5 Days to Zhangjiajie, Furong & Fenghuang

Welcome to choose us to plan your Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang tour, all tailored to your needs.

What to Expect:
1. 24-hour Pick-up Service: When you arrive at Zhangjiajie Airport or Railway Station, our guide will show up on time and warmly greet you. Travel to the hotel in our comfortable private car well prepared for you.
2. Selected Accommodation: We are most concerned about your sleep comfort, so we have selected the hotels with the cleanest and most comfortable beds, based on the field investigation of our professional hotel test sleepers. The hotels handpicked for you are very close to the main scenic area, and particularly convenient for dining and shopping.
3. Food Recommendations: Ask for directions from your hotel’s front desk and take a walk or taxi to the nearby popular food street for dinner. Zhangjiajie’s Cured Pork, Sanxiaguo Mixed Stew, Sour Fried Fish, Sour Radish, Soy Bean Rice Noodles are worth trying. The local cuisine tastes very spicy. Please tell the chef to use less chili to avoid tongue or stomach discomfort.

► Dinner Suggestion:
For dinner, the Da Dui Lao Yu Cun restaurant won’t fail you. Its site is interesting - not only is it based on a private school that thrived in 1973, but it was selected in the Wulingyuan District, famous for enjoying natural beauties and being the center for Hunan Cuisine to be passed down. The cook team of the restaurant is led by a master local chef, who draw on their profound insights of Hunan Cuisine and handpick fresh ingredients to create dishes rich in forms and flavors. The staff have even been featured before on TV. Try their Stir-Fried Beef with Chili, a classic popular among locals as well as international tourists. The courtyard is arranged in a nostalgic, artistic style, with a singing stage in the middle. You can also join visitors to dance around a bonfire. The joyous and carefree ambience will make for a unique dining experience. Average cost per person: CNY 100 / USD 13.

Today, we will arrange the most efficient and classic route for you to deeply explore the core area of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and see almost all the highlights in one day, including Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain, Golden Whip Stream and Ten-mile Gallery.

★ What Makes Us Different

Independent Travelers	Book with Other Agencies	TravelChinaGuide’s Guests
Long queues at the entrance, especially on weekends and holidays.	Only basic entrance tickets, excluding all vehicles inside the scenic area.	1. Skip-the-line tickets booked in advance. 2. Combo tickets covering entrance, shuttle bus, elevator and sightseeing train.

★ Elevator and Sightseeing Train Included
Your enjoyment always comes first and we never hesitate to spend more to enhance your experience. The scenic area is very large, and the whole hike is not only physically demanding, but also doesn’t allow enough time to see the scenic spots. We will arrange for you to take the Bailong Elevator from the foot of the mountain to the top, shortening the hike of at least 3 hours to just 1 minute. The Ten-mile Gallery sightseeing train is also generously included, saving at least 1 hour and allowing you to easily experience a round trip in 30 minutes.

Follow Our Guide for the Best Route
After breakfast, our guide will pick you up from your hotel, enjoy fast entry into the scenic area, and head straight to the Bailong Elevator. Your heart will beat faster and faster as you look out of the transparent glass cab rising quickly on the world’s tallest outdoor sightseeing elevator. We will reach the top of the mountain in a minute, at the most spectacular Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, where to start a guided tour taking in stunning views of dozens of freestanding stone peaks soaring into the sky. Admire the First Bridge under Heaven and the Hallelujah Mountain where ‘Avatar’ was filmed.

Next, the guide will accompany you to the Tianzi Mountain to enjoy the vast sea of clouds and peak forests. Later, you will be led to the Golden Whip Stream. Try a less traveled hiking trail, which is especially cool and refreshing in summer. At your feet is a stream winding its way through the valley, while above you are the thick canopies and high cliffs flanked the path. Spotting wild monkeys on the treetops is the most interesting thing. Finally, let’s take a sightseeing train to explore the Ten-mile Gallery, appreciating the rocks of various shapes on both sides of the long valley. You’ll surprisingly find rocks like an old man collecting herbs, a peacock spreading its tail, or a growling tiger.

► Tip: A ticket of Zhangjiajie core scenic area is valid for 4 days. If you feel that one day is not enough and want to extend your trip, feel free to contact us to customize the itinerary for you.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, our guide and the driver will pick you up from your hotel in our private car for a drive to the unmissable Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, which is famous for the scary but exciting Glass Bridge.

Take Our Expert Guided Hiking (about 3 hours)
1. Challenge Yourself on Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge: Go straight to the glass-bottomed skywalk, which is 536 meters (1,759 feet) long and 300 meters (984 feet) high, suspended over a deep valley. Walk carefully across the world’s tallest and longest glass bridge, and you won’t help but hold your breath and can certainly hear your heart beat.
2. Take Elevator to Grand Canyon: included in our price; the quickest and most convenient way.
3. In-depth Hike of Grand Canyon: Walk with our guide for 1 hour along the bottom of the valley, to enjoy the cliffs, numerous streams and waterfalls, lush plants, and cool, fresh air.
4. Sightseeing Cruise Ship: A 10-minute relaxing cruise on the Shenquan Lake will take you to the exit in a breeze.

