Ultimate Guide to Visiting China’s Zhangjiajie

You’ve probably seen the iconic mountains in Avatar. When I found out that a real place directly inspired the movie’s floating Hallelujah Mountains, I had to go. This place is filled with jagged sandstone pillars in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, Southern China. After visiting more than 60 countries, hiking across Patagonia, and trekking throughout Southeast Asia, I can confidently say that this is my favorite national park in the world. Nothing else I’ve seen comes close to the sheer scale and strangeness of Zhangjiajie’s landscapes. It feels like stepping into a fantasy world. If you’re curious about traveling to China, check out my ultimate guide to China travel.

How to Get to Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie has two main train stations: Zhangjiajie West (the modern high-speed rail hub) and Zhangjiajie Central (the old station for slower trains). If you’re coming from big cities like Changsha, Chongqing, or even Beijing, chances are you’ll arrive at Zhangjiajie West. From there, it’s just a short taxi or bus ride into the city center. There’s also an airport if you plan to fly in.

To get from Zhangjiajie City to the national park, head to the central bus station. Then, catch a bus to one of the park entrances. Buses run frequently throughout the day and take about 40 minutes. More on that later.

When to Visit

The best times to visit are spring (April–June) and autumn (September–November). Temperatures are mild, skies are clearer, and the park isn’t at peak capacity. Summer brings lush greenery but also heavy crowds and humidity. Winter can be cold, but if you’re lucky, you might see the sandstone pillars dusted with snow — a surreal sight.

Where to Stay

If you’re spending a few days here (which you should), I recommend splitting your stay between:

• Zhangjiajie City – Stay here for a couple of nights to explore Tianmen Mountain.
• Wulingyuan – Spend at least one night here. It puts you right at the east entrance of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. This means you can beat the crowds in the morning and maximize your hiking time. It’s also got a great night market.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

The map of the National Park may seem intimidating at first, but I promise it’s not that complicated once we break it all down. There are many different entrances to the park, the two main ones being the South and East Gates. It’s important to go to the right gates based on your planned itinerary. I will give my suggestions below.

You need a maximum of 3 days to see everything, but I think 2 days is plenty of time. The order of the days doesn’t really matter, but I have it this way for a few reasons:

• On the first day, you need to get from Zhangjiajie to the park, so you’ll have a bit less time to explore
• On the second day, you can be the first in the park and beat the crowds
• Save the best views for the second day

Day 1

If I were to do this again, I would start by getting a bus to the South Gate. In reality, that’s what I tried doing, but miscommunication at the bus terminal led me to the East Gate. I left my big bag in Zhangjiajie, and only brought a small 2-day bag to the park.

The reason I recommend going to the South Gate is that you can visit Huangshizhai. Then, take the Golden Whip Stream towards the East Gate and Wulingyuan Town with no backtracking. That’s the best place to stay the night. Since I entered via the East Gate, I did the Golden Whip first. I climbed Huangshizhai, then had to take a paid bus (outside the park) back to Wulingyuan.

Huangshizhai

Also known as the yellow stone village, the village is atop a standalone mountain. It’s not connected to the rest of the areas in the park. It’s right at the South Gate of the park, which will be very crowded. You can hike up or take the cable car, but either way, the views of the sandstone peaks are unforgettable. Obviously, I recommend hiking, as you will see almost no one on the trails (plus it’s free). It only took us one hour to climb the 4588 steps.

Once you get to the top, there will be thousands of people and loads of monkeys. Be careful as they can get aggressive, especially if you are carrying food. There’s a straightforward circuit you can follow and about a dozen viewpoints. The farther you get from the cable car, the fewer people there will be.

Golden Whip Stream

This is one of the easier trails in the park, as it’s mostly flat. You hike along a river at the base of the cliffs, and a great contrast to the mountaintop viewpoints. It connects the South and East Gates of the park, so plan your trip around that. It makes the most sense to do it on the same day as Huangshizhai. If you can plan to use it as your gateway between the gates, even better. I will say that if you are short on time and need to cut something out of your trip, it’s not a must-see in comparison to some of the other sections. However, it’s very peaceful with almost no one else around.

Day 2

The second day is reserved for the back mountains of the park. As they are all connected via buses, it can be broken down into three steps: getting up to the top, visiting the three main stops, and getting back down.

Getting Up

You have several options to get up to the top of the park, as you can see on the map. The Yangjiajie Cableway, the Bailong Elevator, and the Tianzishan Cableway are three of the options, but you can also get up by bus from outside the park, as there are smaller entrances at the top. The last option is to hike. There is a trail to the top of Tianzi Mountain and another from halfway through the Golden Whip Stream.

The way you go up will dictate the rest of your itinerary for the day. We opted for taking the elevator, because it seemed like a cool option to ride the tallest and fastest outdoor elevator in the world. From there, we then went to the three main areas at the top and hiked down Tianzi Mountain. We took a side trail on the way down to add in the Ten Mile Gallery at the end of the hike.

If I were to do it again, I would either hike/cable car up Tianzi Mountain and hike down to the Golden Whip Stream or the other way around. The elevator was overhyped, short, and you only got to see one view. Once at the top, there are free buses that connect all of the main spots, which just depend on your itinerary. I will talk about each of the sections, from West to East.

Yuanjiajie

The area closest to the elevator or the trail that connects down to the Golden Whip Stream is Yuanjiajie. We came here first thing in the morning, and it was empty. It’s a short paved trail along the escarpment with many views of the pillars. It’s also where you will find some of the park’s most photographed viewpoints, such as the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain and the Natural Bridge, which you can walk on top of. There’s a small temple there which is worth checking out. There’s a bus stop at either end of the trail, so you can walk point-to-point and continue to the next stop.

