In fact, this is my second time going to Zhangjiajie. The last time I went was in September 2017, during the late summer and early autumn of Zhangjiajie, when the sky was clear for thousands of miles. Immersed in the beautiful scenery of Zhangjiajie, I have decided to set off again in January this year to see the snow scenery of Zhangjiajie.

However, the weather has not been pleasant, with cloudy days and occasional light rain throughout the past few days this year. There is no snow, only a little bit of ice hanging on the mountain. And the mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist, with a visibility of about 20 meters, where nothing can be seen. If it weren't for seeing so many beautiful scenery during my last visit, I would have been disappointed in Zhangjiajie.

So, this guide& The review will be presented to everyone based on my two trips to Zhangjiajie.

Regarding the itinerary

The 17 year journey is also a 5-day journey. The route is Phoenix Ancient City → Huanglong Cave in Zhangjiajie → Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Forest Park → Tianmen Mountain

The journey of 19 years is all in Zhangjiajie, Tianmen Mountain → Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Forest Park → Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

Let me start with the ranking of the above scenic spots in my mind: Tianmen Mountain → Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Forest Park → Phoenix Ancient City → Huanglong Cave → Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

① Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain scenery is undoubtedly the best, but students who are afraid of heights should prepare themselves mentally in advance; Physiological construction.

The scenic area is not very large and can be visited in about 5 hours. And the location is very convenient, just a 10 minute walk from Zhangjiajie Railway Station to Tianmen Mountain Cableway Station.

There are tickets available for the A line (cable car up the mountain - environmental protection car down the mountain road), B line (environmental protection car up the mountain - cable car down the mountain road), and C line (environmental protection car up and down the mountain. The C line is usually only open during holidays when there are too many people). Personally, I strongly recommend choosing the A line.

Why is line A recommended? Not to mention that taking the cableway up is much more interesting than going down, if you choose the B and C lines, after the eco-friendly car reaches the finish line, you also need to hike up to the 999 level ladder in front of Tianmen Cave (of course, you can also use your cash power to take the nearby elevator). For Line A, the cableway goes directly to the core scenic area, and you only need to walk down this ladder after visiting the scenery above.

There is a circular observation deck next to the cableway station. It is recommended to run up and take a look after Line A first. This observation deck should be the highest point of Tianmen Mountain. Various sea of clouds scenery is no problem.

The tour route of Tianmen Mountain is not complicated, it is a large circular road as a whole, without too much high-intensity terrain up and down, with mostly flat roads and small staircases. And the main landscape and route are built on the boardwalk on the mountain wall, so I said that students who are afraid of heights should be mentally prepared in advance; Physiological construction.

Walking on the boardwalk, the view is unprecedentedly broad. And the mountain walls are almost vertical, so it gives you a feeling of soaring. This is really not comparable to ordinary mountains that we usually go to. This sense of vastness is the absolute reason why I ranked Tianmen Mountain first.

At present, there are three glass walkway in Tianmen Mountain, and each of them requires an additional admission fee of 5 yuan. The glass walkway is not long, it looks like tens of meters, and the glass is about 1 meter wide. Each boardwalk takes about 10-20 minutes, which is enough for you to play and take photos. Students who are afraid can take the side fork to pass through. (By the way, outside the cableway station at the foot of the mountain, there will be shoe cover vendors who deceive you by saying that the shoe covers on top need to be purchased separately, asking you to buy them in advance. In fact, the shoe covers are free, so don't be fooled by them.)

After descending the mountain, you can have a unique Zhangjiajie style three pot (which is actually similar to spicy hot pot), and then take a stroll around the pedestrian street in the city at night (although there is not much to explore).

[Reference for travel time (excluding waiting time in line): Cableway takes about half an hour, highway environmental protection vehicle takes about 1 hour, hiking up 999 level ladder takes about 1 hour, descending takes about 15 minutes, and the main loop of the core scenic area takes about 4-5 hours.]

② Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Forest Park

Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot is very big. It is recommended to spend at least 2 days on it. If you have enough time, you can get a complete experience in 3 days (the ticket is valid for 4 days). My conclusion is that Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot is composed of multiple scenic spots, and each scenic spot group is far away from the scenic spot and needs to be connected by the environmental protection vehicle (free of charge). For example, the Jinbian Creek, Yuanjiajie Tianzi Mountain, and other attractions you see below are the names of the scenic spot group.

The scenic area is mainly divided into up mountain and down mountain scenic areas, where visitors can hike or take the cableway/hundred dragon ladder up and down the mountain. But it is not recommended to hike up the mountain, as it wastes time and energy.

The scenic spots at the foot of the mountain include Jinbian Creek and Shili Gallery.

The scenic spots on the mountain include Huangshizhai (an independent attraction that does not connect with other attractions), Yuanjiajie, Yangjiajie, and Tianzishan.

First, let's talk about the foot of the mountain. The entire length of Jinbian Creek is 7.5 kilometers, and it takes about 2 hours to walk. The road is basically flat throughout. Along the way, there are streams, forests, and stone peaks, creating a beautiful scenery that doesn't require much physical exertion.

The Ten Mile Gallery has a beautiful name, but unless you have plenty of time, it is not recommended to visit here. Firstly, the Ten Mile Gallery is considered an independent attraction, and once you reach the finish line, you need to retrace your steps and take an eco-friendly bus to other attractions. The scenery is similar to that of the Golden Whip Creek (even worse, because there is no stream or forest), and the trail is only 1.5 people wide, obviously not intended to carry too many people. (Actually, the endpoint of the Ten Mile Gallery is the hiking trail up Tianzi Mountain, but it is long, shaky, and covered by trees throughout the entire journey, so it is not recommended to climb from here.)

Speaking of the scenic spot on the mountain, Huangshi Village, it is an independent attraction that is not connected to other places. You can choose to take a cable car or walk up and down the mountain, but it is also not recommended to walk because there is no scenery along the way. The above is a large circular road that is relatively easy to walk, with many observation decks. It takes about 2-3 hours to complete one circle.

The other scenic spots on the mountain, such as Yuanjiajie, Yangjiajie, Tianzishan, etc., are connected together. You can take the Tianzishan Cableway, Yangjiajie Cableway, and Bailong Ladder to get up (it is also not recommended to hike up the mountain). If you leave early in the morning, you can barely complete the tour throughout the day. If you don't want to be too rushed, you can play 2 out of 3 in a day.

Can you tell me my personal recommendation for a two-day route. There are two commonly used gateways in the park: the entrance ticket station of the forest park (near Huangshi Village and Jinbianxi), and the entrance ticket station of Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot (near Shili Gallery and Tianzi Mountain Cableway). The route depends on which gate you enter from on the first day.

Entrance to Forest Park Ticket Station:

D1: After entering, go to Huangshi Village first, go up and play around, and then walk the entire Jinbian River. At the end of Jinbian Creek is a place called Shuirao Si Men. From here, you can take an environmental car to the Shili Gallery for fun (you can also skip it if you don't have enough time). Then you can take the environmental car all the way to Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Ticket Station to end the first day. At night, you will live in the town of Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot, where there are many meals, drinks and accommodation. You can take a stroll around Xibu Street in the town at night.

(The itinerary for this day is relatively easy, and if you leave in the morning, you will definitely have plenty of time. If you depart late, be sure to start walking on Jinbian Creek before 4 o'clock. If you leave after 4 o'clock, don't go out from the Forest Park ticket station. Because Jinbian Creek takes 2 hours to walk, the eco-friendly bus will stop at 6 o'clock. I don't know what will happen if you can't catch the bus.)

D2: Enter from the Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Ticket Station, take the environmental protection vehicle to the Tianzi Mountain cableway and go up the mountain. This is just the east of the mountain scenic spot, and you can travel all the way to the Yuanjiajie and Yangjiajie in the west.

After the Tianzishan cableway comes out, you need to take a short environmentally friendly car to Helong Park. After playing here for about 2 hours, continue to take the environmentally friendly car to either Yuanjiajie or Yangjiajie for sightseeing (this environmentally friendly car ride takes about 40 minutes).

If you choose the Yuan Family Realm, you can take the route from the First Bridge in the World - Enchanting Platform - Back Garden all the way there (about 2-3 hours). Then walk down a mountain road called Ranchuanpo (about 1.5 hours down the mountain), and the scenery on this mountain road is still good, and it doesn't take up your knees. Down to the ground is the middle position of Jinbian Creek. If you don't want to go down the mountain, you can also take a small environmental car in the back garden to the Bailong Skyway and take the elevator to go down the mountain (there is an environmental car driving back to the Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot ticket station at the next station of the elevator).

If you choose Yangjiajie, first play Wulong Village, then take a step up the Sky Sky Corridor (there will be a fork in the road along the way, walking down the mountain road), and then return to the fork and walk down the mountain (the time for playing and going down the mountain is similar to that of Yuanjiajie). If you don't want to go, take the Yangjiajie cableway back to the outermost part and then take the eco-friendly car back to the Forest Park ticket station.

Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Ticket Station: D2 and D1 on the top are just the opposite. Stay at the Forest Park ticket station tonight.

③ Fenghuang Ancient City

When it comes to the ancient city of Fenghuang, most people who have been there say that commercialization is too severe and there is no ancient town atmosphere, and they tend to feel disappointed. Indeed, I felt the same way after my first visit in 2017, so I didn't go again this year. But after coming back this year, I was thinking again that if you had changed your expectations for the Phoenix Ancient City beforehand, it wouldn't have been so unbearable.

Many people may have a traditional impression of Phoenix as an ancient town before going there: peaceful, weathered, and idyllic (especially after seeing so many beautiful photos). When I arrived, I found out that it was a crowded bar street and pedestrian street, and I was inevitably disappointed.

So if you insist on finding a peaceful atmosphere in the ancient city of Phoenix, the only way is to rush before 8am, before the tour group arrives (and even feel the nourishment of a wave of morning dew).

If you want to experience the lively atmosphere and neon lights at night, then this is actually a good choice. The scenic area is not large, and it only takes about two hours to explore both sides of the strait with a stop and go. It is recommended to arrive around 3pm in the afternoon, enjoy the daytime scenery, have dinner, and then start your nightlife.

There are two modes of transportation between Fenghuang and Zhangjiajie: car+train and direct bus. The time is almost the same, it is recommended to choose a direct bus as it is more convenient. The one-way ticket is 80 yuan, and the time is about 4 hours. The departure time is relatively long.

After arriving at Phoenix Bus Station, it is actually very close to the ancient city, only a ten minute walk away. But unless there are any unexpected incidents, there will be various scammers outside the station saying that Thief Far wants you to take a car. (In 2017, I encountered a situation where a small bus came directly after leaving the station to solicit customers. The person who was soliciting customers spoke very formally. I saw that it was a bus and the ticket was 5 yuan, but I was successfully fooled into getting on. After driving, I would persuade you to buy travel packages, book rooms, etc. on the bus. Then it took me half an hour outside the ancient city to deliver you.)

Then, as mentioned above, it is recommended to arrive around three o'clock. The Phoenix in the morning and noon is like an ordinary town, either lively or quiet, there is no need to arrive early. Another suggestion is to visit during the peak season (around April to November), as it is a bustling commercial ancient town. If you go during the off-season, you may be disappointed.

④ Huanglong Cave

I also went to Huanglong Cave in 2017, but I didn't go this year. The bus from Phoenix to Zhangjiajie happened to pass through Huanglongdong, so I asked the driver to let us off directly.

Huanglong Cave is the first and only karst cave scenic spot I have been to, so I cannot make a comparison. I just think the space inside is quite large, and the underground river inside can be visited for free by boat. However, various RGB lights are really killing Matt. Overall, I think this scenic spot is worth visiting, with a travel time of about 3-4 hours. Students with ample time can come.

⑤ Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

First, let's talk about personal evaluation: A super big pit, I strongly advise against going.

