How to Plan a 2-Day Zhangjiajie Trip

Time Plan: 8:00 – 18:00

Duration: 8 to 10 hours, including one hour lunch break

Stay overnight at: Wulingyuan Town

Detailed Itinerary:

Wulingyuan Wujiayu Ticket Office (near main entrance) → shuttle bus (20 minutes) → lower station of Bailong Elevator (30 minutes up including the waiting time) → upper station of Bailong Elevator → shuttle bus (10 minutes) → Yuanjiajie (1.5 hours for sightseeing) → Yuanjiajie Tianqiao Station → shuttle bus (30 minutes) → Tianzi Mountain Station → He Long Park (1 hour for sightseeing) → Tianzi Pavilion → Wolong Mountain (100-120 minutes to go downhill) → Monkey Park (15 minutes for sightseeing) → Ten-mile Gallery (30 minutes for sightseeing on foot or by sightseeing train) → Ten-mile Gallery parking lot → shuttle bus (15 minutes) → exit also from Wulingyuan Wujiayu Ticket Office
 

You can take Wulingyuan No.1 Bus to arrive at the Ticket Office within 1 hour. Remember to get on the Bus at Yangjiaping Bridge Bus Stop and get off at Biaozhimeng Bus Stop, from which you only need to walk for about 6 minutes to reach the destination. The bus ticket price is CNY 2.

1. The main entrance is crowed on holidays, and it is possible to queue up for 2 – 3 hours to get in. It’s wise to reach the park early in the morning to avoid crowds.

2. Hours of the Shuttle Bus: 7:00 – 17: 00 (low season) / 19:00 (peak season) 

3. Bailong Elevator links Golden Whip Stream at the foot of the mountain to Yuanjiajie at the top. It reduces a 3-hour hike to a 2-minute lift. Hours: 8:00 – 17:30. You can include the elevator in your tour.

4. This night, it is still recommended to stay in Wulingyuan Town for its developed traffic and many hotels catering to different budgets & restaurants.

Time Plan: 7:00 – 18:00 

Duration: 11 hours including one hour for lunch & break

Detailed Itinerary:

South Gate or Forest Park Ticket Office → walk 10 minutes to Oxygen Bar Tourist Service Area → 1 hour hiking along Golden Whip Stream → fork road at Zicao Pool (turn left) → Shadao Valley (uphill to Yangjiajie) → walk 45-60 minutes to a fork (turn left to a bridge) → walk 1.5 hours to go uphill → Lingshi Yaoshu (turn right) → walk 25 minutes to Air Corridor → walk 35 minutes to One Step to Heaven → walk 35 minutes to Wulang Worshipping Buddha → walk 45 minutes to Wulong Village and Tianbo Mansion (1 hour for sightseeing) → Jinji Baoxiao → Wulong Village Crossroad Station → shuttle bus (15 minutes) → Yuanjiajie Tianqiao Station → walk 1 hour to go downhill through Luancuan Slope → 1 hour eastward hiking along Golden Whip Stream → Shuirao Simen → shuttle bus (15 minutes) → Wulingyuan Wujiayu Ticket Office (Exit)

If time is tight or you want to save some energy, just skip the Luancuan slope. Take the shuttle bus from Yuanjiajie Tianqiao Station to the upper station of Bailong Elevator, go down by elevator, and then connect to the shuttle bus to Shuirao Simen. It saves 2 hours in this way.

The South Gate is about 26 km (16 mi) far from Wulingyuan Town, and the best way to get there is taking a taxi. It usually takes about 30 minutes and cost about CNY70-75.

 

Walk for 6 minutes to get to Biaozhimeng Bus Stop, take Wulingyuan No.1 Bus, and then get off at Yangjiaping Bridge Bus Stop.

1. You can also enter the park from other exits, but entering from the south gate is the most convenient and time-saving to explore Zhangjiajie’s classic hiking trail along the Golden Whip Stream and to see some lesser-known attractions. 

2. Please be sure to wear comfortable hiking shoes for this day's trekking.

Zhangjiajie (Wulingyuan) Scenic Area has another 3 entrances/exits with ticket offices other than the main entrance and the south gate.

Traffic: Shuttle buses running from here to Shuirao Simen and Bailong Elevator. 

Traffic: Shuttle bus directly from here to the Tianzi Mountain or Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. You can take the shuttle bus here to go up the mountain.

Traffic: Yangjiajie Cable Car
This gate is convenient for visiting Yellow Stone Stronghold and Golden Whip Stream.

Tianzishan Town - Near Tianzi Mountain Ticket Office or To See Sunrise

Staying around Tianzishan Town is suitable for watching sunrise. The nearest entrance is Tianzi Mountain Ticket Office. 

Downtown Zhangjiajie - Owning Many Hotels but Faraway
Like Wulingyuan Town, there are many hotels to choose near downtown Zhangjiajie, but it is far from the core scenic area, so you need to take a bus or taxi to the scenic area the next day. 

Important Note: No accommodation inside the Scenic Area is available since 2017.

There are no more than 100 days in a year when you can see sunrise in Zhangjiajie. If it's clear and starry the night before, then the next morning is likely to have better visibility and a higher chance of seeing the sunrise. Sunrise is from about 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. in the morning. However, the scenic area opens at 7:00, so it is difficult for visitors to see the real sunrise, especially in summer. What you can see is generally the dawn view.

Timetable of Sunrise & Sunset at Zhangjiajie

1)Tianzi Mountain

If you stay overnight at Tianzishan Town, you can enter through Tianzi Mountain Ticket Office to avoid the crowd. Take the shuttle bus to Sanchakou Station and walk 15 minutes to the Grand View Platform (Daguantai) to watch the sunrise. The upper station of Tianzi Mountain Cable Car is also a good place. 

2) Zhaixing Terrace of Yellow Stone Stronghold

It is suggested you stay in a hotel near the Forest Park Ticket Office the night before. In the next morning, take the shuttle bus for 10 minutes to reach the lower station of Yellow Stone Stronghold Cableway, go up in 2 minutes, and walk 8 minutes to Zhaixing Terrace.

3) Laowuchang

It has a magical garden in the air. If you want to see sunrise here, you need to stay overnight here the day before. Or you can take the Bailong Elevator in the morning to have a distant view of Laowuchang in the stunning dawn lights.

Then, to see watch sunset, you can go to Imperial Brush Peaks, Tianbo Mansion, Laowuchang, or Tianzi Mountain. While, in spite of the fantastic sunset, don’t miss the last shuttle bus before the park is closed.