We have experienced a lot and felt a lot during the unusual year of 2020. Living a healthy life has been a difficult journey for people. With the improvement of the epidemic situation, the tourism industry in various places is slowly recovering. My husband, who firmly stated that he will not go out this year, finally couldn't sit still when he saw various National Day travel photos on his social media. Weakly speaking, it seems like I have never been to Hunan. Haha, come on, let me make a itinerary. Let's just go on a trip to Hunan.

This trip is scheduled from October 17th to 22nd, a total of 6 days. We have never tried taking the high-speed rail together before, so we chose the high-speed rail as our travel method. Here is the itinerary for a few days:

D1: Guangzhou Zhangjiajie

D2: Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot National Forest Park

D3: Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park

D4: Phoenix Ancient City

D5: Changsha

D6: Changsha Guangzhou

1、 Travel section:

D1: To be honest, my memory of Hunan still lingers more than 20 years ago. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, I took a green train with my best friend and arrived in Hengyang after 7 hours. Hengyang Railway Station was known for its dirtiness and disorder (Hunan friends, please don't mind, I really didn't mean any harm). During the Spring Festival travel rush, it was the armed police who maintained order. When we got off the train, we were really scared: all the passengers were squatting in the square with their luggage in line, surrounded by armed police. That scene is still fresh in my memory, and I hope this time it won't disappoint me. There is no direct high-speed railway from Guangzhou to Zhangjiajie. Our first stop is to go to Changsha South, and then take the urban rail from Changsha Railway Station to Zhangjiajie. Fortunately, you can take the No. 2 subway directly from Changsha South to Changsha Railway Station. It takes less than 5 minutes to walk from the subway to Changsha Railway Station. It takes about 3 hours to drive from Changsha Station to Zhangjiajie West Station. It's already past 4 pm when we arrive in Zhangjiajie. After checking in, the scenic area should be closed, so on the first day, we didn't have any plans and just took a stroll around our place to get familiar with the surrounding environment. (According to online comments, Zhangjiajie West Station is located relatively far away and there are many unlicensed cars and taxis out. Once you get on the bus, you will persuade to participate in unlicensed one-day tours or take detours. We called Hua Xiaozhu for a ride hailing service and haven't encountered any unlicensed cars yet.)

The homestay we chose is located in Guanliping, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City, at the foot of Tianmen Mountain, about 10 minutes' walk to Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, and about 40-50 minutes' drive to the station next to Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot. The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. He helped design the tour in Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot, and didn't waste time. He also helped to book tickets for Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot and Tianmen Mountain Park, which saved the time of queuing to buy tickets. He always reminded the cheats in the scenic spot when going out. Because we were afraid that our Guangzhou stomachs wouldn't be able to handle the heavy spiciness of Hunan, our first meal in Hunan was Suo Fen, a slightly spicy beef noodle dish that was delicious, smooth, and powerful. Fortunately, there were also some that weren't spicy. My husband brought a bowl of dumplings, and for the next two breakfasts, we decided to stay at this restaurant. First, let's take a look at the picture. Do you have a strong appetite.

D2: Today's trip is Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Park. There is a small bus from Zhangjiajie Bus Station (next to the railway station) to the Forest Park, and it is very convenient to get on the bus when you buy a ticket (about 40-50 minutes' drive) to Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot District. From the sign gate of Wulingyuan National Scenic Spot Park, you can take the shuttle bus in the park to the Bailong Sky Ladder, and you can directly go to the core scenic spots. The Avatar in Yuan's family circle takes scenic spots, the First Bridge in the World, the Heart Connecting Bridge, the Qiankun Column, the Golden Whip Stream, the Shili Gallery, etc. Unfortunately, it rains all the time when the sky is not beautiful, and after climbing the mountain, it is a vast expanse of white, and the photography effect is not good

D3: Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park (ticket price 235 yuan, opening hours 08:00-18:00). There are three types of Tianmen Mountain tickets: A line is for cable car up and down, B line is for road up and down, and C line is for road up and down. Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is named after the natural wonder "Tianmen Cave". When visiting the scenic area, you need to take a cable car that is about 7500 meters long. You can overlook the Tiantian Avenue and the beautiful scenery in the mountains hovering between the cliffs from the cable car. Personally, I recommend choosing the A line. Taking the cable car up the mountain feels like entering a fairyland, which is very stunning. The scenic spot is divided into Tianmen Cave, the middle line, the east line and the west line. Those who are brave can also take the glass walkway hanging on the wall, both the east line and the west line, to experience the excitement of flying.

Tianmen Cave, located in the middle of Tianmen Mountain, is an underground karst cave on the edge of the plateau. Due to the force of the oblique structure, it collapsed, dissolved, and the rock layers at the north and south ends collapsed. The 99 steps down the mountain, walking from top to bottom, are really scary.

D4: Tianmen Mountain - Fenghuang Ancient City. There is a bus from the bus station near Tianmen Mountain Park to Fenghuang Ancient City, which takes more than 4 hours to drive. The latest bus departs at 17:30. For safety reasons, we boarded the bus at 15:30. It was already dark when we arrived at Fenghuang Ancient City, and there were many black cars coming out of the station. Neither Didi nor Hua Xiaozhu had drivers willing to take the order. Fortunately, we waited for a taxi to pass by. Fenghuang Ancient City has always been a place I want to go, so I plan to stay in the city for two nights. The homestay I booked is also by the river. At night, I can sit on the balcony, enjoy the night view of the ancient city, and listen to the songs coming from the bar across the street. In the morning, I can soak in a pot of aged Pu'er tea and enjoy the peaceful ancient city. This is the life I want.

Many people say that the current Phoenix has a strong commercial flavor and has lost its original simplicity, but I still think that there are many places worth stopping and slowly appreciating in the Phoenix wrapped in strong commercialization

D5: Fenghuang Ancient City - Changsha. There is no direct high-speed railway from Fenghuang to Changsha, so we need to take a shuttle bus or carpool to Huaihua South to take the high-speed railway. The shop has arranged carpooling for 60 yuan per person, which takes about an hour to get there. It takes about 2 hours to drive from Huaihua South to Changsha, and there are many train services available. We only bought tickets at Huaihua South Station, but it is still recommended to buy tickets first during peak seasons. The hotel we have chosen in Changsha is located near Wuyi Square subway station, which is very convenient for visiting various scenic spots. Due to time constraints, we only visited the Orange Island Scenic Area to check in at Super Wenheyou and Pozi Street Food Street.

D6: Changsha South - Guangzhou South.

2、 Food section:

There are many delicious foods in Hunan, but they are basically spicy, which is a challenge for two old people. The wordy flour, three dishes, duck blood, Stinky tofu, bacon, sugar oil baba, and the season's online celebrity Youlan latte are good choices.

The preparation for this trip is a bit rushed, time is a bit tight, and there are many places that have not been planned yet. Also, there are regrets before the next one starts. May everyone be healthy in 2020, and the next journey is already on its way.