Scenic Cruise on Baofeng Lake
Afterwards, we’ll head to the Baofeng Lake, which is surrounded by peaks. Take a short hike, and then ride in a quaint wooden boat, the prow of which splits through the peaceful emerald lake, and you’ll feel like wandering through a 360-degree picture scroll. See the grotesque hills along the shore, accompanied by the traditional folk songs sung by the local minority singers. What a special treat!

Finally, our guide and the driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Tianmen Mountain Tour by Round-trip Cableway
This morning, we will visit the Tianmen Mountain. An aerobatic master once flew through its iconic Tianmen Cave, which makes it famous at home and abroad. In order to save your time and energy, we will specially arrange a round-trip cable car for you. Take one of the world’s longest sightseeing cableways from downtown directly to the top of the Tianmen Mountain. (The mountain cannot be climbed on foot for several reasons. The first and foremost would be that the mountain slope is just too steep to carve a trail all the way up. It’s also because there is need to avoid man-made forest fire, protect local ecological environment, and take into account the safety of visitors.) Follow our guide to enjoy the primitive scenery above, walk on the thrilling Glass-bottom Cliffside Path and the Sky Corridor, and then take the escalator down through the mountain to reach the Tianmen Cave. Standing under the huge opening, you will feel the smallness of human. Watch the surrounding clouds and fog, sometimes with a gorgeous glow passing through the cave. Step down the Heavenly Stairway and our guide will accompany you on the fast cableway down.

This afternoon comes the highlight of your private Zhangjiajie Fenghuang tour. Our guide will accompany you on a private car ride further south. Stop by the Furong Ancient Town, which marvelously sits on cliffs above a waterfall and for its 2,000 years of history offers a glimpse into ancient Tujia ethnic culture. Our destination today is Fenghuang, another old town nestled deep in a mountain and near a river, populated by minorities of Tujia and Miao, and filled with mysteries and cultural fun.

Well Selected Hotel in Fenghuang Ancient Town
Upon arrival, we will arrange a private car to take you to the hotel with our guide. Our carefully selected hotels are located just outside the ancient town. Why outside? Here are three reasons:
1. Hotels inside the ancient town require quite a long walk with your luggage, unfriendly to travelers with large bags.
2. It is noisy inside for there are many shops, bars and entertainment places, while living outside is quiet and suitable for sleeping. Don’t worry about the distance, as there are shuttle bus available.
3. Most hotels inside are old, with limited space and facilities, while hotels outside are relatively new and have better facilities.
► Our 4 Stars Hotel: Very convenient to the ancient town. The rooms on the upper floors have excellent views of the town.
► Our 5 Stars Hotel: Definitely the best hotel in Fenghuang, with spacious rooms.

★ Once-in-a-Lifetime Romantic Night View of Fenghuang
After check-in, you can make your own way to the old town for dinner and night views. As night falls, the banks of the Tuojiang River gradually light up. The exotic riverside stilt houses built by local ethnic people and the multi-eave gate towers decorated with red lanterns are reflected in the sparkling river, like a super-long panoramic painting.
► Recommended Places for Superb Night View:
1. Nanhua Gate Bridge: Best for a panoramic view of Fenghuang.
2. Rainbow Bridge: The thousand-year-old bridge across the Tuojiang River is the soul of the ancient town.
3. Tuojiang River Night Cruise (at your own expense): Take a boat from the dock and enjoy the flowing scenery.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today we will have a full exploration of the Fenghuang Ancient Town.

Morning Cruise on Tuojiang River
After breakfast, our guide will accompany you on a boat tour along the Tuojiang River, the mother river of the town, flowing slowly along the old city walls. You can see the water plants swaying in the gentle waves and the morning mist rising from the calm river, like a fairyland.

Discover Architectural and Cultural Heritage of the Ancient Town
Our guide will show you some of the most iconic sights in the town. Try to walk on the Jumping Rock Bridge, actually a row of rocks across the Tuojiang River, to take beautiful photos. Climb up the Rainbow Bridge and enjoy views of the entire old town from the second floor. Check out the Palace of Longevity to admire the exquisite traditional Chinese architecture. Under the 7-story ancient Wanming Pagoda, you can listen to the crisp sound of copper wind chimes hanging on its hexagonal eaves. The guide will also take you to visit the East Gate Tower and the Ancient Town Museum. If time permits, you can explore other attractions in the old town according to your own interests. There are many former residences of local celebrities and ancestral halls of ancient notable families worth visiting.

Experience Exotic Ethnic Customs
Fenghuang Ancient Town is inhabited by various ethnic minorities, such as Tujia, Miao, and Bai. Here, you can see their traditional wooden stilt houses, amazingly clustered along the river. If you’re lucky to encounter a grand festival, it would be great to see people wearing colorful ethnic costumes – Tujia people wearing round hats made of twined cloth, while Miao girls with huge and intricate silver headwear, singing and dancing in a lively atmosphere.

Late in the afternoon, our guide will take you on a private drive back to Zhangjiajie and see you off at the airport. This is the end of your private tour to Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang. Hope you’ll enjoy it! If you want to stay an extra night in Zhangjiajie, feel free to contact our travel consultants.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch