Guide to Fenghuang Ancient Town in Western Hunan
With Fenghuang's successful application as a Chinese Historical and Cultural City and western Hunan's entry among China's Top Ten Charming Cities, Fenghuang in western Hunan attracts domestic and foreign visitors with its uniquely enchanting mountains and waters, quirky folk customs, rich cultural sites, and profound history. Nearly half of these visitors travel there on their own. (This shows western Hunan...)
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.
Following Fenghuang's successful application as a Chinese Historical and Cultural City and Xiangxi's ranking among China's Top Ten Charming Cities, Fenghuang in Xiangxi attracts domestic and international tourists with its uniquely enchanting mountains and waters, quirky folk customs, colorful cultural sites, and rich historical culture. Among these tourists, nearly half travel there on their own. (This shows that Fenghuang in Xiangxi is a destination very suitable for independent travelers.)
The popular factors that make Fenghuang a self-guided travel destination
1. Scenic area: Fenghuang Ancient Town itself is not very large, with simple and honest folk customs and a place that nurtures outstanding people! Its Fenghuang culture has radiated brilliant and extraordinary light from the Ming and Qing dynasties through the Republic of China era to modern times. It is a perfect place for tourists to seek their roots and explore the extraordinary.
2. Culture: Fenghuang Ancient Town was once just a small town of 5,000 people, yet the troops stationed there numbered over 7,000. Therefore, in old Fenghuang there was a saying of "five thousand residents, seven thousand soldiers." This reflects its tragic and heroic military culture. In a short span of about a hundred years during a certain period of the Qing Dynasty, Fenghuang produced over 70 officials at the rank of colonel, brigade general, provincial military commander or above. There are also China's modern-era Premier of the Republic — Xiong Xiling, the great local literary master Shen Congwen, the modern painter Huang Yongyu, and other famous figures. In addition, there are batik artist Xiong Chengzao and tie-dye artist Wu Huahua, who were awarded the title of folk artist by UNESCO... To quote the head of Fenghuang's publicity department: "Fenghuang has a group of world-renowned people..." All of this is enough to give you long-lasting memories during your stay in Fenghuang.
3. Impressions of Fenghuang: A towering Nanhua Mountain, a winding Tuojiang River, rows of stilted houses, and winding bluestone paths. The ancient wind-and-rain bridges, the dazzling riverside bars, and the densely packed unique shops. All of this lets you feel the passage of time like flowing water as you wander through the ancient town...
Discordant factors to be aware of during a self-guided tour of Fenghuang Ancient Town:
1. Accommodation: As Fenghuang Ancient Town's reputation rises, out-of-town tourists flock in. However, Fenghuang's own shortcomings in reception infrastructure mean that self-guided travelers who arrive without booking accommodation in advance will find it very difficult to find satisfactory hotels or guesthouses! (Even if they manage to find one after great effort, it won't be as economical and affordable as the reference prices provided in online guides.)
2. Touts: On the buses heading to Fenghuang Ancient Town, many local Miao women collude with drivers to board the bus and solicit customers! (In fact, these touts are neither tour guides nor legitimate tourism practitioners. They don't own their own guesthouses or hotels!) They use the pretext of being a tour guide or claiming their family runs a guesthouse, using various reasons to lead you to "their family's guesthouse" (which is actually someone else's). Generally, two scenarios arise: First, you are taken there and charged a high price (and by paying this price, you have also paid the "kind" service fees of those touts and the driver). Second, you are charged a low price. These people may genuinely have their own guesthouse or hotel. They collude with the driver to board the bus and solicit customers (how could there be such a bargain in the world?) — they have to pay the driver a per-head fee! (Once you trust them and stay at their place, it means you will fall into another trap for their "kind service" and for the per-head fee they paid the driver!) Perhaps their place is exactly the "shill" for an illegitimate tourist attraction...
I. Transportation:
For Fenghuang, people generally choose to transfer at Jishou or Huaihua. For example, from Guangzhou you can choose either, and you'll need to figure out the timing yourself.
