Top Zhangjiajie Travel Tips on Food, Best Visiting Time, and Getting There
In the northwest of Hunan province, there is a city being well known for its stunning landscape and some of the most beautiful mountains in China. Zhangjiejie, as a new-born hot destination, attracts more and more tourists home and abroad every year. Tourists come here to hike, to explore the Avatar world, to immerse themselves in nature, to witness the man-made wonder… We all know the natural scenery in Zhangjiajie is the highlight.
When you are planning your trip to Zhangjiajie, you may have some questions. How about the food? When is the weather like and the best time to visit Zhangjiajie? What is the culture in Zhangjiajie like? If there anything tourists can do at night? To find out the answers, please continue to read our top Zhangjiajie travel tips.
Zhangjiajie Best Travel Time
The mountainous surroundings make Zhangjiajie city attractive all the year around. It has subtropical and monsoonal climate with plentiful sunshine and rainfall. Summer is not hot nor winter not too cold, with annual average temperature at 16.8 C (about 62 F).
Literally speaking, the best time to visit Zhangjiajie is from April to November, and the best months are considered to be April, May, September and October, when the oddly-shaped mountains are at its most beautiful time, with mild climate. But, it’s important to avoid China holidays (e.g. China National Holiday) and students’ summer vacation when Zhangjiajie must be overcrowded. Knowing some weather information will be helpful to plan your Zhangjiajie tour.
How Many Days Should You Spend in Zhangjiajie?
You are suggested to spend 3 to 5 days for an essential Zhangjiajie trip. You can visit the must-see sights, including Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge while tasting some local specialty foods. If you are found of the beautiful ancient towns in China as well, the Fenghuang Ancient Town, Dehang Miao Village, and Furong Ancient Town are great choices but 1 or 2 more days are required due to the hrs driving distance.
>> Recommended China Zhangjiajie tour packages:
Zhangjiajie Safety Tips
1) Like other cities in China, Zhangjiajie is generally a safe place to visit. Just be careful about your belongings in crowds when traveling in Zhangjaijie. Pickpockets are more common during holidays when you are on public transportation and some of the crowded resorts.
2) Watch out for the wild monkeys. They sometimes rob tourists for food. The monkeys do not afraid of tourists at all.
3) As Zhangjiajie is a mountainous region, before reaching there, you have to take necessary safety precautions.
4) Be ready for the long waiting lines during the China National Holiday, and try not to push and avoid potential safety issues.
5) Normally Zhangjiajie is also very safe at night, but it’s better not to hang around alone at very late night.
How to Get to Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie is a young city and due to its geography reason, its traffic capacity and convenience is not like other large cities. Nevertheless, Thanks to domestic flights and China's high-speed railway, it is possible to reach Zhangjiajie from most cities in China by airplane (such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Chongqing ) or high-speed railway (sometimes with a transfer from Changsha).
By air: In most cases airplane is the fastest and best way to get to Zhangjiajie. Direct flights to Zhangjiajie are also available from some Southeast Asian cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta and Bangkok.
By fast train: High speed train between Chasha South Station and Zhangjiajie West Station has operated since the end of 2020. The train takes around 3 hours, at least one hour faster than normal trains. From Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, you can have more choices to other main cities of China via either flight or train. Bullet trains are more suitable for travelers from cities around Hunan and central China.
By conventional train: There are still regular trains and overnight trains to Zhangjiajie from Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, and other place. But the trip is very long (ranging from 10 to 20 hours), suitable for tourists who prefer cheap China tours to Zhangjiajie by train.
Besides, there are long-distance coaches to Zhangjiajie Bus Station from cities in Hunan Province such as Changsha, Changde, Phoenix Ancient City, Jishou and Huaihua.
How Do you Get around Zhangjiajie?
To get to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianemen Mountain, you can find city buses from city center, railway stations, or its bus station. Taxi is a good choice. To get to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge, it is advised that you book a private transfer.
With free shuttle buses in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, you can move from one scenic area to another (e.g. from Yuanajiajie to Tianzi Mountains). And the cable cars can help you to reach the mountaintops easily. Bailong Elevator is even faster then the cable car, which you should not miss.
Bus to Fenghuang Ancient Town is available from either Wulingyuan Scenic Area (only one bus at 8.50am in the morning) and Zhangjiajie Center Bus Station. It takes around 3 hours for the bus journey.
It is still not that satisfactory on Zhangjiajie’s transportation system, but your tour consultant will always find you a solution to fix this pearl into trip plan.
>> Recommended 3 Days Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Tour
Travel Tips on Hiking in Zhangjiajie
When exploring the Zhangjiajie Mountains (e.g. Tianzi Mountain) or natural caves (e.g. Yellow Dragon Cave), it requires a lot of walking and hiking. It is recommended to wear non-slip hiking shoes or sports shoes, not leather shoes, high heels, sandals.
