In the 10 days before the Spring Festival in February 2007, I drove to Guangxi and Xiangxi with my family (3 adults and 2 children in total) and started a 7-day self-driving tour. I returned to Zhongshan on the 28th of the New Year. The route: Zhongshan-Foshan (Guangzhou)-Yangshuo-Guilin-Longsheng-Fenghuang-Zhangjiajie-Changsha-Zhongshan, with a total length of more than 2630 kilometers.

The first day of the journey is about 540 Km, and overnight stays in Yangshuo

Around 8:00 in the morning 30 Starting from Xiaolan in Zhongshan City, take the Junan-Leliu-Longjiang Shangfokai Expressway in Shunde, then take the Guangfo Expressway, then turn to the Guangsan Expressway, get off at the Sanshui Exit, take Provincial Highway S263, pass Sihui-Guangning-Huaiji out of Guangdong, enter Xindu in Guangxi, take National Highway G207, pass Hezhou-Zhongshan, turn to National Highway G323 in the direction of Pingle, and turn to Yangshuo at Ertang. The overall road conditions are good. When we are close to Yangshuo, the scenery on the road is already very beautiful. Therefore, it is recommended to rush to Yangshuo before dark, otherwise you will miss the beautiful scenery on both sides of the road. In Hezhou, you will see the newly built Hezhong Expressway, which should be the Hezhou-Zhongshan Expressway, but at that time, it didn't have many cars and I didn't dare to walk. After arriving at Zhongshan, I saw the exit. I guess it should be completed. I arrived in Yangshuo at about 6 p.m., and the total journey that day was about 540Km.

I stayed at the West Street Hotel on West Street in Yangshuo that night. I booked a room through Ctrip. The standard room was 120 yuan. The public price at the front desk seemed to be more than 500 yuan. Because of the off-season before the Spring Festival, the price was quite discounted. The room was a bit like Japanese tatami. Overall, it was good. Although it is the off-season before the Spring Festival, West Street is still very lively at night, with many foreigners. The gorgeous neon lights, strong music, and enthusiastic waiters in front of the bar are a great attraction to young people. This is different from the impression I left when I stopped in West Street in broad daylight many years ago. In short, West Street can only be visited at night. There are signs hanging in front of many craft shops on both sides of West Street, saying "There is a room" in Chinese and English. It turns out that crafts are sold in the front, but hotels are located behind and on the second floor.

That night, I tasted the famous local beer fish on West Street. On the way back to the hotel, I happened to bump into the "Guizhitu" travel agency at the intersection of West Street. I went in and asked about various attractions, and finally decided that they would help us arrange the second day. The morning itinerary mainly included three attractions: Yulong River Bamboo Raft Rafting, Big Banyan Tree, and Moon Mountain. Since it was off-season, I felt that the prices were relatively reasonable.

The journey on the second day is about 160Km, and you will stay overnight in the Longji Terrace