Getting to Fenghuang from Zhangjiajie is very convenient. The bus station now has two direct coaches to Fenghuang daily, at 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM, arriving in Fenghuang in 4.5 hours, with a ticket price of 62 yuan. The buses are very comfortable. The scenery along the way is also quite nice. The return from Fenghuang to Zhangjiajie is the same. During peak season there is a third departure at 15:30.
If you arrive at Huaihua, after exiting the railway station there are buses to the bus station in the square, 1 yuan (but actually the bus station is quite close to the railway station — about 5 minutes by bus). At the bus station there are usually direct minibuses to Fenghuang, 20 yuan, with outdated Hong Kong VCDs playing on board. Departure times don't seem very guaranteed — they tend to leave only when full. The ride takes about 2.5 hours, the scenery is average, and the road conditions are acceptable. If there is no direct bus to Fenghuang, you can choose a bus to Mayang and then transfer to Fenghuang, as there are more buses there.
If you arrive at Jishou, you can take a taxi to the bus station (starting fare 3 yuan, at most 6 yuan to the bus station, about 5-10 minutes). There are many buses from the bus station to Fenghuang, also minibuses, 15 yuan, about 1 hour.
Transportation within Fenghuang: Transportation between the new town and old town mainly relies on taxis, with a starting fare of 3 yuan plus 0.5 yuan fuel surcharge. The old town has no real transportation options, but since it's not large, a few steps will get you there.
To get to various attractions such as Ala and Shanjiang, you can ask a taxi to take you to the bus station, and they can bring you there. There are minibuses going there, with fares around 5 yuan. Outside the bus station there are many minibuses and sedans, all available for charter.
Buying return train tickets in Fenghuang is now quite convenient. Just 30 meters south of Hongqiao, there is a Huaihua Railway Station ticket office with computer networking and instant ticket issuance. Whether hard seat or sleeper, buying a ticket for Huaihua costs a 30 yuan service fee per ticket, and for Jishou it's 25 yuan per ticket. Although the service fee is a bit expensive, it's much more convenient.
II. Accommodation:
There are many inns in Fenghuang, more than the small shops at your doorstep, including private and public ones. Personally, I think you should stay in the old town, especially in a private inn by the river, so you can deeply experience the local charm. In the off-season, you don't need to book in advance; anyway, you'll be strolling around, looking as you go, and staying wherever you like. In peak season, you have to pay in advance!
Fenghuang's residential inns:
1. Jinluomen Villa: An inn with ancient stilted-building style, nestled by mountains and water, located near the iconic North Gate Jumping Rock (about thirty meters away), and about 200 meters from the Fenghuang Nanhua Gate Bridge tourist parking lot. 'Facing the beautiful Tuojiang River in front, and the bustling streets of Fenghuang Ancient Town behind.' Jinluomen Villa is elegant, quiet, and poetic: when you stand at the balcony window, you can take in the ancient town, Jumping Rock, and the beautiful Tuojiang River all at once.
2. Tuojiang Renjia Inn, separated by a wall from Huang Yongyu's studio, located by Duocui Tower downstream from Hongqiao. Because of a protruding balcony directly facing Hongqiao and overlooking Huilong Pool, it is a perfect spot to view Hongqiao and Duocui Tower.
3. Shawan Inn, No. 34 Qingshawan, Jiang Youwen. The location is a bit farther, but it is very quiet and tidy.
4. Huijiang Inn, although both are by the river, you cannot see Hongqiao from here.
5. Diaojiaolou Inn, No. 1 outside the East Gate of Fenghuang County, can also buy train tickets on your behalf.
6. Outside the East Gate, find No. 15 North Street, a family surnamed Xiong. Later I learned they have some connection to Xiong Xiling. The old man's family are all intellectuals. Going up to the second floor and standing on the balcony, you can see the brilliant lights of Hongqiao and hear the murmuring flow of the Tuojiang River, then sleep peacefully with the night Tuojiang River as your pillow.
