Zhangjiajie Chenfeng Self-help Tour Xiao Zhang recommends basic tour routes for a four-day tour:
Day 1: Visit Tianmen Mountain (glass plank road) in Zhangjiajie, and go to Wulingyuan to stay in the afternoon
Day 2: Visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Yuanjiajie + Yangjiajie + Tianzi Mountain)
Day 3: Visit Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Shili Gallery + Jinbianxi) in the morning and go to Fenghuang Ancient City in the afternoon.
On the fourth day, visit the ancient city of Fenghuang (walking along the Tuojiang River, Shen Congwen's former residence, Xiangxi East Gate Tower, etc.). In the afternoon, you can return to Zhangjiajie from Fenghuang, or return to Huaihua to take the high-speed train home. Or return to Changsha to take a plane and high-speed train.

Detailed route and price:

After having breakfast at a hotel in the city in the morning, you can take a taxi directly to Tianmenshan Cableway Company (usually around 10 to 15 yuan). The ticket price for Tianmenshan is 258 yuan/person. Book the ticket online in advance and at the gate. The automatic ticket machine at the entrance can pick up tickets with your ID card, or purchase them on-site at the window.

Tianmenshan Cableway Company

Then they lined up and took the cableway to get ready to go up the mountain. The tense and exciting cableway takes about 30 minutes to reach the top of the mountain.

Tongtian Cable Car

Glass plank road: The Tianmen Mountain glass plank road in Zhangjiajie hangs on the west line of the top of the mountain. It is 60 meters long and its highest point is 1430 meters above sea level. It is the Ghost Valley plank road hanging above the cliff in Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, a glass observatory protruding out of thin air, and a glass platform. You can see below. (You need to pay your own fee of 5 yuan/person for shoe covers)

Ghost Valley Plank Road: The plank road has a total length of 1600 meters and an average altitude of 1400 meters. It starts from Yihongguan and ends at Xiaotianmen. Different from other plank roads, the entire Ghost Valley plank road is neither on the top of the cliff nor on the side of the cliff. Instead, the entire line stands in the middle of the cliff, giving people the feeling of rising and falling with the cliff.

Tianmen Mountain Temple: Tianmen Mountain Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty and is the Buddhist center in western Hunan. Since the temple was built, there have been many believers and the incense is flourishing. The old temple faces north and south. The high inscription "Tianmen Immortal Mountain" is written on the temple gate. The couplet on both sides reads "There is a sky outside the sky and the sky is not night, and there is no mountain on the mountain." The whole temple has three entrances and two halls, and there is a Guanyin Hall behind the hall, which is magnificent. Outside the temple, ancient trees reach the sky, and there is a seven-level pagoda not far away, which is quaint and quiet. Since the Republic of China, the old temple on Tianmen Mountain has declined day by day, and there are still ruins to be found.

Tongtian Avenue: Tianmen Cave has become the gateway to heaven in people's hearts because of its grounding and connecting to Tianmen Cave. Therefore, the winding mountain road leading to Tianmen Cave is called the "Tongtian Avenue". Even more amazing is that when the highway was completed, people were surprised to find that this Tongtian Avenue built along the mountain had exactly 99 turns, which implicitly corresponded to the meaning of "there are nine heavens and clouds are nine heavens."

Tianmen Cave: Tianmen Cave, the world's highest altitude natural mountain penetrating cave, is a legendary representative. Tianmen Cave hangs above a cliff with an altitude of more than 1300 meters. Gaotian Cave Entrance is 131.5 meters, 57 meters wide and 60 meters deep. It breathes clouds and receives fog all year round, shocking the world. Throughout the ages, both emperors and generals and ordinary people have regarded Tianmen Cave as a spiritual place for praying and making wishes.

Tianmen cave

Mountain-crossing escalator: Tianmen Mountain Mountain-crossing elevator runs in the mountain tunnel all the way, from the bottom of Tianmen Cave to the top of the mountain. There are 12 sections in total. The total length of the escalator steps is 897 meters, the lifting height is 340 meters, and the total span is 692 meters.