I checked out at 7:30 in the morning and put all my luggage in the car. It was raining at that time, and I was in a bad mood. I was afraid that today's rafting would be cancelled due to the weather. I saw a restaurant on the edge of the West Street that served Guilin rice noodles, so five people rushed to have one for each. I felt that it was not as delicious as Xiaolan Li Ji's Guilin rice noodles. I really didn't know which one was authentic. According to the scheduled time with the travel agency, at 8: When we arrived at the entrance of the travel agency at 00, the tour guide had not arrived yet, but the rain had stopped. After the tour guide arrived, each person chose a bicycle (5 yuan/set) and followed the tour guide to ride leisurely to the starting point of our rafting-Chaoyang Wharf. The two children were very happy because they could ride their own bicycles alone. The Yulong River is a tributary of the Li River, and the river surface is not very wide. The five of us were divided into two bamboo rafts to drift in the Yulong River. Originally, each bamboo raft could only accommodate two people. We need three bamboo rafts, but the supervision is not so strict in the off-season. It has just rained and the sky is clear. When we see the scenery on both sides of the Yulong River, it is indeed picturesque and extremely beautiful. The boatman and tour guide explain the attractions on both sides of the river for us, and from time to time you can see kingfishers flying quickly on the river; There is also a very interesting place. Because the river water is small in winter, the low small dams that originally existed about a few hundred meters long will be highlighted. However, we don't have to get off the bamboo raft. The boatmen directly put the bamboo raft downstream. With a drop of more than 1 meter, high waves will be splashed when the bamboo raft rushed down. If we don't lift our feet hard in time, our shoes and pants will have long been soaked through. There are 7-8 small dams in the entire journey, so I felt very exciting during the process, coupled with the beautiful scenery on both sides of the strait. I felt that we would reach the finish line very soon. At that time, our original bicycles had already been delivered by agricultural vehicles. We replaced them with bicycles. In less than 3 minutes, we arrived at Da Banyan Park. We had seen the big banyan tree that was said to be from the movie "Third Sister Liu". However, for the 18-yuan ticket, there are two words: it is not worth it, compared with the big banyan tree in Jiangmen Xinhui Bird Paradise, it is really insignificant. Fortunately, we arranged it through a travel agency, and the ticket is a bit discounted; It only takes 2-3 minutes to reach Moon Mountain by bike from the park. You can see Moon Mountain on the roadside. I am really amazed at the beauty of nature. There is a big hole in the middle of a mountain. At a glance, it does look like a moon, and the moon's shape is different from different angles on the road. It is very interesting. We didn't climb the mountain or need a ticket. After eating farm food here, it was almost twelve o'clock, so we rode back to West Street. The scenery on both sides of the road is quite beautiful. Riding slowly is very leisurely and comfortable, so others say that when you come to Yangshuo, it is best to rent a bicycle and ride slowly. It seems that it is not bad at all.

We left Yangshuo at noon and headed straight to Guilin. It was about 60 kilometers. The road was easy to walk. Maybe it was due to the season. Both sides of the road were filled with many Guangxi specialties-Shatian pomelo. We didn't forget to get off the bus and taste it. It was very sweet and juicy. In the end, we bought almost 10 of them, the big one was 5 yuan per piece and the small one was 3 yuan. A few years ago, we had been to Guilin, but my father had never been there on the bus. So, I drove directly to Elephant Trunk Mountain Park and asked him to go down and look at Guilin's city symbol-Elephant Trunk Mountain. Take a photo. I have been to Guilin, and then hurried on the road to Longsheng. The next destination is the Longji Terrace in Heping Township, Longsheng County. In Guilin, you just need to head in the direction of Lingui County or the airport. Specifically, take National Highway G321. Because part of the road to Longji is a winding road, I hope I can get there before dark. This section of the road is about 100 kilometers. Because it is a winding road, it is not fast, but for drivers who don't have much chance to walk the mountain road, it is very enjoyable and the scenery on the mountain road is also very good. Stayed at the Peace Hotel that night (110 yuan/room, this hotel was also recommended for Guizhilu in Yangshuo) I booked in advance through Yixi.com, and we could hardly book a room below 200 yuan in Ctrip. However, later the customer service of the website informed us that Heping Hotel was renovated before the Spring Festival and temporarily changed to another hotel-Yunlongju (80 yuan/room) Hotel. Entering the scenic spot, the ticket is 50 yuan per person. The car is parked in the parking lot on the top of the mountain. You need to walk some climbing steps to reach the hotel. Those hotels were all built by the local Yao people themselves. The Yunlong Residence we stayed in was all nice. There was a small balcony in front of the door. Looking out, we could see a very famous terraced attraction-Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon. However, the fog was very high at that time, so the terraced fields were not very clear. On the balcony, I also saw the Peace Hotel, which was under maintenance not far away. In fact, the hotel was built on a four-story building halfway up the mountain with wooden boards and pillars. The first floor was a restaurant, and there were about 4-5 rooms on each floor. At that time, there were no other tourists, so our family owned the entire hotel. The owner himself was also a Yao citizen and was very enthusiastic. The weather was very cold at night, and the temperature difference between day and night on the mountain was really large.