Yangjiajie

This may be the most popular area of the park with some incredible views, so the earlier you arrive, the better. It’s also right in the middle of everything: a cable car, one way to Tianzi Mountain, the other way to Yuanjiajie, and the elevator. It’s also got a couple of restaurants, which is where we got lunch after exploring this area. There’s a small loop with some viewpoints, which is nice, but crowded. But remember, it’s China. Everyone only hangs out where they don’t need to walk more than a few steps.

Little do they know, arguably the best trail in the park is also here (it’s the only one that wasn’t paved). Look for signs for the Mid-Air Corridor, but do note that the distances marked are way off. It shouldn’t be hard to find if you look on AllTrails. You’ll first pass One Step to Heaven, which has a ladder up to a cool viewpoint. But make sure to continue, at the end of the trail, you’ll find Corridor in the Cliffs, and have some of the best views all to yourself.

Tianzi Mountain

There are many different buses here; look for the one heading to Tianzi Mountain. It’s a bit of a drive, but there are a couple of small stops along the way. We hopped off at the Arranging Battles Platform. It was nothing too special, but there was no one else on the trail, so it was nice to enjoy some views to ourselves. We had to wait a few minutes for the next bus, but eventually got dropped off at He Long Park at the top of Tianzi Mountain.

This was by far the most crowded area of the park. I’m not sure if it was the time of day or simply because it has some of the best views. It had a market and loads of viewpoints (with easy access). We ended up spending a whole hour just checking out different views. Again, there is both a trail and a cablecar that connect this area to the East Gate of the park.

Ten Mile Gallery

Last and certainly least, we visited the Ten Mile Gallery. Even if you are hiking down Tianzi Mountain (as we were), there is no reason to take a detour to this place. Contrary to what the name says, it’s only a couple of kilometers long. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a valley with some nice views, but nothing compared to the rest of the park. Of course, it has been turned into an amusement park, so there is a small train that drives along it.

There is a trail that runs alongside the track, but really, it’s not worth going out of your way to visit, unless you have some time leftover. You can also do this on your first day if you have time to spare after visiting Huangshizhai and the Golden Whip Stream; you’ll just have to hop off the bus.

Glass Bridge

If you have a third day, one of the most famous attractions near Zhangjiajie is the world-famous glass bridge in the Grand Canyon. When it first opened, it was the longest and highest glass bridge in the world, stretching 430 meters across a deep gorge with a jaw-dropping 300-meter drop below. Walking across feels like stepping into the sky, especially on a clear day when you can see straight down through the glass panels.

To get there, you’ll need to take a bus or taxi from Wulingyuan or straight from Zhangjiajie. Tickets can be purchased in advance (highly recommended, as they sometimes sell out) and usually cost around 120–150 RMB depending on the season. Plan at least 2–3 hours here, especially if you also want to hike into the Grand Canyon below. Just note that this is a separate attraction from the main National Forest Park, so you’ll need to buy a separate ticket.

Ticket Info for Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Tickets for Zhangjiajie National Forest Park are valid for four consecutive days, which is great because you won’t have to worry about running out of time. You can buy them directly at the entrance, but I recommend booking in advance through Trip.com to avoid lines and guarantee your dates. You’ll still have to register at the gate when you first arrive at the park. The price is 225 Yuan ~ $31 for adults or 115 Yuan ~ $16 for students and children up to 17. If you buy a student ticket, they will ask you for proof, but an international student card worked fine.

The ticket includes entrance to the park and the bus shuttles within the park. However, if you want to ride the elevator or any of the cable cars, you have to pay extra, and they are quite expensive. You can buy each individually or purchase packages, such as 3 cable cars and the elevators, which is 230 Yuan ~ $33. We bought just the elevator, which was 65 Yuan ~ $9.

If you prefer going on a guided tour, there are many options which you can find to the National Park, Tianmen Mountain, or the Glass Bridge.

Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain is the city’s most famous landmark, and it’s an adventure in itself. It’s a great way to start your trip. The highlight is the Tianmen Mountain Cableway, which is the longest mountain cableway in the world, taking about 30 minutes to reach the summit. The ride alone is worth it, as you’ll glide over the city, up through the clouds, and past jagged peaks until you arrive at the top.

There are two different tickets. You can either take the cablecar up and the bus down, or the bus up and the cable car down. I’m still not sure which one is better. If you take the bus up, you get to walk up the steps through Heaven’s Gate, but if you take the cablecar up, you get the views going up, and you still get to walk down the stairs.

Once you’re up there, you can walk along cliffside glass skywalks, explore forested trails, walk through temples, and visit Tianmen Cave — the massive “Heaven’s Gate” rock arch that the mountain is named after. It’s easy to follow a trail that goes all the way around the top of the mountain. You can either take the famous 999-step staircase or the escalators along the side. The shuttle bus ride is also crazy, winding its way up a road with 99 sharp turns.

Tickets for Tianmen Mountain are around 260 Yuan ~ $36 or 140 ~ $20 for students or teens (14-17). Beware, they are extremely strict and did not accept my international student card, and wanted me to show my class schedule for the semester. You’ll want to dedicate at least half a day here (about 6 hours), since there’s a lot to see and the queues are extremely long. We got there at 2 PM and waited nearly 2 hours in line for the cable car, and another 40 minutes for the bus on the way down. I’d recommend going early in the morning if you don’t want to be rushed.