Self-Guided Route Info for Visiting Zhangjiajie
To help travelers enjoy Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang and understand Zhangjiajie deeply, I've compiled the following guide based on online materials and years of self-guided guiding experience. How to reach Zhangjiajie: 1. Flights: currently 24 cities nationwide have direct flights to Zhangjiajie, but aside from Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen...
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.
To make it convenient for backpackers to happily travel in Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang and to gain an in-depth understanding of Zhangjiajie, based on materials collected online and many years of personal experience as an independent-travel guide, the following guide has been compiled,
How to get to Zhangjiajie:
1. Flights:
At present, a total of 24 cities nationwide have direct flights to Zhangjiajie city, but except for Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, other cities do not have flights every day. Because airline timetables change frequently, the flight schedules shown on the computer at the local ticket office should be taken as the standard.
Friends from the northeast direction coming to Zhangjiajie only need to transfer through Beijing and then fly directly to Zhangjiajie. Beijing has flights to Zhangjiajie on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; or transfer through Changsha to Zhangjiajie. Changsha has flights to Zhangjiajie on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Friends from the Southeast coming to Zhangjiajie can fly from their location to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other places, then transfer to a direct flight to Zhangjiajie.
2. Trains:
Zhangjiajie Railway Station has opened passenger train services with more than 10 large and medium-sized cities in China. Zhangjiajie Railway Station can reach Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other cities directly; the trains from Zhangjiajie to Guangzhou, Changsha, Zhanjiang, and other cities all start from Zhangjiajie, making them convenient to take.
Northeast direction: you can take T72, T48, T18, T227/T226 directly to Beijing, then transfer from Beijing to train K267 directly to Zhangjiajie; or take T238/T235 to Changsha, then transfer from Changsha to N726/N728, N733/N736, N710/N711, N702/N704, or K91/K94, all of which can reach Zhangjiajie. Warm reminder: during Golden Week, friends from the above directions who want to buy return tickets had best buy in advance the ones transferring through Changsha, because getting tickets in Zhangjiajie is very difficult.
Southeast direction: friends from Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanjing, and other places can all take train 533 and get off at Zhangjiajie; friends from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other directions can take trains N702/N704 and N710/N711 and get off at Zhangjiajie; friends from the Hubei direction can take trains 2159 and 1473 and get off at Zhangjiajie; friends from the Guangxi direction can take train 2012 to reach Zhangjiajie; friends from Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, and other areas in Hunan can take N733 directly to Zhangjiajie, and friends from Chenzhou, Hengyang, Changsha, Yiyang, Changde, and other areas can take N726 directly to Zhangjiajie.
3. Self-driving;
1) From Guangzhou: Guangzhou—(Jingzhu Expressway)→Changsha—(Changchang Expressway)→Changde—(Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
2) From Changsha: Changsha (Changchang Expressway)—Changde (Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie (only takes just over 3 hours to reach Zhangjiajie)
3) From Wuhan: Wuhan—(Hanyi Expressway)—Jingzhou—(National Highway)—Gong'an—(National Highway)→Lixian County, Hunan—(Provincial Highway)—Shimen—(Provincial Highway)→Cili County—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
4) From East China
1. Shanghai—→Nanjing—→Hefei—→Qianshan—→Huangmei—→Huangshi—→Wuhan—→Jingzhou—Gong'an—→Lixian County, Hunan—→Shimen—→Cili County—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
2. Shanghai—→Hangzhou—→Jinhua—→Quzhou—→Nanchang—→Zhuzhou—→Changsha—(Changchang Expressway)→Changde—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
5) Beijing direction
Beijing—(Jingzhu Expressway)→Wuhan—(Hanyi Expressway)→Jingzhou—(National Highway)→Gongan—(National Highway)→Lixian, Hunan—(Provincial Highway)→Shimen County—(Provincial Highway)→Cili County—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
6) Nanchang direction
Nanchang—(National Highway 207)→Zhuzhou—(Expressway)→Changsha—(Expressway)→Changde—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
7) Hefei direction
Hefei—→Wuhan—→Jingzhou—(National Highway)→Gongan—(National Highway)→Lixian, Hunan—(Provincial Highway)→Shimen—(Provincial Highway)→Cili County—(Changzhang Expressway)→Zhangjiajie
8) Zhengzhou direction
Zhengzhou—(expressway)→Wuhan—(expressway)→Jingzhou—(national highway)→Gong'an—(national highway)→Hunan Lixian—(provincial highway)→Shimen—(provincial highway)→Cili County—(Changzhang expressway)→Zhangjiajie
9) Jinan direction
Jinan—→Handan—(expressway)→Wuhan—→Jingzhou—(national highway)→Gong'an—(national highway)→Hunan Lixian—(provincial highway)→Shimen—(provincial highway)→Cili County—(Changzhang expressway)→Zhangjiajie
10) Chongqing direction
Chongqing—→Fuling—→Wulong—→Pengshui—→Qianjiang—→Xianfeng—→Hunan Longshan—→Yongshun—Zhangjiajie
Travel Tips
Travel Gear: Winter temperatures in Zhangjiajie range from 8 degrees to minus 5 degrees, and it snows around Chinese New Year each year. Visitors who choose to go to Zhangjiajie in winter must take good cold-weather precautions. In particular, note that the temperature on the mountain is about four to five degrees lower than at the foot of the mountain. For visitors going up the mountain, gloves, scarves, and hats are essential gear.
Special Reminder: A three-day tour of Zhangjiajie is the best choice: On the first day, visit the traditional route of Jinbianxi, then take the Bailong Elevator straight up to Yuanjiajie. On the second day, you can go to Yangjiajie's Wulongzhai, Yibudengtian, and other places. On the third day, see the winter snow scenery at Tianzishan. If you have plenty of time in the afternoon, you can go to scenic areas such as Tianmenshan.