7. Xixiangfeng Inn, located further inside along the Tuojiang River, very cheap.
8. Linshuiju Inn, owners are the couple Zhang Xianghong/Yang Xiuqun, No. 26 North Street (at the North Gate). Beside the ancient town, by the Tuojiang River.
9. Linjiang Xiaoqi Inn
10. Zhengjie Family Inn
11. Beimen Inn, No. 47 Old Vegetable Street, North Gate
Other good inns include Longge, Wangjia, Huibin, Xiaoyaoju, Tingtao Villa. The rooms are in good condition, the prices are moderate, and the owners won't ask all day where guests want to go sightseeing, nor will guests be endlessly pestered and followed.
It should be pointed out that most of these private inns pay only a token amount of tax and basically have no business license. So if something goes wrong, there is a good chance the 'Fengyulou Wailou Inn' incident could repeat itself. Of course, most inn owners in Fenghuang are good people, and they don't want trouble either. In fact, wherever we go, we should be careful and either keep valuables securely wrapped or directly hand them to the innkeeper to watch.
Reminder: Accommodation in Fenghuang has no fixed prices year-round! From Monday to Thursday, prices are cheap; on weekends, prices rise! Also, during Golden Week, room rates double!
III. Food:
Fenghuang's specialty dishes include blood duck with glutinous rice, fern sprouts, twice-cooked pork, sour soup fish, jar jar mushrooms, tofu dregs, and sour vegetable soup. The portions are large, tasty, and inexpensive. Personally, I think the sour soup fish is very delicious, with a savory broth. You can eat it at Heizai Restaurant. From Hongqiao, go down and turn right about ten meters and you're there.
Fast food restaurants can be seen everywhere in the county town, cheap, and you can get a meal for 3-5 yuan. There are also uniquely flavored snacks like malatang and rice noodles, as well as Miao-style sour fish and sour radish. In the evening, on Yongfeng Bridge Pedestrian Street (the street in front of Hongqiao), there are many night market stalls where you can eat stir-fried dishes: meat dishes 5 yuan, vegetarian dishes 2-3 yuan. A few people can eat for 20-30 yuan, and the taste is very good. I recommend eating there.
Fenghuang has two barbecue streets. One is the street at the head of Hongqiao near Great Wall Hotel. The other is the street at the entrance of Tianxia Fenghuang (New Road Night Market Barbecue Street). Fenghuang's most distinctive item is beef skewers, one mao per skewer (small portion). I once ate over one hundred and seventy skewers in one sitting; the taste is good, worth trying. There are also many fried skewers, including fish, crab, and so on, from five mao to one yuan or more. As long as you're not afraid of spicy food, you can try them every day. About a 5-minute walk south of Hongqiao, at night it becomes a barbecue street with all kinds of barbecue, fermented glutinous rice dumplings, wontons, dumplings, and hot pot, everything you could want. Lamb skewers are 5 yuan for 50 skewers, but don't be fooled by the 50 skewers; they are all very small skewers and can be finished easily. Fermented glutinous rice dumplings are one yuan per bowl, sesame filling, delicious. Wontons are two yuan, like Shanghai small wontons, but with less meat. This place operates regardless of weather (plastic sheeting is put up when it rains). Breakfast mainly consists of fried dough sticks, wontons, dumplings, and rice noodles. The rice noodles here are thicker and wider than Guangdong's; one type is made from mung beans, worth trying.
This is a production area for kiwifruit and oranges. Although it is a bit past the peak season now, the prices are still quite cheap. Kiwifruit is 1-1.5 yuan per jin (the cheapest is 0.5 yuan), and oranges are 0.8 yuan per jin. Eat to your heart's content.
