Recommended Classic Zhangjiajie 4-Day Tour Itinerary
Recommended itinerary for a Zhangjiajie 4-day tour: Day 1: Pickup in Zhangjiajie, visit Yellow Dragon Cave or Baofeng Lake. Enjoy the world cave wonder or boat on the lake to see Baofeng Waterfall. Stay in Zhangjiajie. Day 2: Visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park - Huangshizhai. Zhangjiajie has very rich forest resources, with a forest coverage rate of 97.7% in the park. The world's five major famous plant families, such as Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, and Poaceae, are all found here. As for trees...
Recommended 4-Day Zhangjiajie Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Pick-up in Zhangjiajie, visit Yellow Dragon Cave or Baofeng Lake. Admire the world's cave wonders or take a boat on the lake to see the Baofeng Waterfall. Stay in Zhangjiajie.
Day 2: Visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park - Huangshizhai. Zhangjiajie is rich in forest resources, with a forest coverage rate of 97.7% in the park. The world's five major plant families, such as Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, and Poaceae, are all found here. In terms of tree species, there are 93 families and 157 species, twice as many as in all of Europe; moreover, there are many rare and precious tree species, such as dove tree, tulip tree, eucommia, and ginkgo. The flowers in the park are also very beautiful and unique, such as the five-colored flower that can change five colors in a day, and the lobster flower unique to Zhangjiajie.
Huangshizhai is named after a Taoist named Huang Shigong who once lived in seclusion here. Its main attractions include natural landscapes:
Tianqiao Yidun (Heavenly Bridge Abandoned Piers): In the deep bay between Huangshizhai and Yuanjiajie, seven peaks resembling bridge piers are arranged in a balanced height, size, and distance, and that is the 'Tianqiao Yidun'.
Zhaixingtai (Star-Picking Platform): After climbing to the top of Huangshizhai, you can see a circular stone peak over 1,000 meters above sea level, flat on top and suspended below. On a starry night, standing on this platform, you might just pick a few stars!
Nantian Yizhu (Southern Sky Pillar): Above Nantianmen and below Qiankamen, there is a solitary peak pointing straight to the sky, over 300 meters high, with its tip and base firmly rooted in the earth, truly like a pillar holding up the sky! This is the famous 'Southern Sky Pillar' of Zhangjiajie.
Wuzhi Peak (Five Finger Peak): Below Hengdao, there are five peaks, each like silver needles inserted into the ground, towering high and shining with a silver-gray luster. This landscape is the 'Dingshan Shenzhen' (Mountain-Fixing Divine Needles). It is said that these mountain-fixing divine needles were borrowed by the Monkey King's brother, the Macaque King (nicknamed 'Great Sage of the Wind'), from the Dragon King of the East Sea's treasure house to fix the mountains, and these five peaks are their transformations. Because these five mountain-fixing divine needles were inserted 3,000 zhang into the earth, Zhangjiajie's 3,000 strange peaks have stood for thousands of years. Each is unique, thick at the bottom and thin at the top, truly a wonder of Zhangjiajie. The terrain here is steep, often shrouded in clouds and mist, and mountain eagles often circle around.
Tianshu Baoxia (Heavenly Book Box): On the mountain opposite the Entertainment Platform, there is a stone box resembling a book box, rectangular in shape, with a sliding lid half open.
Wuhai Jingui (Golden Turtle in the Sea of Clouds): On a ridge behind the rear gate of Huangshizhai, there is a huge rock that looks exactly like a turtle. Look, it has a turtle head, shell, four legs, and tail, all clearly visible. When you stop to watch, it seems to be moving its legs, slowly crawling step by step into the sea of clouds! The rock shines on sunny days and is golden in color, hence also called 'Jingui Tanhai' (Golden Turtle Exploring the Sea). On cloudy days, it becomes 'Wuhai Jingui' (Golden Turtle in the Sea of Clouds).
Cultural Landscape - Liuqi Pavilion: The pavilion is named 'Liuqi Pavilion', representing the wonders of mountains, water, rocks, clouds, plants, and animals.
Accommodation: Wulingyuan
Day 3: Visit Tianzi Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Tianzi Mountain is 1,262.5 meters above sea level and stands out for its height. Legend has it that it was named after Xiang Dakun, a Tujia leader in the Song Dynasty, who led an uprising here and called himself 'Heavenly King'. There are also extensive primeval secondary forests here, with exotic flowers and rare trees everywhere, and rare birds and animals can be seen everywhere. Its main attractions:
Nantianmen (Southern Heavenly Gate): Nature's creation is truly wonderful, using a huge slab-like stone peak to carve out a gate, with a bottom width of more than 10 meters and a height of 15 meters. It is said that Qu Yuan passed through here when he climbed the Tiantai to ask heaven, so it is popularly called 'Tongtianmen' (Gate to Heaven).
