National Parks of ChinaOverview
| Designation | UNESCO World Heritage (natural, 1992) National Park of China (second batch) AAAAA tourist attraction |
| Province | Hunan |
| Location | North-west Hunan |
| Latitude, longitude | 29.4, 110.5 |
| Nearby sites | The Three Gorges of the Yangtze, Mengdong River, Peach Blossom Land (Taohuayuan), Liye and Wulong Mountain |
| Highlights | Quartz sandstone pillars hundreds of metres high, natural bridges, wildlife |
| Top sights | Tianzi Mountain: Imperial Brush Peak, Fairy Scattering Flowers, Shentang Bay; Yuanjiajie and Yangjiajie: Wulong Village, Tianbo Mansion, the Number One Bridge under Heaven |
| Wildlife | Leopard, giant salamander, macaques |
| Area | 390 km² |
| Highest point | 1,256 m |
| Nearby cities | Hunan, Fenghuang |
| Themes | Mountains, Rock formations, Stone forests, Forests, Animals, Streams, Natural bridges, Stamps, Cable cars |
About
Wulingyuan, better known as Zhangjiajie, lies in the middle of the Wuling range in north-west Hunan. A World Natural Heritage Site and a Global Geopark, it is made up of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and the Suoxiyu and Tianzi Mountain nature reserves, 390 km² in all with a 260 km² core. Within it stand some three thousand quartz sandstone pillars, many of them hundreds of metres tall, together with two large natural bridges, numerous caves and rich wildlife.
Suggested itinerary
The finest scenery is at Tianzi Mountain and Yuanjiajie/Yangjiajie. Huangshizhai was developed earliest; its slogan “no trip to Zhangjiajie is complete without Huangshizhai” is generally thought an exaggeration.
Day 1: enter at the Zhangjiajie park gate, take the bus to the Huangshizhai cable car, ride up and down and walk the loop on top; return to the gate area and walk along Golden Whip Stream; take the Bailong Elevator up and the bus to Yuanjiajie for the night.
Day 2: the sights around the Number One Bridge under Heaven; Wulong Village and Tianbo Mansion; bus to Tianzi Mountain for the Immortals’ Bridge; stay the night on Tianzi Mountain.
Day 3: the main sights of Tianzi Mountain in the morning; South Heavenly Gate or the Ten-Mile Gallery in the afternoon.
Travel information
Park admission: 245 yuan (2007), valid for two days; fingerprints are taken at entry and checked on re-entry.
Ten-Mile Gallery tram: 33 yuan return (2007). Huangshizhai cable car: 92 yuan return. Bailong Elevator: 56 yuan one way. Buses inside the park are free.
Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport: +86-744-8253187.
Suoxiyu rafting 130 yuan; Baofeng Lake 62 yuan; Dragon King Cave 65 yuan (2007).
Stamps
In 1994 China Post issued “Wulingyuan”, four stamps: South Heavenly Gate, Shentang Bay, the Number One Bridge under Heaven and Imperial Brush Peak, with a 3-yuan souvenir sheet 1994-12M.
Nearby
Tianmen Mountain: aircraft have flown through its natural arch, Tianmen Cave.
Maoyan River: a 20 km lake cruise and a 35 km rafting run.
Jiutian Cave: nine natural skylights, 2.6 million m² on three levels, styled an “international cave exploration base” and claimed as the largest in Asia.
Huanglong Cave.
Baofeng Lake: 2.5 km long, 200 to 1,000 m wide, 27 m deep on average, with Baofeng Waterfall.
News
In late April 2008 many Chinese web forums carried posts about “gangsters stabbing Guizhou tourists in broad daylight in Zhangjiajie”. The city authorities stated that the bloodshed of 27 April in the Xinfeng market of Yongding District arose from a private dispute.