IV. Sightseeing:
Now, the Southern Great Wall, Huangsiqiao, Shen Congwen's Former Residence, Qiliang Cave, Xiong Xiling's Former Residence, Yang Family Ancestral Hall, Tuojiang River boating, and North Gate Tower—these eight scenic spots have a combined ticket at 150 yuan per person, bought out and operated by the boss of Huanglong Cave, and ticket prices have soared. The six major scenic spots in the city area require a combined ticket at 86 yuan. (I strongly suggest skipping the six scenic spots, because they are not worth seeing, and to see one of them you also have to buy the other five.) In the ancient town: the scenic spots are relatively concentrated, including Shen Congwen's Former Residence, Xiong Xiling's Former Residence, Yang Family Ancestral Hall, Tuojiang River boating, and North Gate Tower. I went to the Tian Family Ancestral Hall on the north bank of Jumping Rock. There is no charge. As soon as I entered, I saw two carpenters carving flowers; their craftsmanship was good. Turning past the screen wall, I saw the stage, and facing the stage was a stepped viewing platform with an awning.
There are two Jumping Rocks. One is made of stone pillars in two rows, one higher and one lower, with each pillar about 50 cm apart, somewhat like plum blossom stakes. The tops of the pillars are carved to prevent slipping. The other is laid with wooden planks, with perhaps 3-4 m between pillars. I actually felt this one was a bit unstable; some planks sink when someone steps on them. Hey, a little scary.
By the Tuojiang River, especially in the early morning, many women wash clothes, each with a wooden paddle, and the 'patta patta' sound never stops. At this time, it is the best opportunity for photography enthusiasts to shoot lots of film. But everyone should be mindful of boundaries and sometimes not get too close. I saw a friend in camouflage clothing aiming at an older woman, but he got scolded by her, saying that taking photos like that required paying, and so on.
On the East Gate city wall, many Miao women rent out clothing and jewelry. They look like genuine goods; those interested can try. There is an old man named Liu Dapao, said to produce the best batik in Fenghuang. It's in an ordinary residence with no signboard on Wenxing Street. On Tingtao Mountain east of the city is Shen Congwen's grave, the final resting place of a literary giant. Visitors come here in an endless stream. The old man, if he knows, should be comforted.
Huangsiqiao Ancient City: Ticket 25 yuan; inside the city no money is needed, because it is all residential houses, with pigs, cattle, and everything else. Not going up on the ancient city walls and instead wandering around the city is even better for observing local life. The city is not large, about 300 m or so, and from time to time you can see children with runny noses running around, a typical original-resident style. But I heard the residents are about to move out, and the city will be rebuilt with ancient government offices and yamen. By then, it will be hard to enter the city without buying a ticket.
The most famous independent-travel scenic spots around Fenghuang include Wulong Mountain (at the junction of Wuchao River, Longtang River, and La'er Mountain, taking one character from each to be called 'Wulong Mountain'; legend says the earlier bandit-suppression stories took place in this area) and Laodong Miao Village (electrified in 2000, connected by road in 2004, Fenghuang's largest and most primitive stone-slab Miao village, where every home connects to every other, every household links to every other, with a unique militarized Miao architectural style against banditry).
Gouliang Miao Village: Known as the largest Miao village in Xiangxi. Behind the village, the Guyao Pool waterfall group allows bamboo rafting and water fights, with green mountains and clear waters, suitable for summer outings.
Ximen Gorge Rafting: Relatively close to the ancient town, canyon rafting, lasting about one and a half hours. Among it, Qinglong Beach is over four hundred meters long with a drop of more than 20 meters, but the river channel is not very wide, so it feels very exciting. It is the closest rafting to Fenghuang.
Guantianshan Miao Village: Remember 'Bloody Xiangxi' broadcast by Hunan TV? Many scenes were filmed in Guantianshan Miao Village. In addition, Guantianshan is also an exterior filming location for many famous films and TV dramas such as 'Border Town,' 'Xiangxi Bandit Suppression,' 'Blood Drum,' 'Xiangxi Past Events,' 'Xiang Girl Xiaoxiao,' and 'Magic Gun Blood Vengeance.' Because of its unique Miao military fortress—Baojia Tower—it is arranged around the village. In front of the village are ancient woods, egrets, Guantian tribute rice wine, and a silver-ornament team to welcome and see off guests.
