Zhangjiajie, Hunan with kids (part one)

Brand new, futuristic airport

Last weekend we traveled to Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, to see the national park where the movie Avatar was allegedly filmed. It was our first trip to the interior of China and was definitely a new experience for us.

I'm going to share my thoughts and tips in case they can help someone out there. Since I have ok Chinese at this point, I thought we could navigate this trip on our own. As I researched more, however, I realized how incredibly huge and complex the park is, how many different movements there would be, and how confusing it was likely to be. In China, I feel like they unnecessarily complicate things, even simple things, so I realized that doing it on my own with three people relying on me would NOT BE FUN. It would be one thing if I was traveling alone or with a friend and we could just wander. But I was there with my family and had only 3 days. Thus, we hired a guide, Grace from Synotrip, and thank goodness we did.


First, some clarification:

• Zhangjiajie (ZJJ) is a city in Hunan Province. The airport is here (code is DYG). 
• Zhangjiajie National Park (where the famous Hallelujah Mountains are situated) is in Wulingyuan, a small town about 45 minutes away from ZJJ City. 
• Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It covers an enormous area, including the park, and you can only see a small part of it during a 3 day trip.  
• Most people do a few nights in Wulingyuan and then 1 night in ZJJ city, because the Tianmen Mountain cable car (longest cable car ride in the world) starts in ZJJ. 
• Tianzi Mountain (see day two) is inside ZJJ National Park, not to be confused with Tianmen Mountain, 45 minutes away in ZJJ. 
• Tianmen Mountain (see day three) is a huge mountain with a hole in it. You may have heard about the bird-man flying through the hole  and other stunts. There is also a cool glass walkway here. The brand new glass bridge you may have heard about is not yet finished and that is in the Grand Canyon area. 

Wulingyuan Town is quite lovely

Wulingyuan Hotel

Travel and lodging: We took a 1.5 hour non-stop flight from Guangzhou and arrived at the brand new ZJJ airport in the afternoon. We took a taxi to Wulingyuan town, about 45 min away. There are tons of cheap hotels and it was hard to know what to choose but we were pleased with our choices. We stayed two nights in the Wulingyuan Hotel in Wulingyuan, which is at the base of the mountains. Hard beds and Chinese breakfast but it met our needs and was cheap!

Avatar photo opp!

Walking around town

Zhangjiajie National Park: We followed our guide and this is the itinerary she suggested for us. We saw the highlights with thousands of our friends and also got off the main path for some quieter experiences. There is so much to see, but we were happy with this.

I don't have a wide angle lens on my camera, so photos are not as good as I wish they were. But this is really a place you have to see for yourself.

Day One: 
Yuanjiajie scenic area (apparently the most popular area, hugely congested). It was a little hazy that first day, so photos are not that great. Just to give you an idea of the park's size, getting here required a ~15 minute bus to the elevator, a line to get into the elevator, a smaller elevator and then larger, glass elevator, walking for about 10 minutes, and then, I think you were there. Unless there was one more bus ride. It's all running together in my mind, but you can see why a guide might be helpful...

Here's the glass elevator. Unless you are one of the first people in, you can't see much.

And an idea of the crowds. This was waiting for the first bus.

It's worth it when you get up there, though.

Lunch at an outdoor restaurant- just to give you an idea.

After lunch, our guide led us on a hike of about 2 hours round trip. First a dirt path and then a stone path led us to this awesome staircase and a 360 viewing platform which we shared with just a handful of people. It's called "One Step to Heaven."

Next, we kept going to another viewing platform where we sat on a rock and just took it all in. It's called "Corridor in the Cliff."

At this point, it was about 3pm and Grace suggested that we go to Tianzi Mountain, so that we wouldn't have to pay for the elevator again the next day. But it was still a 45 minute bus ride, I think, plus the sightseeing and the getting back down, and we were too tired. Again, this park is HUGE!

General Tips: 

• We went after the national holiday, in October, and crowds were still overwhelming for us. I do not recommend going between April/May and September or on a Chinese holiday! Our guide told us lines were like 6 hours long just to get from one stage to the next. The viewing platforms are small and you will be fighting for space. I think the best time would be late October/ November. Cooler weather, less crowds, lower chance of rain. I heard the middle of winter is beautiful, but you also have the possibility of snow/ice (roads are winding and I would not want to be on a bus if there was ice) and some transport methods being closed. 
• The park is huge. There are lots of transport methods and lots of lines to get from one to the other. Definitely find a way to do some hiking other than just looking at the viewing platforms. On the second day, it was like 3pm before we felt like we had actually gotten out and moved our bodies- it was all bus to elevator to bus to cable car ride etc. 
• Lodging and food are cheap, but tickets for the parks and the rides like cable car and glass elevator are not. The entrance ticket for the ZJJ park is RMB250 per adult, kids under 1.3m are free. Same for the Tianmen Mountain cable car. There are lots of other expenses. We estimate we spent about $800 USD for a family of four for 3 days, not including hotel, but including the tour guide. 
• There is not a big Western presence here. Don't expect anyone to speak English or any Western food in Wulingyuan. 
• There are restrooms everywhere (only squatty potties for the most part) but no soap or toilet paper. Come prepared!
• In ZJJ National Park, there is a McDonald's on Tianzi Mountain (not to be confused with Tianmen Mountain in ZJJ city) but otherwise there is only Chinese street food. I was quite concerned about food safety. In Yuanjiajie, there are some very basic, outdoor sit down restaurants. Consider bringing your own food if you are not down with these options. 

Stay tuned for days two and three!