Zhangjiajie Guidebook Your complete guide to exploring the “Avatar Mountains” of Zhangjiajie. Sights of Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain Located in Zhangjiajie city. Visit Tianmen Cave, take a ride on the 99 Bends Road and enjoy the sights from the longest cable way in the world. Wulingyuan Scenic Area Located 40km outside of the city. Take in the otherworldly views of the “Avatar Mountains”. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon & Glass Bridge Located 30 minutes by bus from Wulingyuan. Walk on the longest glass bridge in the world spanning Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. Yellow Dragon Cave Located 10 minutes by bus from Wulingyuan. Explore this large karst cave lit with colored lights. Baofeng Lake Located 5 minutes by bus from Wulingyuan. Take a boat ride on a serene mountain lake. Getting to Zhangjiajie Fly into Zhangjiajie Airport from any of the major cities in China. The airport is just 4km from the Zhangjiajie city. When to Go Peak season: (May –October) – ticket prices are higher during this time, good weather. Off season: (November – April) – ticket prices are lower during this time, weather is cold, wet, and cloudy. Best Time Early Summer (late May-June) or Fall (September-October) Early summer affords you views of the clouds and fog rolling below the mountain tops with warmer temperatures and low crowds. Fall means colorful foliage, pleasant temperatures, and low crowds. When Not to Go Summer (July-August), Winter (January-February) or during the Chinese holidays Summer is peak tourist season and the parks will be jam packed with throngs of Chinese tourists, so unless you want to join the herds of cattle shuffling along narrow pathways try to avoid these months. Winter is low season, but it’s really cold and wet, and snow and ice often accumulates on the mountains forcing the parks to close. December is OK but they close down the buses and escalators to Tianmen Cave so be aware that you will not be able to see this attraction will be forced to take the cable car both up and down Tianmen mountain. Where to Stay? To visit Tianmen Mountain Stay at one of the many hotels and hostels in Zhangjiajie City. To visit Wulingyuan Scenic Area, glass bridge, cave, and lake Stay in Wulingyuan Village, the town just outside of the park entrance. How to Get to Wulingyuan Scenic Area? 1) Mini bus Buses are located at the bus station in Zhangjiajie City and cost 10rmb. The ride will take 1 hour with buses departing every few minutes from approximately 8am – 6pm. 2) Taxi Take a taxi from Zhangjiajie City for 100rmb. Price will need to be negotiated as they will most likely want to charge you around 200rmb. Tianmen Mountain Why go? At over 1500m of elevation Tianmen Mountain is the tallest mountain in the range affording you spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and city on a clear day. Beware though that clouds love to hang out on the mountain top so it’s a bit of a toss-up as to whether or not there’ll be a view. If you can see the top of the mountain from the city though, you’ll be good as gold for a day of exploring. Tianmen Mountain also boasts the longest cable car ride in the world, offering spectacular aerial views of the surrounding mountains. How to Get There? Fly into Zhangjiajie City. Tianmen Mountain is 5km outside of the city. Once in Zhangjiajie there are two methods of reaching the mountain top. You will need your passport to purchase tickets to the park. Tickets are purchased either at the entrance to the 99 Bends Road or the Cable Car Station. 1) 99 Bends Road + Escalators Take a taxi, bus, or walk the 5km from town up the road to the entrance to Tianmen Mountain Park. Purchase your tickets at the entrance before taking a bus along the famous 99 bends road (word of warning for those who get easily car sick, be prepared for lots of twisting and turning). The road literally has 99 bends in it, so hold on. The bus will drop you off at the escalators, which you can either hop on, or opt out in favor of the 999 steps instead. These will take you to “Heaven’s Gate” a natural bridge formed from water erosion in the mountain. Heaven’s Gate is also referred to as Tianmen Cave, although it’s really just a hole in the mountain. From there you will take another set of escalators to the top of the mountain. 2) Cable Car Walk around 2km to the cable car station in the city. Purchase your entrance tickets to the park at the cable car station before taking the cable car up the mountain. The Tianmen Mountain cable car is the longest cable car in the world stretching for over 7km and taking around 30 minutes to complete. The views are spectacular as you slice through the clouds and take in the 360 degree panorama of mountains. During peak season (March 1 – November 30) you can only take the cable cars one way. They operate longer than the escalators so if you’re heading up the mountain later in the day you’ll be better off taking the escalators up and the cable car down. In the off season (December 1 – February 29) the buses and escalators are closed so you must take the cable car up and down the mountain. This means you will not get to see Tianmen Cave (Heaven’s Gate). Ticket Price 258rmb (peak season) 209rmb (off season) Opening Hours Enter: 8am – 4pm and Exit 8am – 6pm Wulingyuan Scenic Area Why Go? Wulingyuan Scenic Area is the only place where you can see the famous “Avatar Mountains”. These finger like projections resembling nature’s version of a skyscraper will transport you into another world, an experience so unique it simply can’t be missed! How to Get There? Mini buses wait at the bus station in Zhangjiajie City to take passengers the 40km to Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Buses run from approximately 8:00am – 6:00pm and cost 10rmb. If you can’t make it during those times or don’t want to take the bus you can take a taxi for 100rmb. You will have to negotiate for this price, but you shouldn’t pay more than that for the trip. Mini buses can be found to the left of the waiting area at the bus station. If need be you can ask the lady at the ticket window and she will point you in the right direction. You will NOT be buying a ticket at the window, simply pay the driver once you are on the bus (someone will come around asking for money). Navigating Inside the Park Wulingyuan is divided into 4 areas: Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, and Yangjiajie Scenic Area, each it’s own national park. Free buses are available inside the park to transport you to the entrance of each of the 4 sections. A line of buses will be waiting just inside the ticket entrance. While the buses are free, all cable cars as well as the Bailong Elevator charge an additional fee. Prices are for one way use, so if you plan to take a cable car up and down a mountain it will be double the price. To exit the park, simply make your way to one of the bus stops where buses will be waiting to take tourists back to the entrance gate. Make sure you exit at a bus stop on the same side of the park as you entered. Wulingyuan Scenic Area has 5 entrance/exit gates on various sides of the park. If you are staying in Wulingyuan Village then you’ll want to enter and exit through the Wujiayu Ticket Station 吴家 峪门票站. A map of the park is extremely helpful to learn the names of the bus stops, as they do not correspond with the names of the mountains or areas of the park. Your accommodation should be able to provide you with one. Bus Stops in the Park Yuanjiajie & Huangshizhai (Zhangjiajie Park) – get off at the 水绕四门 (shui rao si men) bus stop. Yangjiajie – get off at the 杨家界索道下站 (yangjiajie suo dao xia zhan) Lower Cableway bus stop. Tianzi Mountain – get off at the 十里画廊 (shi li hua lang) bus stop. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park The most popular hike in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is Huangshizhai, which translates to “Yellow Stone Village”, a small village perched on one of the many mountaintops in the area. Hiking to the top of Huangshizhai is approximately a 12km long hike (one way) and takes 1-2 hours depending on your walking speed and how many times you stop to take pictures (which, if you're like us is a lot). You can also opt to take the cable car for an extra fee of 72rmb if you don't want to hike both ways, or at all. To start the hike, enter the park and take one of the free buses to the 水绕四门 (shui rao si men) bus stop, near the Bai Long Elevator and Golden Whip Stream. From there you will take the main path winding along Golden Whip Stream for about 7km where you will get to a parking lot area with some restaurants. Here the path diverges, and you'll want to take the stairs up the mountain (if you're confused just ask for Huangshizhai and someone will point you in the right direction). Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve At 1262 meters tall, Tianzi Mountain is the tallest mountain in this section of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, offering spectacular views of the surrounding peaks, when they're not trapped in the clouds that is.