Shujiatang: Ticket 12 yuan. A well-preserved ancient 'residential community,' somewhat remote in location, basically all built of stone. It is called 'Fenghuang Ancient City exits the south wall, the most famous is Shujiatang,' and it is the best ancient architecture in the Fenghuang area. Due to issues with promotion and roads, not many people come yet. Basically the whole village has the surname Yang, said to be descendants of the Yang family generals.
Shanjiang Scenic Area: The World's Largest Stone Bridge: That is Wujiao River Bridge, designed by a local engineer from Fenghuang. It is the world's longest-span stone bridge, without using a single steel bar (???). Beside the bridge is a Miao village.
Shanjiang Miao Museum: Ticket 20 yuan. The museum is not very large, with 9 exhibition halls. It comprehensively displays the cultural characteristics of the Miao people and is a good place to learn about the Miao. In particular, the tour guide Miss Wu Yanju was articulate, good at singing and dancing, and left a deep impression on us. This museum only opened this National Day, but it was unexpected that the tour guide's quality could be so high. I recommend everyone go see it.
Qiliang Cave: Ticket 55 yuan, located 5 kilometers north of Fenghuang City. Vehicles going to Jixin pass by, fare 2 yuan. The tour inside takes nearly 2 hours, led by a guide. The format is similar to Guilin's Guanyan and Reed Flute Cave. To be honest, there is nothing too special. Not far from the entrance is a storage room for 'Jiugui' liquor, said to store XX bottles, to be opened only for the 2008 Olympics………
Market days: Market day schedule (lunar calendar):
Liaojiaqiao: Market on the 3rd and 8th, fare 1 yuan.
Alaying: Market on the 2nd and 7th, fare 3 yuan. The largest market in the whole county. Nearby are the famous Huangsiqiao Ancient City and the newly discovered Southern Great Wall ruins.
Jixin: Market days on the 5th and 10th; bus fare 3 yuan. The second-largest market town in the county, with convenient transportation—the Jifeng Highway runs through the entire area.
Shanjiang: Market days on the 3rd and 8th; bus fare 3 yuan.
La'ershan: Market days on the 2nd and 7th; bus fare 5 yuan.
Heku: Market days on the 1st and 6th; bus fare 5 yuan. Transportation is not very convenient.
V. Shopping:
When you get to Xiangxi, you can choose some goods with ethnic characteristics, such as the famous Miao embroidery, Miao silver jewelry, and local batik products. Girls who are interested can also pick out a local blue printed jacket to wear while strolling through Fenghuang's old streets. To buy these things, you can go to the "Folk Arts Street," where the shops on both sides of the street are full of Xiangxi folk specialties. There are also many local products, such as wild vegetables like fiddlehead fern, mountain bamboo shoots, Chinese toon, natural pine mushroom oil, and chicken-ear root; dried goods such as porcini mushrooms, dried green beans, dried eggplant, dried fiddlehead fern, dried bamboo shoots, dried Chinese toon, dried bitter melon, and dried chili peppers; as well as Xiangxi specialties like cured suckling pig, Miao-style cured meat, Miao-style sour fish, specialty beef jerky, pickled green beans, and spicy Chinese toon.
Fenghuang's century-old shops: Fenghuang's most famous ginger candy, namely the four famous century-old brand shops—You, and the four families: Zhang, Liu, Xiong, and Jia. Among them, the Zhang family is the most renowned! The Zhang family ginger candy old-brand shop is located at No. 12 Zhongying Street in the ancient city, adjacent to Shen Congwen's Former Residence. After reaching Shen Congwen's Former Residence, go forward 10 meters to the corner and you will arrive.