Tip: When we arrive at the parking lot of Longji, there is also a rocky road for climbing to the hotel on the mountain. It is absolutely impossible to walk by car. It will be very difficult to carry heavier luggage. There will be many local women carrying baskets coming over to help carry the luggage. Generally, it is 10 yuan per person, and the luggage is filled with one basket. It is recommended to ask them for help or serve as guides. We thought we could get there in a few steps, so we took our luggage ourselves. Not only was it hard, we also asked around how to get to the hotel we stayed in.

Day 3 journey 370Km, stay late in Huaihua

After getting up, I hurriedly ate the breakfast specially prepared by the hotel-sweet potatoes, taro, and noodles. Then I climbed to the observation deck from the mountain road next to the hotel. I met two tourists from Hong Kong who were taking pictures of the sunrise and terraces there early in the morning. The fog was still relatively strong in the morning, and the scenery was greatly reduced. The terraces were not the best place to view this season (I heard from the owner of the hotel that it would be best from May to June, when the water was already released and the terraces were green; or from September to October, when the harvest season was golden.) However, for us who had never seen terraces, it was still very spectacular and amazed at the determination and strength of the local people to conquer nature. After watching the terraces, we are ready to go to the next destination------

Walking west from Longsheng County in Guangxi along National Highway G321, the road conditions are the worst and not very easy to walk, especially Piaoli Town in Longsheng County. The scenery along the road is also average. Then, turning to National Highway G209 and entering Hunan. Most of them are Panshan roads, but the road conditions are good. Even if you are walking long distances for the first time, it should be no problem. Along the road, you pass through Hunan's corridor-Jingzhou-Huitong-Hongjiang-Zhongfang. You will arrive in Huaihua City before dark. I originally wanted to reach Fenghuang before arriving there. I lived there. However, Huaihua is still about 100 kilometers away from Fenghuang. I was afraid that the winding road would be difficult to walk at night, so I stayed in Huaihua for one night first and stayed at the local three-star Southwest Hotel. This hotel was mentioned by netizens on the Internet. After phone contact, the standard room cost 150 yuan is not bad, but it is a bit strange. The entire Huaihua hotel cannot be booked on Ctrip and e-Long.

Tips: Not far from Tongdao County, which has just left Hunan, walking on the G209 National Highway, although there are only two lanes, because it is a straight road with a good line of sight, it is estimated that it will be easy for ordinary people to drive to reach 80-90 kilometers. But suddenly there is a ban sign with a speed limit of 40 kilometers, and it also measures and takes photos. It is estimated that many careless drivers will be caught. There are also similar speed measurement points in Jingzhou, Huaihua, and Fenghuang counties. Most of them are located on a straight road just into or out of the city, so drivers need to pay special attention.

