The Most Concise Zhangjiajie & Fenghuang Travelogue
Today I finally have time to write about my self-guided trip to Zhangjiajie, hoping to help those who want to go and to sum up my own journey. (Rating: I'm a very selfless self-guided traveler.) Before this trip I looked up many self-guided guides online, and based on my time and route I made three complete plans.
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.
Today I finally have time to write about my self-guided trip to Zhangjiajie. I hope it gives some help to people who want to go, and also serves as a summary of this trip for myself. (Comment: I am a very selfless independent traveler.)
Before this trip to Zhangjiajie, I looked up many self-guided travel guides online. Based on my time and route, I finally made 3 complete itineraries. They are: A, '4 days and 3 nights Zhangjiajie Tianzishan, Fenghuang Ancient Town'; B, '4 days and 3 nights Tianmenshan, Fenghuang Ancient Town'; C, '4 days and 3 nights Furong Town, Fenghuang Ancient Town'. Plan A is more physically demanding, because Tianzishan needs 2 days, and rushing to Fenghuang afterward would be very tight. Plan C visits 2 similar ancient towns, and it seems unfair to Zhangjiajie's mountains. Plan B is about right, since it includes both the mountains and the ancient town. A reminder to everyone: Zhangjiajie is famous for its mountains, so friends who have time can go see Tianzishan.
This time, the four of us went to Zhangjiajie Tianmenshan and Fenghuang Ancient Town. Among the four, two were my classmates Hu Mama and Erfang, and another was my colleague Xiao Jiang. We bought tickets with Spring Airlines for 6:45 p.m. on October 23, and the return flight was with China Southern Airlines at 8 p.m. on October 26. Because Spring Airlines had no flights to Zhangjiajie after October 25, it seemed to fly for only about 20 days.
On October 23, Xiao Jiang and I went straight to the airport after work, but the flight was delayed and only took off at 8:30. The Spring Airlines flight from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie at 8:15 took off very punctually. If I had known, I would have bought the 8:15 ticket. I originally wanted to arrive at the accommodation earlier, but now it's much later. We arrived in Zhangjiajie around 10 PM. On the plane, I chatted with the person sitting next to me, and one of them was really something! She only bought a ticket to Zhangjiajie and hadn't bought a return ticket to Shanghai or a train ticket. When I said I bought a China Southern Airlines ticket for the return trip, she actually exclaimed: 'Oh, you can buy China Southern Airlines tickets?' (-.-! Does this person only know about Spring Airlines?)
After getting off the plane, the four of us took our luggage and walked outside. Because according to others' travel guides, taking the airport bus requires waiting until it's full before it departs, and the service is poor with a 5 yuan charge. Calling a taxi inside the airport costs 40 yuan, but walking a bit outside to hail one only costs 20 yuan. So we walked and walked, and saw taxis and a few private cars parked by the roadside, but Hu Mama was afraid they were unlicensed cabs, so we watched these cars drive away right in front of us. Who told us we were unfamiliar with the place? Later, we saw a couple with luggage who seemed to be waiting for a car, so I went over and asked if they could share a ride to Zhangjiajie city center. It turned out they said a Jinjiang Inn car was coming to pick them up, and they told us to discuss with the driver if he could take us along. In the end, we settled it for 25 yuan.
Tip: Actually, now taking the airport bus is free and it takes you directly to Zhangjiajie city center.
On October 24, I woke up around 7 AM. Thinking about how Hu Mama, who slept in the lower bunk below me, woke me up several times last night. This person is picky about beds and went to the toilet N times during the night. Each time she woke me from my sleep. No way around it, not my own bed, so I didn't sleep very deeply. We asked the hotel where to buy breakfast and then went to eat. The youtiao in Zhangjiajie are big and tough, impossible to bite through, so I advise everyone to make sure your teeth are good before eating youtiao. After breakfast, we returned to the hotel to pack and prepare to head to Tianmen Mountain. (Valuables can be stored at Bajie's.) Because before departing yesterday, I booked 4 tickets to Tianmen Mountain and 1 guide from a seller on Taobao. Tickets to Tianmen Mountain cost 258 yuan locally, but 202 yuan on Taobao including insurance. Since this Taobao seller was newly opened, it was the cheapest at 202 yuan, and they didn't even charge me a deposit. Others charge 208 yuan, not including the 2 yuan insurance fee. The guide is 50 yuan per day. Friends with student IDs can use them to buy cheaper tickets. Unfortunately, I have a student's face but no ID for many years. Before departure, I actually had diarrhea, but luckily I took the medicine Hu Mama brought and it was temporarily fine.