Yubi Peak (Imperial Brush Peak): Yubi Peak is recognized as the iconic scenic spot of Wulingyuan's sandstone peak forest scenery, constantly appearing in various media and promotional materials at home and abroad, and can be called a wonder of the world. Originally, this was a miraculous work of nature, scientifically speaking the result of weathering, erosion, and cutting over time, but folk tradition links it with King Xiang Tianzi, saying that after King Xiang Tianzi's martyrdom, his imperial brush turned into a stone peak, guarding the edge of Shentang Bay; while the 'brush holder' and 'brush rack' that held the imperial brush remained at Shuireo Simen. However, through the rise and fall of millennia and the changes of times, 'how many events of ancient and modern times are all paid in laughter'. Only this imperial brush remains!
Xiannü Xianhua (Fairy Presenting Flowers): This is a distant and tragic legend. That year, the Tujia uprising leader King Xiang Tianzi was defeated by government troops and had to retreat with his remaining soldiers to Tianzi Mountain. A hundred thousand government troops pursued closely, and eight hundred Tujia soldiers fought bloody battles for seven days and seven nights, finally running out of ammunition and food. Unwilling to be captured and humiliated, King Xiang Tianzi and his soldiers chose death over surrender and jumped into Shentang Bay. Long afterward, a Tujia girl who had deeply loved King Xiang Tianzi climbed over mountains and ridges to Tianzi Mountain, searching for the bones of King Xiang Tianzi and his soldiers, but only heard the mournful mountains and murmuring streams. The girl swallowed her tears, took a bamboo basket, and gathered mountain flowers all over the mountains, calling out King Xiang Tianzi's name while scattering flowers everywhere. She wanted to dedicate her love and heart to her beloved King Xiang, scattering and scattering, and over time, the girl was frozen by the years into a stone statue, still holding a flower basket, full of affection...
Dianjiangtai (Pointing General Platform): As mentioned earlier, many place names in Wulingyuan are related to King Xiang Tianzi's uprising. It is said that King Xiang Tianzi's last battle was disastrously lost here, and then he led his remaining soldiers to jump off Shentang Bay and sacrifice themselves... Here, I will also tell you a strange phenomenon. One afternoon in April 1991, after the rain cleared, a hazy mist spread over Tianzi Mountain, and rock peaks appeared and disappeared in the fog from Xihai to Shentang Bay. A group of Shanghai tourists came to Dianjiangtai, and suddenly, a strange scene stunned everyone: in the center of Shentang Bay, seven young girls floated down from the clouds onto a platform at the top of a rock peak, drinking tea, playing the qin, and dancing gracefully for 40 minutes. The tourists initially thought it was an illusion, rubbed their eyes and looked again, still three in green and four in red, with long hair over their shoulders, graceful postures, and light dance steps. Until the second before the 'fairies' gradually disappeared with a cloud, everyone still did not dare to make a sound, and those with cameras desperately pressed the shutter. Unfortunately, the distance was too far, and when the film was developed that night, nothing was left. After the news spread, some believed it, some did not. In fact, whether myth or fact, this strange phenomenon can be fully explained scientifically. 'Mirage' is well-known; and aren't oases, villages, and cities often seen in great deserts?
Kongzhong Tianyuan (Sky Farmland): Look, this platform is surrounded by abysses on three sides, embraced by strange peaks, and lifted into the air, with dozens of acres of rice fields on it, hence the name Sky Farmland. Several Tujia families harvest spring, summer, autumn, and winter here, just like a paradise.
Xianren Bridge (Immortal Bridge): Also known as Zisheng Bridge, 24 meters long, 2 meters wide at the widest, 1 meter at the narrowest, spanning the air, a miraculous work. Standing by this bridge, don't we also feel a bit like immortals, reluctant to leave? We are not immortals, so for safety, please do not walk across.
Shenbing Juhui (Divine Soldiers Gathering): From Xianren Bridge to Laowuchang, you can see hundreds of stone peaks densely packed in the deep valley, like a group of mighty and majestic soldiers lined up to receive orders. It is said that this is where King Xiang Tianzi's divine soldiers gathered. Although myths are unreliable, such a concentrated and spectacular array of stone peaks is rare even in Wulingyuan.
Cultural Landscape - Helong Park: Marshal Helong was a founding father of the People's Republic of China and one of the founders of the People's Liberation Army. The bronze statue of Helong is 6.5 meters high and weighs 9.3 tons, the largest single bronze statue in China to date. Look at him in his military coat, holding the large pipe that once accompanied him in his heyday, with the big white horse that once neighed to the sky nestled by his knee, the heavenly wind blowing his clothes, his eyes like torches. The entire shape, color, and charm, even the folds on the military coat, are integrated with the sandstone peak forest, standing tall with the 3,000 strange peaks here, braving the rain and wind.
After dinner, transfer to Fenghuang, stay in Fenghuang.
Day 4: After breakfast, visit the nine scenic spots of Fenghuang Ancient Town, boat on the Tuo River, Hongqiao, Yang Family Ancestral Hall, Former Residence of Xiong Xiling, Former Residence of Shen Congwen, North Gate Tower, East Gate Tower, Chongde Hall, Wanshou Palace, Museum, Tuo River Jumping Rocks, Stilted Buildings, Stone Slab Street, the filming site of 'Raise the Red Lantern', and finally the tour ends satisfactorily. Wish everyone a pleasant trip. Return to Zhangjiajie for drop-off.