Day 4 journey 310Km, overnight stay in Zhangjiajie

After breakfast in the morning, I left Huaihua City and walked along National Highway G209 in the direction of Mayang and Fenghuang. most of them were Panshan Road, but the road conditions were better, and there were few cars on the road before the Spring Festival, about 100 kilometers. I arrived at the ancient city of Phoenix in western Hunan before 11 o'clock and began to drive to Hongqiao according to the tips of some netizens on the Internet, but there was no place to park there. If there is a hotel that can park alone, it costs 40 yuan for the night. Too uneconomical, just drive casually in the county seat, inadvertently walk to the square in front of the county government (outside the ancient city), you can park (10 yuan), and get off about 100 meters from Wen Square, next to the ancient city of Phoenix, the ancient city of Phoenix is built according to the mountain, the Tuojiang River passes through the city and finds a tour guide (20 yuan). The guide himself runs a hotel, and now in the off-season about 50 yuan a room (but not near the river) About 40 meters into the riverside), she took us around the ancient city along the west gate, south gate, east gate and north gate, and on the other side of the Tuojiang River, she enjoyed the very characteristic old Diaojiao building on the other side of the river. I think this is the most appreciated place in the whole ancient city of Phoenix. I had lunch at a Diaojiaolou restaurant near the river and ordered bandit chicken and blood duck with local characteristics. When I came out, I bought a bag of local specialties-ginger candy. I originally planned to stay in Phoenix for one night, but when I arrived in Phoenix, I was a little disappointed. Unlike the Phoenix I imagined, the ancient city of Phoenix has become very commercial and dirty. The Tuojiang River may be a little dark in winter because there is less water, especially in the section of Longtan under Hongqiao. Originally, the scenery was the most beautiful, but now I feel that it spoils the scenery, and the pollution caused by tourism and commerce can be seen everywhere. Other scenic spots such as Shen Congwen's former residence, Wenchang Pavilion Primary School, Huangsizhai Ancient City Wall, Yaozhai and so on don't mean much to us, so after dinner, we left Phoenix and went to Zhangjiajie, the most important destination of our trip. Follow the national highway G209 to Jishou City first. On the way to Jishou City, I passed a small town called Jixin, which happened to be a market day, and the national highway happened to pass through the center of the town. At that time, the national highway had become an open-air bazaar. On both sides of the road, there were all kinds of agricultural and sideline products, New year's goods, small commodities, etc., a sea of people, and more people visited the flower market in broad daylight than in Guangdong on the night of New year's Eve. Only 1-2 kilometers on the road for half an hour, fortunately, really let us see the grand occasion of the provincial market, to Jishou, and then take the provincial highway S229 through Guzhang to Zhangjiajie, the whole journey is about 220 kilometers, the road condition is good, also arrived in Zhangjiajie before dark, check-in in advance booked such as Zhangjiajie Dayong City store, standard room 180 yuan, including double early, is our trip to the most expensive room, however, the room is very large It is much bigger than the home I have lived in Beijing before. I surfed the Internet in my room at night and found a local travel agency that felt bigger-Xiangzhong Travel Service. They arranged for a guide to come to our hotel early the next morning. Take us to visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park tomorrow and the next two days. The guide fee is 100 yuan per day, and we are not responsible for all his tickets.

Tip: According to the online price of Home Inns Zhangjiajie Dayong Fucheng Store through Home Inns 'website, the online price is 180 yuan, but if you book through Ctrip, the same room costs 240 yuan. However, other Home Inns stores such as Beijing can book through Ctrip, you can save 10-20 yuan than Home Inns' online price.

Visit Zhangjiajie on the 5th day and stay overnight in Zhangjiajie

I got up in the morning and it rained a little. After breakfast, the tour guide arrived, so he took our car to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

We live in the urban area of Zhangjiajie, and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is in Wulingyuan District. Driving about 30 kilometers into the urban area, the car finally parked in the parking lot in front of the park. Tickets for adults are 245 yuan +3 yuan for insurance, a total of 248 yuan/person, and children (more than 1.2 meters) are 131 yuan +3 yuan for insurance, a total of 134 yuan/person. This is the most expensive place in our entire travel itinerary. The ticket is an IC card. You need to verify your identity by your fingerprint when you enter the door. Each ticket can be valid for multiple entrances and exits within 2 days. Several attractions we plan to visit this time, Huangshizhai, Jinbianxi, Yuanjiajie, and Tianzi Mountain, are included, but the price of elevators and cableways is not included.