Due to time constraints, I was unable to attend the event in 2017, so this year I am making up for the ticket and checking in. However, as one of the three pieces in Zhangjiajie (Tianmen Mountain, Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Forest Park, Grand Canyon Glass Bridge), the glass bridge is very inferior to the former two in all aspects, which is disappointing.

Here is the reason why I was so disappointed:

1； Transportation: There is a bus going to Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Bus Station, and the message posted on the front of the bus also reads "Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Grand Canyon". However, the driver actually told you to get off the bus halfway to the Grand Canyon. So the actual destination of this train is not the Grand Canyon? Of course, it's not a big problem, as long as you can get there (unless you fell asleep in the car and missed getting off).

After getting off the car, you need to walk up an uphill road for about 20 minutes to see the shuttle bus to the scenic area. This is my first roast. Why is the shuttle bus not set up to wait below? Tourists still need to climb up. And there is a lack of guidance information about the scenic area on this road, so if you don't ask anyone, you may even think you just got off the wrong bus.

2； Scenic area service: Online ticket booking requires selecting the entry time in advance, and I chose the morning one. But after arriving at the scenic area, filming activities will be temporarily suspended and will only open after 12 o'clock. OK, that's no problem as the scenic area has given advance notice, so we waited in the ticket hall for more than two hours until 12 o'clock.

At 12 o'clock, people start queuing up to check in for admission to the park, and then the ticket checking machine prompts them to go to the ticket window to change their ticket and queue up again after the admission time. This is where I am most annoyed.

Firstly, there were not many people in the scenic area that day, and until 12 o'clock, there were only 20-30 people waiting in the ticket hall. The staff were also idle chatting and eating melon seeds. However, there was no broadcast, guidance, or staff to remind us to make changes in advance throughout the morning. But instead of telling you when it's your turn to queue up, and at this time, the ticket inspector didn't tell the people who were still queuing behind to change their tickets first. Instead, they continued to check one by one and called for changes one by one. This service attitude is enough to disappoint.

If it is during peak season when there are many people, I can understand why it is necessary to manage the flow of people or when staff are too busy to wait. But this time, I can only think of it as laziness and laziness.

3； Scenery: Compared with Tianmen Mountain and Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot, the scenery here is really ordinary. It can only be considered as a bridge built between two hills, and the road surface has changed from cement/asphalt to glass. The canyon mountain is not very attractive. The glass bridge itself is quite wide and long, and the height is also decent, but in terms of excitement, I personally think it is not as good as the few small boardwalks in Tianmen Mountain.

4； Return transportation: As the scenic area involves visiting the Glass Bridge after entering the park, and then descending the mountain along the canyon to exit at the other exit. And due to time constraints, I only played the glass bridge and left through the original entrance, so I don't know how the traffic situation is at the exit over there. As far as I'm concerned, I have to go back to the place where I just got off and wait for the return bus. There is no station or sign, so I just stand by the roadside and wait (about an hour passes by a bus, of course, you can also take a private car for passengers, 80 trips, which can be reduced to about 60).

The full ticket for the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is 208, which includes the main body of the glass bridge and a tour of the canyon. In terms of scenery, it's not worth the price. Students who don't have enough time suggest skipping this attraction directly. If you must go to worship, then I have two suggestions for you: 1. You should visit Zhangjiajie first. If you want to go to Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot in Tianmen Mountain first, and then to the Grand Canyon, you will definitely regret the 200 yuan. There is also a separate glass bridge ticket for 130 yuan in the scenic area (excluding the tour of the canyon), which can only be checked in after 3 pm in the afternoon. You can choose to visit Huanglong Cave in the morning and take a card at Glass Bridge in the afternoon.

Summary:

Zhangjiajie is definitely worth visiting, even two or three times, but be sure to check the weather forecast carefully. Zhangjiajie itself has a lot of rainfall. If it is cloudy and rainy for several consecutive days, it is recommended to reschedule. Otherwise, like me this year, I will not be able to see most of the scenery and regret it.