Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve
Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve (or Suoxiyu Nature Reserve), together with Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain, and Yuanjiajie, forms the Wulingyuan National Park in Zhangjiaije. Suo Xi Yu means heavy fog village in the local language of the Tujia people, an ethnic group in Hunan Province.
Located in the northeast of Wulingyuan National Park, Suoxiyu Nature Reserve covers 25,400 hectare. It was granted as the nature reserve at provincial level in 1982. Tourist could enjoy different and fantastic views here like caves, forests, valleys, cloudy sea, streams, etc.
Zhangjiajie Suoxi Valley Facts
What to See in Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve
Located in the east part of Wulingyuan Park and closely connected with Tianzi Mountain, Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve has a total area of 25,400 hectares with more than 200 scenic spots scattered all over the valley. It is in the shape of a basin, which is is high in the middle and low on all sides. In addition, the scenic area has opened a number of vehicular and pedestrian trails, with a total length of 54.3 km and 9.4 km respectively.
Suoxi Valley is famous for its unique mountains, beautiful water, precipitous bridges, secluded caves, and various species of animals and plants. The main spots inside Suoxiyu Nature Reserve include Baofeng Lake, Yellow Dragon Cave, Baizhang Gorge, Ten-mile Gallery, Xihai Peak Forest, etc. There is so much to see for your Zhangjiajie tour.
Baofeng Lake
As a significant part of Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve and Wulingyuan National Park, Baofeng Lake (宝峰湖) is the only scenic spot dominated by water in the whole Wulingyuan Scenic Area. It’s 8 kilometers away from Tianzi Mountain, 1.5 kilometers away from Wulingyuan District Government, and 8 kilometers away from Huanglong Cave.
Baofeng Lake is an artificial lake after a dam was built on the river, famous for its high-altitude lake landscape surrounded by numerous mountains, waterfall, ancient Buddhist temple in the mountains, and local culture. There are so-called "Four Wonder" of Baofeng Lake: lake, peak waterfall, Yingwo Village and Yixiantian (narrow walkable leak between cliffs).
Ten-mile Gallery
Zhangjiajie Ten-mile Gallery (十里画廊) is located in Suoxiyu Nature Reserve, at the foot of Tianzi Mountain. It is a narrow gorge with a depth of 5.8 kilometers, which is the essence of touring in Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve. On both side of the valley, there are abundant natural landscape resources, with strange peaks and rocks, forming vivid natural sculptures. Among those sculptures, the most famous are “Peacock spreads its tail”, “The god of longevity greets guests”, “The roaring fierce tiger” and so on.
Zhangjiajie Ten-mile Gallery Natural Gallery scenic area provides two kinds of sightseeing experience: walking along the footpath and taking a small train. If you want to save energy for other scenic spots in Wullingyuan Park, taking the small train to visit Ten-mile Gallery will be a good idea.
Yellow Dragon Cave
As a 4-A national tourist spot in China, Yellow Dragon Cave or Huanglong Cave (黄龙洞) is one of the top ten caves in China. It is typical karst formation and system of limestone cave. With beautiful and exquisite stalagmites, Huanglong Cave was selected as “the Most Beautiful Tourist Cave in China” in 2005.
Yellow Dragon Cave covers an area of 100,000 square meters with 7.5 kilometers in length and 140 meters in height. It includes four layers, including two layers of waterways. There are reservoir, rivers, waterfall, halls, and passageways inside the cave. Tourists can enjoy another world in the cave by taking a boat ride through its dark waters. Highlights of the cave include Dragon Palace (龙宫), Sea-Calming Needle (定海神针), Tianxian Bridge (天仙桥), Xiangshui River (响水河), etc.
Baizhang Gorge
Located in the south of Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve, Baizhang Gorge (百仗峡) was an ancient battlefield allegedly. According to legend, Xiang Dakun, the leader of the Tujia peasant uprising army, fought with government troops as many as a hundred times here, so it is also called "Bai Zhang Gorge", literally one-hundrend battles in Chinese.
Ccomposed of Baizhang Gorge, Dongjia Valley and Wangjia Valley, Baizhang Gorge Scenic Area located in the central section of Chaqi Vally where many apes were in ancient times, with precipitous cliffs and difficult terrains, it used to be an important pass in ancient times. The original stone path on the right side of the Gorge is the official road of the Ming and Qing dynasties. After several years of development and growth, Suoxi Valley has developed into a large-scale tourist attraction.
West Sea
Situated in the west of Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve, the West Sea (西海) is a basin and gets together groups of canyons, peaks and forests. Mountains here are shaped differently and forests luxuriate densely. The cloud spreads all the mountains and forests. West Sea features the sea of peak, forest and cloud. Highlights of the West Sea scenic spot include Monkey Garden, West Sea Stone Forest, South Heaven Gate, Tower Peak, and Sky Terrace.
Best Time to Visit Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve
From March to November is the peak tourism season in Zhangjiajie, spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit Zhangjiajie. In spring, Zhangjia is like a paradise. The water of Golden Whip Stream is crystal clear, walking along the stream as if walk in a beautiful picture. In Suoxiyu Nature Reserve, Huanglong Cave and Baofeng Lake are good places to visit in Zhangjiajie. In autumn, the weather always fine in Zhangjiajie. The colors of all kinds of plants on the mountain began to turn red or yellow, the wonderful atmosphere and elevated views surely make a fantastic Zhangjiajie trip.
How to Get to Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve
Take bus to Wulingyuan（武陵源）at Zhangjajie Central Bus Station, which is close to Zhangjiajie Train Station. The driving distance is around 34 kilometers, and you can arrive in a hour. The bus ticket costs about CNY12 and it depart about every 15 minutes in the day.
Suoxi Valley Tickets & Opening Hours
As part of Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan National Park, the entrance fee of Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve is combined with the Wulingyuan ticket, which is CNY 224, valid for 4 continuous days. The Wulingyuan ticket include access to other core scenic areas in Zhangjiajie, including Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain, and Yangjiajie Scenic Area.
However, be noted that:
1. You need to buy separate tickets for both Baofeng Lake and Huanglong Cave. The ticket price for Baofeng Lake is CNY 110, Huanglong Cave CNY 121.
2. If you want to experience the tram of Ten-mile Gallery, you also need to pay extra ticket, which is CNY 38.3. The ticket prices are subject to change.
Suoxi Vally Opening Hours: 08:00-18:00