Due to the slight light rain and dense fog, as soon as I entered the park, I felt shrouded in clouds and mist, as if I were in a fairyland. Looking out at the high mountain peak from the ground. The top of the mountain is particularly beautiful because of the clouds and mist, which is a different scene from watching it when it is sunny. The tour guide arranged for us to go to Huangshi Village first. The cableway fee is about 200 yuan one way (3 adults and 2 children). When we were at the foot of the mountain, we could still see some scenery, but when the cableway reached the top of the mountain, due to the huge fog, we finally understood what it means to see flowers in the fog. The vision is less than 10 meters, and it is still raining, and all the scenic spots on the mountain cannot be seen. I was very disappointed. I had no choice but to go down the mountain road and down the mountain road. On the contrary, we could see several scenic spots on the road. The rain is getting worse and worse. It was already noon when we arrived at the foot of the mountain. We first left the park and had a meal at a restaurant not far from the door. After dinner, we went to the park and visited the Jinbian River in the afternoon. Although there was still fog when we visited the Jinbian River, because the Jinbian River was walking along the stream on the ground, looking up from the ground to enjoy the scenery of the distant mountains along the way, it looked particularly beautiful. Not only did it not affect the viewing, the lingering clouds and mist also added a strange atmosphere. All of us praised the beauty. Coincidentally, due to the rain, the Jinbian River is relatively large, and the sound of flowing water is very pleasant, making people feel relaxed and happy. There are not many tourists, and wild monkeys haunt the grass of the creek from time to time, which makes my daughter very happy. For her, this is an unexpected gain. After walking Jinbian Creek, the unpleasantness of visiting Huangshi Village in the morning has long been swept away. Originally, if you go straight along Jinbian Creek, you will reach the scenic spot of "Water Around the West Gate". Then you can come out from the Zimugang entrance and take a free environmental protection bus. We returned to the gate of Wulingyuan. However, since our car was parked at the main entrance of the Forest Park, we had no choice but to return. It was about 6 o'clock when we left the park and got on the bus, and then we drove back from the park to the city.

Tips:

1. In addition to the cableway and the Hundred Dragons Ladder, there is no additional charge for the facilities in the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area to go to the toilet, take environmentally friendly vehicles, etc. In the off-season before the Spring Festival, there are very few tourists, and there is no need to queue up to take the cableway, go to the toilet, and take photos at scenic spots. It is very comfortable. The toilet may be very clean because there are few tourists before the festival, which is cleaner than the paid toilets next to the ticket office.

2. In fact, there is no need to hire a tour guide. The scenic spots in the Forest Park are clearly instructed, and there will also be instructions at the scenic spots. It would be better to buy a map in advance. When our tour guide took us to a restaurant at noon, the food was ridiculously expensive. Later, he came out and changed to the restaurant next to it, stating that the guide fee was not included and the same thing was much cheaper. But after lunch, the tour guide seemed to have changed. Like a person, less than a quarter of the time he took us to Jinbian River, he said that the scenic spots in front were not beautiful and asked to go back. Fortunately, we persisted, otherwise we would waste a lot of beautiful scenery; Also at the Zimugang exit, there was originally a taxi that could return to the entrance of the Forest Park, but since the tour guide went out first, we probably had an agreement with the driver to charge 60 yuan for a few kilometers, but we refused to reduce the price. We were so angry that we took the Jinbian River back. When we bought the tickets in the morning, we had already given a tour guide fee of 200 yuan for two days. At the Zimugang exit, we made it clear that we would not need the tour guide the next day and wanted to pay back 100 yuan. In short, I hired that tour guide from Hunan China Travel Service just to buy money.

Visit Zhangjiajie on the 6th day, journey 340Km, stay overnight in Changsha

When I got up in the morning, the weather improved a little and there was no rain. After having breakfast at Ru's, I drove to the gate of Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Due to the off-season before the festival, the entrance was closed because a cave inside was under maintenance. However, there was an environmentally friendly bus for free transportation to yesterday's Zimugang entrance. After entering, I took a free environmentally friendly car to pass through the West Gate of Shuihuan to the Bailong Tiantian. The destination was Yuanjiajie on the mountain. It cost about 200 yuan one way to take the elevator to the top of the mountain. The height of the elevator is 326 meters, half of which is in the mountain, and half of which you can clearly see the scenery outside through the glass. At the exit of the elevator on the top of the mountain, you can take an eco-friendly car to reach Yuanjiayjie. Today's weather is good, without yesterday's fog. The vision is clear and open. The scenery in Yuanjiayjie is very beautiful, and the scenic spots are very concentrated, which opens our eyes and praises us. We can only marvel at the magical craftsmanship of nature, and sometimes rows of mountains rise from the ground, like generals lining up; Sometimes a single mountain peak stands tall, like a divine needle in the sea. I really don't know how to describe it; there is also the small pine tree on the mountain peak. You can never understand where it grew from. It is more suitable than artificial planting. The most amazing thing is the world's first bridge.