escalator through mountains

After going down the mountain, you can't go to Zhangjiajie Bus Station and take the scenic spot direct bus at 12 yuan/person. Go to Wulingyuan and choose a hotel to stay and rest to save your strength for the next day's journey.
Recommendations for Wulingyuan Scenic Area: Shangougou Characteristic Inn (around 200) or Mengxiyuan Style Hotel (around 150), Pullman Jinwu Hotel (around 500), Nabelli Hotel (around 400)
Recommendations for the surrounding evenings: You can stroll around the bustling streets, taste various specialty snacks, barbecue, or go to Xibu Street (the small ancient city of Fenghuang), or you can watch the "Charming Xiangxi" party performance, which is called a must-see performance when visiting Zhangjiajie. The large-scale stage play led by director Feng Xiaogang is divided into two inside and outside scenes. Tickets are usually 228 yuan/person and super VIP is 298 yuan/person.

charming Xiangxi

Ticket price is 228 yuan/person and is valid for 4 days! (Yuanjiajie + Yangjiajie + Tianzishan)

After breakfast, if you stayed near the hotels I mentioned the night before, you can walk to the Wulingyuan Sign Gate to pick up your ticket.

sign gate

After queuing for ticket checking, take a scenic area eco-friendly vehicle and ask which eco-friendly vehicle is going to Yuanjiajie. It takes about 20 minutes to arrive at the Yuanjiajie Bailong Elevator and get off the station. You need to purchase a small transportation Bailong Elevator at your own expense to get to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. Bailong Elevator is 72 yuan/person one way and bought on site.

Bailong Elevator

Yuanjiajie is located in the north of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and is a mountain terrace. Behind the mountains and mountains, facing the secluded valleys and peaks, extending from east to west. The main attractions include the Back Garden, Chizhuo Terrace, the First Bridge in the World, etc.

Yangjiajie Scenic Area connects Zhangjiajie to the east and Tianzi Mountain to the north, covering an area of 34 square kilometers. There are three tourist areas in Yangjiajie: Xiangzhi River, Longquan Gorge and Baihou Valley. Among them, there are more than 200 well-known landscapes such as One-Step to Sky, Sky Corridor, Longquan Flying Waterfall, Cliff Vine King, and White Crane Gathering.

[Tianzi Mountain Scenic Area]: The scenery of Tianzi Mountain can be summarized in one word, which is "the original scenery and natural beauty." Her landscapes and attractions are all made in heaven and there is no trace of artificial carving. There are not only strange mountains and beautiful rivers here, but also simple people's customs. Strange folk customs and unique ethnic food are waiting for all tourists to visit. No wonder some people commented: "Whoever knows the face of the emperor will return without looking at the mountains in the world","If you don't visit the emperor mountain, you will go to Wulingyuan in vain."

I think your stomach is growling already. I recommend a [Shanye Chef] at No. 20 Baofeng Road. Or [Fu Zhengyi Three Steps], the average consumption is 30 yuan, excluding alcohol. The price is affordable and the taste is great.

I'm full and drunk. You can go back to the hotel to rest. Hotels in Wulingyuan can be booked for two consecutive nights!

Go to Phoenix for check-in the afternoon. Your luggage is stored at the front desk first and you can go to the hotel to pick it up after you leave the mountain.

You can choose to take a small train (38 yuan/person one way, 76 yuan round trip), or you can walk up and down to buy a small train, which takes about 1 hour on foot.

Then continue to wait for the bus at the parking lot of Shili Gallery. Go inside and don't sit in the wrong direction. Don't cross the road, wait for the bus on the road near the entrance of Shili Gallery.

On the platform across the road, there are many environmentally friendly vehicles waiting. Take the bus and go out directly.
After you get out of the mountain, go to the hotel to pick up your luggage, go to Wulingyuan Bus Station and take a bus to Fenghuang Ancient City. The fare is 92 yuan/person, and the duration is about 4 hours.
After arriving in Fenghuang, you can find a specialty inn by the river. Listen to me, although the price is a little more expensive, at night you will know how beautiful the night view outside from the balcony is.
Recommended inn: Brother's Family (Phoenix Diaojiao Building View Store) is about 300 yuan. There are about 200 pieces of Fenglinhong Inn, a small building along the Fenghuang River, and about 300 pieces of Fenghuang Happy Post House. They are all very unique invincible seascape inns.
Phoenix cuisine recommendations: duck with blood cake, fish in sour soup, ginger sugar, tung leaf cake, Miao's fried bacon, rice tofu and meat minced.

Depending on the return method you need, the first way is to go back to Zhangjiajie by plane or train, the second way is to take a bus to Changsha by plane, and the third way is to take a bus to Huaihua by high-speed rail.

Thank you for reading carefully, I hope it will help you!!!