The guide and I agreed to meet at the Tianmen Mountain cable car entrance at 9:30 AM. It turned out that taking a taxi from the hotel cost only 5 yuan and we arrived early, so we waited a bit for the guide. We gave the guide money with one hand and received our tickets with the other, then followed the guide to take Asia's number one large cable car into Tianmen Mountain. The one-way trip takes 45 minutes, and you can see what is absolutely a wonder of Chinese highways, the winding mountain road, with layers of road stacked up like building blocks, all the way to the famous Tianmen Cave. Unfortunately, Li Na, who used to sing 'Qinghai-Tibet Plateau' and became a monk as the abbot at Tianmen Mountain with the dharma name Shi Changsheng, is now at Wutai Mountain.
We finished touring Tianmen Mountain around 3 or 4 PM and asked the guide to take us to eat cheap and delicious Zhangjiajie specialties. As a result, the guide took us on bus route 10 to a small Sichuan restaurant next to Jishou University and ordered a basin of sour and spicy fish. The taste was really good! Highly recommended, but unfortunately I can't eat much spicy food. After the meal, we parted ways with the guide and took a taxi back to the hotel to rest. In the evening, we went out for a stroll. There are still many night food stalls next to Bajie. However, the prices are not as cheap as mentioned in the guides, but compared to Shanghai, they are still much cheaper.
On October 25th, I got up at 6 AM and went to the bus station to buy a ticket to Fenghuang (60 yuan + 1 yuan) per person. It only takes 5 minutes to walk from the hotel to the bus station, very convenient. Because I wanted to buy a ticket for 8:30 AM, I had to go early; if I went later, I might not get one. If buying a ticket for 2:30 PM, there's no need to go so early.
When we arrived in Fenghuang after a 4-hour bus ride, we were stunned because the Fenghuang bus station was still under construction, so there was no place to buy return tickets to Zhangjiajie, and the guide didn't mention how to get to Fenghuang after getting off. Fortunately, everyone on the bus was going to Fenghuang, so we followed the crowd and took Bus No. 1 to the South Gate (Fenghuang's South Gate). If there aren't many people, you can take a motorcycle taxi for 1 yuan per person, which is much faster than the bus, or you can take a taxi for only 4-5 yuan. Upon arriving in Fenghuang, we were captivated by its beautiful scenery, but despite the beauty, we still needed to find accommodation. Since it wasn't peak season, I hadn't booked a hotel in Fenghuang. Staying by the Tuo River in Fenghuang is a bit more expensive than staying inside the ancient city; those who prefer quietness should stay in the city because bars by the Tuo River stay open until early morning, too noisy. Mama Hu insisted on staying in a stilted house by the Tuo River, so we had to look one by one. The first place quoted 100 yuan for a standard room, outrageously expensive. The second quoted 80 yuan for a river-view room and 70 yuan for a non-river-view room. The third, an old lady who seemed very enthusiastic, quoted similar prices to the second, but when we wanted to go further in, she lied that the rooms inside were more expensive. Then we immediately met a kind lady who offered us a 4-person room for 100 yuan, and it was by the river. Here, I thank Li Ping, the owner of Biancheng Inn, who also sold bus tickets for 60 yuan, waiving the 1 yuan insurance. From her, we bought tickets for 2 PM on the 26th back to Zhangjiajie. After everything was settled, we began to enjoy ourselves slowly.
PS: We called the owner 'big sister', but her husband asked us to call him 'uncle'.-.-!!
A boat tour in the Tuo River scenic area costs 180 yuan per person. You can go to places farther from the scenic area to find boatmen for a river tour, but don't go through intermediaries because they charge a commission. You can also visit Fenghuang first and then Tianmen Mountain, as road conditions are unpredictable; our return from Fenghuang to Zhangjiajie took over 4 hours, making it a bit rushed to the airport.
Maybe eating spicy food really doesn't suit me; I got sick as soon as I returned to Shanghai, while the other three were fine. In the future, it seems I'll need to bring instant noodles when traveling to places with spicy food.