zjjxiongbing in lonelyplanet

1

the scenery is arguably the most impressive in the whole of china and when i went there (10 years ago) it was unspoilt too. we spent a couple of days there and didn't really have time to explore the most breathtaking bits but what little we did see was amazing. i recommend staying in the park after sundown if you can get away with it as that's when the animals come out and the weird rock formations seem to come to life in a creepy but awe inspiring way (and funny diving monkeys to boot).

the drawback of this area is that the local inhabitants are very poor and very keen to sell you their services as guides. this could in fact be a good thing if you want to see the 'sights' but annoying if you want to keep things low key.

that said, it's still one of the high points of my various trips in china

2

definitely! this was definitely one of the highlights during my long travel through china. breathtaking scenery. you can enter the park twice, but you can also decide to stay in the park and stay as long as you want. i stayed in zhanjiajie zhongtian international youth hostel, dorm 30 rmb. there are restaurants and small shops where you can buy cookies, noodles etc. but if i would be you i would also bring food and fruit with you. i stayed there for 3 days and have done a lot of hiking. highlights are: yuanjiajie (natural bridge area), hike van staircase to heaven, shadagou stream naar golden whip stream, hike naar a cross four streams, huangshizai, wulong village/ruins of mansion.

enjoy!

3

though zjj is certainly a nice enough place to visit, i wouldn't say the scenery there is all that impressive -- it doesn't compare with huangshan or emei shan or western sichuan, for example. main problem is, it's not too easy to reach. in any event, consider a sidetrip to fenghuang old town if you do head to zjj.

4

didn't have any problems with reaching the park. it only took 40 minutes by bus to wulingyuan from zhangjiajie new city. and from there it's a short walk (5 min.)to the entrance.

fenghuang must have been very nice like 10 years ago, now it's all ruined by loud (karaoke) music, coloured lights and loads of (chinese) tourists. stayed there for a week, it's still beautiful though.

5

by "not too easy to reach" i was referring to getting to western hunan -- it's off the main tourist routes -- not the mechanics of busing to the park itself.

6

hi,
i visited zjj just 3 weeks ago. i was warned, that it is very difficult when not speaking chinese. well, i think, this is true. that was the reason, why i took the offer of a guide, who asked me, when i was on the way to the park. he asked for 50 y a day, which is affordable.
the advantages going with him have been:
i stayed 2 nights in the park on two different places to optimize the route. i never would have found this places, only chinese stayed there. one time i paid 80, the other time 100 y for ensuite rooms (good for 2 persons). he organized food for around 40-50 y a meal (50 was already 2 dishes and a soup in very good quality). with him i didn't have to worry where to stay at night and could enjoy the scenery. i never would have seen so many different sites without him. so i was quite happy about this choice, even if i usually prefer to do everything on my own. since i'm more interested in the bizarre rocks i didn't visit baofeng lake and the cave. but i think, they are also nice, especially baofeng lake is maybe worth a 4th day.
the name of the guide is xiong bing (mobile +86-15580555317,0086-15274435480)before telephone13974405390 already change.

i don't agree that emei shan is more beautiful. the top of emei shan is quite interesting with all the temples and the pu xian monument, but the countryside is in my opinion not so exotic. of course the flora and fauna is more tropical, but because everywhere is wood, the mountain doesn't look so different from some european mountains. zjj is really unique, i don't know, wether such a place exists a second time. it's totally exotic!
i also liked hua shan, this mountain looks also totally different to european mountains. and i can imagine that huang shan is beautiful and exotic, but zjj is just fantastic.

i also visited fenghuang. well, like lijiang or dali it is full of chinese tourists. but still the old part along the river is nice.

what i can recommend is dehang. it is already full of tourgroups during the day, but not many people stay there for the night.

7

just got back from fenghuang and dehang. both are touristy, but there is good accommodation in both, 20 yuan/night in small family hotels. i'd definitely reccommend dehang. no one speaks a word of english, and when the tour groups leave and the knick-knack shops shut, its just you, a few people playing checkers and cards, some cows, and the owner of the guest house who is keen on a conversation even though there is no comprehension whatsoever of what either person is saying. (that said, it isn't exactly peak season right now)

8

i´m travelling with my girlfriend to zhangjiajie, dehang and fenghuang.
could anyone recomend any acomodation in this places?
we dont look for fancy hotel, we rather prefer nice homy local hostels but the lp only give a very short list of acomodations in this places and we normaly find the acomodation once we arrive to the place and i dont know if we would have truble if we do this in these villages.
what can you advise me ?