Travel in Hunan
Changsha - the capital of hunan
Changsha is a major transportation hub in central China and is easily reached by rail or flight. The airport even has a maglev to transport passengers downtown. The city is very spread out and modern. The Xiangjiang river splits the city into two parts. There is also a long island in the Xiangjiang river, commonly referred to as Orange Island (橘子洲), which has been made into an excellent park and monument area. Here you can observe a large monument dedicated to a young Mao at the southern most terminus of the island.
It is famous for spicy food and their spicy stir-fried beef is a must try during your stay. There is an old town pedestrian walking area in Changsha called Taiping Old Street (太平老街历史文化街区) where you can find ancient architecture paired with a lot of street food and shops.
Changsha also has a lot of hip-hop influence in youth culture so if going out is your thing you might find some cool hip-hop bars (嘻哈酒吧 on Dianping) in the downtown area. There is also a massive club with an impressive light and ceiling system called 天汉大剧院 if that is your thing.
Changsha is typically the starting point for a journey west to Zhangjiajie (the avatar mountains) and a few ancient towns. I would recommend staying by Taiping Ancient Street or Tianzi Pavilion so you are close to some of the main attractions. Yuelu Academy, Orange Park, Taiping Street and the Tianzi Pavilion are the most popular attractions in Changsha. You can find more information on China Discovery’s website.
Fenghuang
Fenghuang is a picturesque ancient town located along the Tuojiang (沱江) river. It is especially beautiful at night when the buildings are all lit up. There aren’t many particular attractions rather than the town as a whole. It is ideal for a few days of long walks.
Unfortunately, there is no rail-way station connecting Fenghuang with other cities. It takes about 5 – 6 hours to visit Fenghuang by bus from Changsha or you are able to take the high-speed rail station from Changsha to Huaihua and then use a long distance bus to reach Fenghuang. You can find more information about this route on China Travel Guide.
Fnghuang Ancient Town is located in the Xiangxi TuJia Miao Autonomous Prefecture.Tujia and Miao are the main ethnic minorities you will meet here. You can distinguish the Miao culture from the elaborate craftmanship of silver in ornaments and jewelry. Take your time to enjoy the beautiful village and ancient architecture.
Unfortunately, it should be noted that part of the old town does have its fair share of music bars when the sun goes down. It is not recommended to visit these places as the bottled beer is expensive and sold in bulk. Many bars do not serve real alcohol either so beware if you order a mix drink. It is possible to find respectable bars to enjoy a drink but ask for recommendations from hotel staff or friends who have visited recently and you may want to stick with bottled beer.
Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie, notably famous for the “Avatar” mountains, is one of the most iconic destinations in China. It became China’s first national forest park in 1982. Innumerable people have been captivated by the towering rock towers and epic geological formations. The area the attractions cover is also quite vast so it is important to plan your trip to Zhangjiajie well in advance.
You can take a bus easily from Fenghuang to Zhangjiajie City. You can also fly directly into the city or take a high-speed train right to or from Changsha (or other cities). I took the bus from Fenghuang and it was only about four hours long.
The weather can sometimes change unexpectedly in the park so definitely bring or stock up on rain gear. You also need to be careful about monkeys. Do not walk around openly with food containers and be mindful where you eat snacks you bought or brought with you into the park. The wild monkeys can be very intimidating and will certainly try to take your food. It is recommended to bring snacks in a day pack but there are many stalls and small shops where you can buy hot food and snacks. There is special type of cured sausage which is a local specialty. It is quite spicy but you should definitely try it as many vendors within the park will have their own family recipe.
There are three main areas to consider when planning your trip to Zhangjiajie. There is the national park, city center and grand canyon. The national park is where the majority of the attractions are. It is not very convenient to travel between the city center to the park, especially when you want to get an early start to beat the crowds. It is advisable to stay preferably three nights near the entrance to national park.The main attractions of the national park are Yuanjiajie, Bailong Elevator, Tianzi Mountain, Yellow Stone Village and more. You can find a detailed map here or ask your hotel if they have a free one to give you. I’d also recommend consulting this guide – no need to reinvent the wheel here.