Fenghuang specialty—ginger candy is made with a secret ancestral recipe and refined folk craftsmanship. It has the effects of dispelling cold and reducing internal heat, moistening the lungs and warming the stomach, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough. It is economical and practical, easy to carry, and is a rare local specialty, health food, and excellent gift during travel. Everyone who has been to Fenghuang knows that ginger candy workshops can be seen everywhere in Fenghuang Ancient City, and at any time you can also watch Fenghuang people making ginger candy—truly a feast for the eyes. Fenghuang's more famous ginger candy workshops include: Liu's Ginger Candy, Zhang's Ginger Candy, Jia's Ginger Candy, and others, each with its own characteristics. Ginger candy is roughly divided into a mild flavor made from white sugar, rock sugar, walnut powder, mint, and a small amount of ginger, and a rich fragrant flavor made with more ginger, walnut powder, and brown sugar. When buying ginger candy, pay special attention to its shelf life and packaging. Loose-packed ginger candy has a shelf life of one to two days. If you want to buy it to take home or give to friends, you should choose tightly sealed ginger candy, such as foil packaging, which has a shelf life of four months; small packages (with four small bags) are 5 yuan per bag; large gift box packaging (40 small bags) is 58 yuan per box.
Walking along the streets of the ancient city, one cannot help but be attracted by the various folk handicrafts here. The brocade, batik, tie-dye, silver jewelry, and other items here are uniquely crafted, with strong local characteristics and high artistic value.
Fenghuang batik: Fenghuang batik is primitive and simple, and is divided into two major schools: one is Tujia batik printed cloth; the other is Miao batik homespun cloth. Tujia batik printing emphasizes pure color matching and pays attention to conception and composition. The finished cloth presents brilliant and flowing colors, and the overall artistic style is uniquely pure and beautiful, with the prominent craft characteristic being warm colors. Miao batik homespun cloth emphasizes pure dyeing and does not stress gorgeous ornamentation, giving people a natural and pure artistic feeling, with the prominent craft characteristic being cool colors. Batik works can be seen everywhere in the ancient city area. Generally, batik printed cloth has relatively rich colors, and one piece costs about 20 yuan; for batik homespun cloth, the artisan draws patterns on the homespun cloth with wax, and the colors are limited to white and blue. A small piece costs about 20-40 yuan; in summer, batik T-shirts with Fenghuang characteristics are quite popular (15-20 yuan per piece); works by folk craft masters have high collection and artistic value and are relatively expensive (400-800 yuan per piece and up). The batik works of masters Xiong Chengzao and Liu Dapao are highly accomplished.
Fenghuang tie-dye: Tie-dye can be called the sister art of batik, but its special craft performance is prominently shown in hand-tying production. Using white string, tie various flower patterns, flying birds, insects, fish, and so on onto pure white smooth cloth, then put it into a prepared blue dye solution to boil, and place it in a ventilated and light place to dry. Then those vivid images appear before your eyes. Finally, some technical processing is done to prevent fading, and the entire process is complete. Tie-dye is generally slightly more expensive than batik. Small tie-dye works, such as headscarves (3-10 yuan per piece), and larger tie-dye square cloths (50-70 yuan). Because the artistic works of famous tie-dye masters Wu Huahua and Zhang Guiying have relatively high artistic value, their works range from 70-600 yuan.
Fenghuang silverware: There is quite a lot of silver jewelry in the ancient city area, exquisitely crafted and in diverse styles. The silver jewelry here is divided into old silver and new silver. Old silver is collected from among the people and has strong folk characteristics in both workmanship and design. Here it is generally dominated by Miao silver jewelry, and such silverware is relatively expensive. New silver, with modern processing and design, has a standard silver content, and prices vary according to style and workmanship. Some are priced by weight at 3 yuan/gram, 8 yuan/gram, 10 yuan/gram, and so on, while those priced by piece are 15-60 yuan per piece. Generally speaking, the cost performance of piece-priced items is higher.
There are also some folk handicrafts, such as folk paper-cutting (there is an old paper-cutting artist beside Hongqiao) works, priced according to the complexity of the pattern (2 yuan, 3 yuan, 5 yuan, etc.). Woven floral bands: narrower machine-woven ones are 5-7 yuan, hand-woven ones are 15-20 yuan; wider machine-woven ones are 10-15 yuan, hand-woven ones are 25-40 yuan.
After strolling all over the ancient city, it seems as if you have entered a palace of art. Not only because of the antique folk architecture and unique folk customs, but also because of the ethnic crafts with strong local characteristics and high appreciation value, one cannot help but marvel at the wonder of this land.
VI. Entertainment:
In Fenghuang Ancient City, places worth going to for evening entertainment include: the Fenghuang original ecological bonfire party and releasing river lanterns! Another good option is the bar street along the Tuojiang River!
Transportation reference for traveling to Fenghuang,
1. From the direction of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan: Train K9031/4 departs Changsha at 20:20, get off at Jishou at 05:34, then take a bus to Fenghuang.
2. From the direction of Guangzhou and Shenzhen: Train K9064/5, get off at Jishou at 05:37, or Train K9068/9, get off at Jishou at 14:36, then take a bus to Fenghuang. Or fly to Zhangjiajie and then transfer by train to Jishou and on to Fenghuang.
3. From the direction of Liuzhou, Nanning, and Guilin: Train 2012 departs Nanning at 17:50, get off at Jishou at 06:14; or Train 1474, get off at Jishou at 07:14, then take a bus to Fenghuang.
4. From the direction of Shanghai and Hangzhou: Train K533 departs from Shanghai South, get off at Jishou Station, then take a bus to Fenghuang, or fly to Zhangjiajie and then transfer by train to Jishou and on to Fenghuang.
5. From the direction of Beijing and Zhengzhou: Train K267 departs from Beijing, get off at Jishou Station at 12:38, then take a bus to Fenghuang; or fly to Zhangjiajie and then transfer by train to Jishou and on to Fenghuang.
6. From the direction of Xiangfan and Yichang: Train 1473 departs from Xiangfan at 20:19, get off at Jishou, then take a bus to Fenghuang.
7. From the direction of Wuhan: Train 2159 departs from Wuchang at 17:08, get off at Huaihua Station at 6:10, then take a bus to Fenghuang; or fly to Zhangjiajie and then transfer by train to Jishou and on to Fenghuang.
8. From the direction of Guiyang: Train 1646 from the Guiyang direction, get off at Jishou at 21:13, then take a bus to Fenghuang.
9. There are daily flights from Guiyang, and several flights each week from Chongqing to Tongren Daxing (Fenghuang) Airport. Although it is 30 kilometers from Fenghuang, you must rent a car for pickup.
10. From the direction of Guiyang and Kunming, you can take a train directly to Jishou and get off, then take a bus to Fenghuang; from the direction of Chengdu and Chongqing, you can only take a train to Huaihua and get off, then transfer to a bus to Fenghuang.
11. Tourists from the directions of Xi'an, Nanjing, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, Chongqing, and Chengdu can fly to Zhangjiajie, then transfer by train to Jishou, and then take a bus to Fenghuang; or take a bus directly from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang.
12. Jishou: People coming to Fenghuang from various places generally get off the train at Jishou Station. Sometimes there are soliciting vehicles in the train station square going to Fenghuang, with air conditioning, 15 yuan per person. You can also take a taxi to the South Bus Station, where there are scheduled air-conditioned shuttle buses every 20 minutes, 12 yuan per person. It is 54 kilometers along National Highway 209, the road condition is relatively good, and Fenghuang can be reached in 70 minutes.
13. Huaihua: Get off at Huaihua Railway Station, exit the station and take a taxi (4 yuan per vehicle) to the West Bus Station, where there are shuttle buses to Fenghuang, 20 yuan per person. It is 92 kilometers along National Highway 209, with many curves, and Fenghuang can be reached in 2.5 hours.
14. Zhangjiajie:
a. There are only two direct buses from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang every day, with departure times at 08:30 and 14:30. The entire journey is 210 kilometers, the ticket price is 61 yuan, and the whole trip takes 4.5 hours. (Extra buses are added during peak season.)
b. Take a train from Zhangjiajie to Jishou Station, then transfer to a bus to Fenghuang.