Wear quick-drying clothes in summer and keep warm and protected from freezing in winter. For deep hiking, it is recommended to bring trekking poles. Other things to pack include hat, sunglasses, drinking water, energy snacks, toilet paper, etc.
Recommended hiking routes in Zhangjiajie include: Golden Whip Creek, Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain and Huangshizhai.
>> Recommended 6-day Zhangjiajie Hiking Tour
Zhangjiajie Photography Tips
For photography enthusiasts, Zhangjiajie is a great place to capture cinematic landscapes. The best photo spots include the Avatar Hovering Mountain at Yuanjiajie Scenic Spot, the First Bridge under the Sky, the Royal Pen Peak at Tianzi Mountain (1 hour before sunset), Tianmen Cave at Tianmen Mountain, and the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge.
The best time to shoot is early in the morning from 5:30 to 7:30 with sunrise, sea of clouds and morning mist. After the rain clears, the peaks of Zhangjiajie mountains are covered with clouds and mist -- you can shoot the sense of fairyland. Golden afterglow, mountain light and shadow will be waiting when the sun goes down from 16:00 to 18:30 in the afternoon.
At night when the weather is good, you can also photograph the starry sky, the Milky Way and star trails in Zhangjiajie.
>> Recommended 4-day Zhangjiajie Photography Tour
Zhangjiajie Shopping Tips
Zhangjiajie, is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, as well as an uprising tourist city. There are a wide variety of tourist products with local characteristics. Here are some unique things Easytourchina recommended to buy in Zhangjiajie, Tujia Stickup Picture, Tujia Brocade and Guiwen Stone Carving. Tujia Stickup picture is made by root, branch and bark from a tree, combining stone and grass together to create landscape or pictures; Tujia Brocade is a kind of amazing local handicraft, including weaving and embroidery.
There are many stalls or shops that sell kinds of souvenir at the commercial street in the People's Square. Different kinds of folk handicrafts, local snacks, landscape paintings, and other interesting local things can be found here. The other places for shopping in Zhangjiajie are Guanghe Shopping Center and Meini Shopping Center.
>> Related reading: 8 Cool Things to Buy in China
Food and Restaurants in Zhangjiajie
In Zhangjiajie, there are mostly two kinds of local flavor, Hunan-style food and the native ethnic Tujia cuisine. The Hunan-style cuisine is known for its spicy flavor. The Tujia cuisine has its own traditional style of food, with more chilies, more exotic flavors, and more wild ingredients. Here below are recommended restaurants that are popular among tourists. You may also get recommendations from your local guide if you have one.
He Tian Yuan Restaurant
Near Tianmen Primary School, Guanli Road, Zhangjaijie China
Tel: 0744-2817799
Tang Shi Fu Tu Jia Shi Fu
WuLing Yuan District Wuling Avenue, Zhangjiajie China
Tel: 0744-5615089
Qian Liang Hu Shi Fu
YongDing District Daqiao Road 24, Zhangjiajie, China
Tel: 0744-8327777
Zhai Zi Li De Bo Bo Cai (Wulingyuan)
156 Wuling Road, Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie
Tel: 0744-5958666
Entertainment / Nightlife in Zhangjiajie
Looking for top things to do in Zhangjiajie at night? There is a very good night show in Wulingyuan Scenic Area or Xiangxi Grand Theatre where travelers can enjoy the folk singing or dancing performance. The show name is Charming Xiangxi, which is considered to be the most popular show in Zhangjiajie. The tickets can be easily booked when you are there via your tour guide. If you stay in Yongding district, then the Tianmen Fox Fairy Show, a fantastic real-landscape show with Tianmen Mountain as the backdrop, is available which tells a love story between a fox fairy and a local man.
Besides the night shows, night market and local vendors for barbecue or local snacks are available as well. But bars, pubs or cafes are not as widely access as other large tourist cities.
Zhangjiajie Festivals
There are different Chinese minority groups in Zhangjiajie, Miao, Tujia, Bai and other people, so there are many festivals celebrated by different minorities every year. Of all festivals, the Torch Festival held on July 25th is the biggest events for Bai minority groups, to celebrate the eradication of pests and protection of crops. In the evening of that day, every residence must ignite torches and then get together, forming a fire. People leap back and forth from the fire to pray for a good reap of the crop.
The other local festivals are three new years of Tujia Minority each on lunar Dec 28 or 29, lunar Jun 25 and lunar Oct 1. And lunar Jun 6 is for dry everything in sunshine, lunar Feb 2 is the birthday of the earth god. Besides their own festivals, they also celebrate public China national holidays as well. If you are special interested in minority festivals, come Zhangjiajie for a tour on right dates.
>> Keep reading: Zhangjiajie Travel FAQs