Zhangjiajie National Park, I would say, is the main destination for travelers looking to experience the iconic Avatar mountains. I stayed at Yingke Shanju Homestay (张家界迎客山居), which was excellent and the host was very helpful. The homestay was within walking distance of the park entrance and ticket office. If you’re using the bus system and cable cars to go from place to place, the maps are quite useful and easy to navigate. There is less information on the hiking you can do in between attractions but it is possible if you want to escape the crowds or minimize wait times.
The park opens at 7:30 and people tend to gather just before it opens. I definitely recommend getting there at opening time. Especially during holidays. It helps to be ahead of the crowd for most of the day. We caught one of the first buses heading into the park from the ticket office, stopping by the Yellow Stone Village on the way to the YangJiaJie (杨家界) cable car.
This was taken on the cable car from YanJiaJie Ticket Office to WuLong Village in May 2021. From WuLong Village we continued on the path heading north into the park.
This is what you start to see.
And this….
And….
The rest you will have to see for yourself. These are a few of the sights from the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Again, this park is quite big and nearly impossible to fit in one day. It is recommended you take three days to really explore the park and do some hiking.
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is 40km away from the National Park entrance and takes about one hour to drive. The Grand Canyon is also about 54km away from the city and takes about one hour and fifteen minutes to drive.
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is home to the famous glass bridge sky walkway. The canyon is pretty massive and it is a thrilling experience to cross over it while looking down. The bridge itself is 430 meters long, 6 meters wide and 300 meters high. It is the longest and highest glass bridge in the world. There are many people with mixed feelings of glass bridges but this one is definitely worth it if not for its status alone.
After you take your time on the bridge and cross to the other side you are able to hike down or you can pay to ride a seated zipline back down to the other side. From there you can either continue to walk down to the bottom of the canyon or you can pay an additional fee to use a slide. I thought that both were inexpensive and quite fun. They are also faster ways of reaching the bottom of the canyon.
Once at the bottom of the canyon you are able to take a long walk following the river. It takes you through some wooded areas with excellent green foliage, under massive overhanging cliffs and into caves lit with artificial light.
The walk takes close to two hours if you’re moving at a steady pace and it is definitely recommended to pack water and snacks because there are less vendors here than in other parts of Zhangjiajie.
You will end your visit with a boat ride which will take you across a wider channel on the way to the exit. You can enjoy a pleasant ride through greenish blue water cradled by the massive canyon walls. My driver picked me up at the exit which is down the road a bit farther from the entrance. Using a driver is probably the best way to reach the grand canyon and you can ask your hotel to recommend someone to you.
Depending on how you organize your trip, visiting Zhangjiajia City could be the first or last part of your visit. The main attraction in the city is Tianmen Shan which is reachable by the longest cable car in the world. It is the famous gate of heaven. Do not deprive yourself of walking up the steps and stand under the massive gate. I, unfortunately, had a bit of food poisoning kick in the morning of the visit but I can personally attest for the helpfulness of the first aid service center at the bottom. They were great and gave me glucose for energy to push on through the day.
The elevators are quite impressive as well but they are all carved inside the mountain and can feel a little claustrophobic. They go on and on and on though. Once you get to the top you are able to stroll throughout a variety of paths build on top of the mountain. You can walk over the gate itself and do some glass skywalks way up high on the top. The views are quite awesome up there.
You buy tickets to Tianmen Shan in downtown Zhangjiajie at the service center with the cable car. When you buy your tickets be sure to check the cable car details. Some tickets have only one way cable car usage. If it’s one way then I recommend taking the bus (located right outside the building) which will take you up to another cable car just under the gate. It’s much better to take the cable car all the way back to the service center at the end of the day.