After touring Yuanjiajie, we have lunch at the restaurant on the mountain at noon (but it is very expensive), then take a free eco-friendly car and walk on the top of the mountain for about 40 minutes, and we will reach another large scenic spot-Tianzi Mountain. Get off at Helong Park. The scenery of Tianzi Mountain is somewhat different from Yuanjiajie, but it is just as beautiful, as pleasing to the eye, and as amazing. Since today's itinerary requires arriving in Changsha at night, after seeing Tianzi Mountain, In order to save time, we can take the cableway on Tianzi Mountain, and the cost is about 200 yuan one way. However, I think taking the cableway on Tianzi Mountain can see more scenery than the Bailong Ladder. Many peaks are suddenly under our feet, suddenly around us, and suddenly above our heads. You can view the pine trees on the peaks very closely from different angles. It seems that they are within your reach.

We officially left Zhangjiajie National Forest Park at about 4 p.m... From Wulingyuan Scenic Area, we need to return to the city first, then take Changzhang Expressway (Changde-Zhangjiajie), and then directly board Changchang Expressway (Changde-Changde). After arriving in Changde, we will pass Cili, Changde and Yiyang and finally arrive in Changsha at 8 p.m.. Changsha was not yet home, so we booked a similar budget hotel for 7 days in advance (standard room 157 yuan).

Tips: The two major scenic spots, Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain, are both on the top of the mountain and can be reached on foot. To save time, you can take the Hundred Dragons Ladder to go up and down the Yuanjia Boundary, and you can take the cableway to go up and down the Tianzi Mountain. On the top of the mountain, the two can reach each other by taking a free environmentally friendly car, which means that you only need to take a one-way ride on each side of the elevator and the cableway. This saves money and does not have to go back. However, in the Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain Scenic Area on the top of the mountain, there are no clear instructions to take an environmentally friendly car to reach each other. It takes someone to remind you to know that it gives people the impression that they want tourists to take an extra elevator or cableway wherever they come from, and then take a two-way elevator or cableway when they reach another scenic spot at the foot of the mountain, which is a waste of time and more. Pay twice the price of the cableway or elevator.

Return to Zhongshan on the 7th day, journey 750Km

After breakfast, I went directly to the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway from Changsha, passed through Zhuzhou, Hengyang, Chenzhou, and Shaoguan to Guangzhou, and then returned to Zhongshan. There were very few buses on the entire Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway. It was in sharp contrast to my travel after the Spring Festival in previous years. On the sixth and seventh days of the new year, the road was full of cars on the way back. It was less than 6 o'clock in the evening when I arrived in Xiaolan.

To sum up, because the entire self-driving tour is before the Spring Festival, there are very few buses along the way. All scenic spots hotels are relatively cheap and easy to book. There is no need to queue for scenic spots and toilets. Because there are few tourists, I feel very leisurely in the scenic spots, which is completely different from the May Day and November Golden Weeks. The most beautiful scenery on the tour should be Yangshuo and Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie is almost in the middle of the entire self-driving tour, with a total length of about 2630 kilometers. During the trip, only the 20-30-kilometer section of the national highway in Piaoli Town, Longsheng County, Guangxi has poor road conditions. The rest are completely fine, but the Longji terraces and Xiangxi are many winding mountains roads, and the return journey from Zhangjiajie to Zhongshan is a full-length highway.