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Traveling to Zhangjiajie can be very confusing at first because of the lack of information in English and the not-to-scale English map available online, which can throw you off your feet. I have gone through that myself, and after experiencing it all firsthand, here are the things I wish I knew before traveling to Zhangjiajie.
Geography
- ZhangJiaJie is a city situated in the Hunan province in China.
- The airport is situated in the Zhangjiajie city.
- ZhangJiaJie city and Zhangjiajie National Park (where the Avatar's mountains are) are not the same and they are not near each other either. 45 minutes drive between the two.
- WuLingYuan is a small town which situated right at the entrance of the Zhangjiajie National Park, so this is a good place to stay when visiting the park.
- Tianmenshan Mountain is not in the Zhangjiajie National Park. The entrance is through Zhangjiajie City via a cable car, so spare a day or two to stay at the Zhangjiajie City.
Where to Stay in Zhangjiajie?
Here are a few things to know before planning your visit to Zhangjiajie National Park:
- Stay in Wulingyuan, not Zhangjiajie City if you plan to visit the Zhangjiajie National Park. The town is 5 minutes away from the gate whereas it is 50 minutes drive from Zhangjiajie city to the national park.
- There are hostels inside the national park up the mountain, you can also stay there if you are in between days of exploring the national park. No need to go in and out every day.
- If you want to travel to the Tianmen Shan mountain, stay in Zhangjiajie city because the cable car entry is in the city.
- Give yourself 2 - 3 days to explore the national park and 1 day to explore Tianmen Shan Mountain. That way you can stay in Wulingyuan on your first night, stay inside the national park for 1 - 2 nights, and in Zhangjiajie city for 1 night.
Zhangjiajie Tours & Activities
If you are looking for more activities to do here, be sure to check out some of the available tours and day trips:
Things to prepare
- Grab a map from your hotel. It will be your savior when asking for direction from the locals.
- Save and cache your Google Maps' of the area before you come so you can use it offline.
- If you have Google Translate installed on your phone, download the Chinese and English language packs so you can translate between the 2 offline.
- Bring layers of clothes if you come during the winter. Cheap hotels don't have heaters.
- Don't expect people to speak English, not even simple words. Prepare all your hotel addresses in Chinese so you can ask for directions.
- If you want to use Facebook and Twitter in China, you should prepare your VPN setup before going because searching for a VPN is also blocked in China.
- If you are using an Android phone, download Orbot
- Grab a Chinese map of the national park from your hotel so you can use it to ask for directions.
Getting around
- Once you are inside the national park, there are free shuttle buses through the area that run in both directions so you can get on/off one spot and go back to where you were with ease.
- Note that some bus lines are disconnected such as the eastern bus line that runs from the east gate to the HuangShiZhai's cable car is disconnected from the one that runs from the Bailong elevator throughout the west part of the park. The only way to get from the east entrance to the Bailong elevator is through a 2 hours trail called the Golden Whip Stream. Make sure you plan your trail accordingly.
- If you want to go back to Zhangjiajie city from the national park, there are buses waiting outside the exits that will take you to the railway station in the city for 12 Yuan. Follow the locals and you will find this cream-colored bus.
Now that we have all the information we need, it's time to start planning your trip! Here are some resources to help you get going:
Flights: Skyscanner and Expedia are the best places to start looking for cheap flights and great deals from your home country.
Accommodation: Hostelworld, Booking.com, and Agoda.com are the ultimate go-to platforms to search for amazing hostels and hotels at affordable prices.
Travel Insurance: Heymondo covers theft, medical emergencies, cancellations, and more during your travels. Get a 5% discount if you sign up today.
Transportation: For buses, I always go with Omio when traveling in Zhangjiajie, China while for trains, Omio is my go-to place to book all my train travels in advance.
Car Rental: DiscoverCars.com is a great and reliable platform to find rental cars.
Internet: Airalo is the best way to get a sim card and has reliable internet access for your trip. All you need is an esim compatible smartphone, install it on your phone prior to your trip, and you are all set.
VPN: To stay connected with people at home, I always make sure to have ProtonVPN, installed before traveling. It's FREE, and I can gain access to services that may be blocked in certain countries.
Day Trips & Tours:
Viator, GetYourGuide and TripAdvisor are great platforms to search for trips and tours to join.
Tickets & Deals: Klook is always my go-to website when I want to find cheaper deals for entrance tickets to tourist attractions.
Are you planning to travel independently? Be sure to check out my guide on How To Plan A Backpacking Trip here.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
13 Comments
Hi,
Thanks so much the information you have provided...I have a few questions...and would be useful if you can help me with them...
1) How to book hostels inside the park online? ( we - 4 people - would be travelling from India)
2) We have 4 days for Zhangjiejie...do we need all those days to explore the park or should we set aside a day for Fenghuang village?
3) Can you suggest a few off the beaten treks inside? We are avid bird watchers and I read you can do some amount of wildlife spotting - leopards etc there...any suggestions on this welcome. We would hate to do the usual touristy routes.
4) Broadly based on pt3...would be helpoful to have an idea how best to spend the 4 days we have there.
Love the map
Hi..thanks for your information.i will go zjj next month..do u think I need use City tour to guide me there?looked at your information it will easy without guide..
Hi Pete wanna ask you some question, i will visit zhangjiaje by the end of December, is it worth to go there in winter ( i read that some of the attraction will be closed, weather too cold and view maybe misty/coudy). How was your experiences? Should i still go ?
Sorry for the late reply. You will have the whole national park to yourself if you go during the winter. It is also quite a sight to behold with snow atop all those peaks. The Heaven's gate near the Tianmen Shan will definitely be closed though. Stairs become to slippery during winter.
This is a very concise but helpful post. Are there still buses to Wulingyuan town from the airport if I arrive at 9PM? I only have 2 days in Zhangjiajie (really squeezing this tight in my itinerary). A glimpse is enough for now. Pete, if I have 1 day to spend inside the National Park, which section would you recommend? This way, I can plan if I will stay in Wulingyuan or in Zhangjiajie City. Thanks.
Wulingyuan will defenitely be closer. It's a 45 minutes drive from the city one way so I would recommend you stay in Wulingyuan. I would also recommend you to get a transfer from your hotel since you are arriving that late. That way, you save your time. I would go up and do the upper part if I were you. Get the view from the top. :)
Hey! Thanks for the post. Would you say that it's worth it to stay inside the park or just as easy to stay in wulingyuan and go into the park each day? Are there hostels outside the park that also have a location inside the park and may let you do one of your nights inside the park if you book your stay with them online? Thanks!
It is quite easy to stay Wulingyuan and traverse to the national park each day. There are shuttle buses and elevators for the convinient of going to the other side or up the mountains. I'm not sure about hostels outside the park unfortunately.
So informative, thank you!