
The summit of Huangshizhai stands at 1,200 meters above sea level and is also a quartz sandstone platform covering more than twenty hectares, lower in the northeast, with cliffs all around its edges. The formation of this "flat-topped mountain" is because the block development composed of sandstone is still in its youth, so its rock blocks are hard and broad, with a small dip angle of the rock layers, while the surrounding slopes were formed into cliffs by vertical joint development, thus creating a mountain fortress that rises into the clouds with an open, flat top and majestic momentum. Because of its steep terrain, Huangshizhai offers views of peak forests, seas of clouds, and sunrises, and you can see the primitive secondary forest of Heicongnao. Around it are scenic spots such as the Abandoned Piers of the Heavenly Bridge, Golden Turtle in the Sea of Mist, and South Heaven Pillar. The summit has many Wuling pines, and on the summit is the "Liuqi Pavilion" scenic tower, taking the meaning of wonderful mountains, wonderful clouds, wonderful mist, and wonderful rain. To the left front of Liuqi Pavilion is a viewing platform called "Star-Picking Terrace."
Huangshizhai is the largest viewing platform in midair in Wulingyuan Scenic Area. In this scenic area are the following essential sights: The Boudoir Door First Opens, Half of the Country, Heavenly Book Treasure Box, Sea-Calming Divine Needle, The Mighty Lion Looks Back, South Heaven Pillar, Heicongnao, Golden Turtle Rock, Mandarin Duck Spring, Abandoned Piers of the Heavenly Bridge, and the Secluded Path Through the Fir Forest: climbing Huangshizhai from the front gate, the winding stone path meanders through dense fir forest, with sunlight filtering through in rays, birds chirping and singing joyfully, and a clear breeze brushing your face — like being transported to a fairy garden; Arhat Welcomes Guests: emerging from the secluded fir path, a stone peak rises from the ground, resembling an arhat sitting cross-legged with a beaming smile, hence the name. According to expert research, Arhat Rock was formed by folding and uplifting of quartz sandstone. Its kind and amiable image was carved by nature through millions of years of wind and rain erosion; Stay Awhile: due to weathering, rain erosion, and the external action of gravity, the scenic spots of Huangshizhai have produced many mushroom-shaped small platforms.
Baofeng Lake
Baofeng Lake is a masterpiece of landscape art created jointly by nature and people. In the 1970s, local villagers built a dam to generate electricity, inadvertently creating a beautiful lake. Because the lake backs onto Baofeng Mountain, it got this name. The park consists of two major parts: Baofeng Lake and Yingwozhai. Among them, Baofeng Lake, Baofeng Flying Waterfall, Yingwozhai, and One-Line Sky are called the "Four Wonders" of Wulingyuan.
It is located 1.5 kilometers south of the Wulingyuan district seat and is a boutique attraction in the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest 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 — a masterpiece of mountain-and-water landscape. Boating here, you can also see wonderful sights on the lake's central island such as "Jade Vase Blooming," "Ten Maidens Adorning Themselves," "Golden Turtle Playing in the Water," and "Frogs Celebrate Spring." Baofeng Lake is a man-made lake formed by damming a stream. It is 72 meters deep and 2.5 kilometers long. With its beautiful lake and mountain scenery and secluded, wild cave-like charm, it has become a representative work of Wulingyuan's water scenery. In the lake are two emerald islets, and near the shore stand strange peaks, with peaks turning as the water winds.
In 1984, three local villagers with courage and vision contracted Baofeng Lake and rowed the first oars of Baofeng Lake's tourism reception with three small wooden boats. Later, because of the considerable development prospects, Baofeng Lake was taken over level by level by the village committee, town government, and district government. In 1992, Baofeng Lake, as an inseparable component of the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, was included in the UNESCO "World Natural Heritage List." In 1994, Tian Guolai, an overseas Chinese from Malaysia whose ancestral home was Zhuzhou, signed a 60-year contract with the Wulingyuan District Government to formally manage and operate Baofeng Lake Scenic Area. In September 2001, the powerful Zhangjiajie Tourism Development Co., Ltd. (stock code: Shenzhen Stock Exchange 000430) took over the renewed operating rights of Baofeng Lake Scenic Area from Tian Guolai for 101 million yuan. The newly formed Baofeng Lake Tourism Industrial Development Co., Ltd., under the leadership of general manager Hu Niyong, carried out active and effective work in consolidating management foundations, enhancing the scenic area's brand, and vigorously promoting publicity and sales, achieving remarkable results, with visitor numbers rising sharply. Baofeng Lake Scenic Area is one of Zhangjiajie's boutique touring routes, located in the core area of the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, only 2 kilometers from the Wulingyuan District Government, with a total area of 4,100 mu.
Baofeng Lake Scenic Area integrates lake and mountain scenery, with landscape and culture enhancing each other. It is especially famous for the unique spectacle of a high-gorge flat lake, the strange peak and flying waterfall of "a stream plunging three thousand feet," the mysterious ancient temple deep in the mountains, and the mountain-hugging plank road where you cannot see the peak top when you look up or the valley bottom when you look down. It is called the soul of Zhangjiajie. In the southeast is Baofeng Lake, known as a world lake classic, located on a mountaintop with a relative height of more than 80 meters. The lake is 2.5 kilometers long and 72 meters deep. The lake water is deep, secluded, and emerald green, surrounded by strange mountains on all sides, with mountains and water reflecting each other, so it is hard to tell whether the mountains are in the water or the water is in the mountains. Occasionally the melodious songs of young men and women drift over, blending into this emerald green and adding yet another charm. The lake and mountain scenery is extraordinarily beautiful, with ten-thousand-fathom emerald peaks and clear, flowing blue water. "Green mountains always lean close to the boat, white clouds often drift along with the water; no painting can capture a hundred kinds of wonder, no writing can express a thousand kinds of charm." Is this not a true portrayal of Baofeng Lake?
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