5 Days 4 Nights: Marvel at Zhangjiajie, Visit Phoenix Town

📍 St. Petersburg · 👁 8041 reads · ❤️ 27 likes

There is no direct bullet train to Zhangjiajie, so a transfer is needed elsewhere. We transferred at Jingzhou. From Suzhou, we took the D3072 train, which took nearly six and a half hours. Since we were in Jingzhou, we decided to take a look at its scenery. Our guide picked us up at the train station and took us to visit the ancient city wall of Jingzhou. Because of the hot weather, most tourists just admired it from afar across the river. When mentioning Jingzhou, the first thing that comes to mind is "Losing Jingzhou through Carelessness." Jingzhou, relying on the natural barrier of Bashu and commanding the convergence of rivers and lakes, was a strategic battleground for military forces throughout ancient history.

The Bailong Sightseeing Elevator is an impressive project, with a vertical height difference of 335 meters, an operational height of 326 meters, consisting of a 154-meter vertical shaft inside the mountain and a 172-meter steel structure attached to the mountain. It uses three double-deck fully exposed sightseeing elevators running in parallel. The Bailong Sky Elevator serves a practical purpose rather than being a gimmick to boost revenue. In the past, getting to Yuanjiajie required a three-hour mountain hike or a five-hour drive along winding mountain roads. Now, with the Bailong Elevator, the concept of "sightseeing on the mountain, staying at the foot" has been realized, eliminating the need for large-scale hotels and facilities on the mountain, effectively protecting the natural environment. The elevator travels at 5 meters per second, completing a one-way trip in 88 seconds. If you're not careful, you might miss the scenery and the chance to take photos.

The Bailong Elevator takes you up to Yuanjiajie. Located in the northern part of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Yuanjiajie is a mesa backed by rocky peaks and facing deep valleys and clusters of peaks, stretching from east to west. Major attractions include the Lost Soul Platform, Floating Mountain, and the First Bridge Under Heaven. Zhangjiajie boasts a very rare landform, recognized by the International Association of Geomorphologists as "Zhangjiajie Landform." The stone pillars, with their straight edges and sharp corners, rise abruptly from the ground, forming stone peak forests. These pillars look as if they have been split open, a feat only nature's uncanny craftsmanship could achieve. The Lost Soul Platform is perhaps the best viewing spot, but unfortunately, I missed it on this trip. I only got a side view of the stone peak forest, leaving me to imagine the maze-like scene from above. Floating Mountain is one of these stone pillars, famous worldwide because it was featured in the movie "Avatar," making Zhangjiajie even more well-known. Without the clouds wrapping around the mountainside, the illusion of the mountain floating in the air was absent. It seems that a clear, cloudless day can also affect the viewing experience!

After Floating Mountain, we visited Yuanjia Village before lunch. Yuanjia Village is the only private building within the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, a local landlord's compound that has been well-preserved and turned into a major tourist attraction. Before entering the village gate, three visitors had to drink the blocking-door wine offered by the A-Ge (local men). Upon entering the village, three others had to drink the blocking-door wine offered by the A-Mei (local women), giving us a deep taste of the Tujia customs. Inside the village, we could learn about Tujia traditional practices, but there were also quite a few shopping spots.

Finally, we had lunch after 12 o'clock. After a short rest, we headed to the peculiar Natural Great Wall and the beautiful Golden Whip Stream. The Natural Great Wall attraction is within Yangjiajie. After taking the scenic area bus to the Yangjiajie stop, we had to climb a mountain path to see the true face of the Natural Great Wall. It's hard to imagine how nature carved such a stone wall, standing on the mountain, undulating like the Great Wall, separating the space on both sides. Suddenly, two wild monkeys appeared, drawing the crowd's attention.

Golden Whip Stream is named because it flows past Golden Whip Rock. It is 5,700 meters long, originating from Tudiya and winding from the Zhangjiajie Forest Farm headquarters to Water Around Four Gates. The stream twists and turns, serene and secluded, moving with the mountains, threading through peaks, valleys, and clouds, stretching gracefully amid the sounds of birds and fragrance of flowers. At the entrance of the scenic area, there is a peak shaped like two camels, vividly lifelike. By the stream, visitors like to walk barefoot in the water, quietly enjoying the coolness. The different colored stones and the shallow moss on them give the stream a riot of colors. You can walk barefoot in the stream to feel nature's touch, sit on rocks and wait for beautiful dragonflies to rest on floating stones, or admire the various oddly shaped peaks around you.

The Glass Bridge has been heavily promoted by various media and platforms, shrouded in an aura of thrill and excitement. The Glass Bridge has a beautiful name, "Cloud Crossing," spanning the canyon with a deck length of 375 meters, width of 6 meters, and a relative height of about 300 meters from the bridge to the valley bottom. This fully transparent glass bridge ranks first in the world in both length and height. Viewing the Glass Bridge from the mountainside makes you appreciate its world-class status even more. Setting aside its function, it is definitely a great engineering feat. Our guide warned us in advance that it wasn't as scary as advertised, but standing on the glass surface and looking down at the clear canyon still made my heart tremble. Fortunately, the bridge surface is not entirely glass; there are non-glass sections, giving me space to calm my nervousness. But some tourists lay, sat, or even jumped on the glass, posing for photos with friends. If you think it's not thrilling enough, I can share a trick Dayu'er used to scare me—guaranteed to make your heart race: stand on the metal strip between two glass panels, close your eyes, and imagine the glass on both sides suddenly disappearing, leaving you standing on a single-plank bridge 300 meters above the ground. How about that? Exciting, isn't it?

After coming down from the Glass Bridge, the only way to the Grand Canyon is via a wooden plank path. The wooden plank path clings to the cliffside, seemingly attached to the mountain—a colossal project. It's hard to imagine the difficulties the builders faced to carve out such a mountain path. Although it's not a scenic spot, walking along it was quite interesting.

In stark contrast to the grandeur of the Glass Bridge, the canyon is a place of tranquility and coolness. Accompanied by the sound of the stream, we hiked for two hours, and surprisingly, I didn't feel tired; instead, I kept encountering pleasant surprises. Inside the canyon, there was a Tianhe Waterfall, thin as silk, cascading from the mountainside; a stone lingzhi mushroom bathed in natural spring water; a peculiar circular cliff; butterflies and dragonflies dancing by the spring; and ancient vines stretching stubbornly toward the sky... The scenery along the way was enchanting; no amount of words can fully capture the beauty of the canyon and the joy and satisfaction in my heart. Everyone must rely on their own eyes to see and ears to hear to appreciate the unique flavors. At the end of the plank path, we boarded a speedboat and, surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, concluded our canyon journey, which felt like "stealing a half-day of leisure."

On the way to Phoenix Town, we passed through Yongding District of Zhangjiajie and visited Tusi City. The Nine-Story Stilted Building in Tusi City is the world's tallest Tujia stilted building, reaching a height of 48 meters. It was the office of the last "Tus i" (local chieftain). Now each floor houses cultural relics, and our guide A-Mei explained them to us floor by floor.

Phoenix Town is located in the southwestern part of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province. It was first built in the 35th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1556 AD) and has a history of over 400 years. On this small piece of land of only 10 square kilometers, several outstanding figures were nurtured, such as Shen Congwen, Xiong Xiling, Huang Yongyu, and others. Phoenix Town has been a place Dayu'er has dreamt of for ten years. Perhaps many people share similar thoughts. We arrived at the ancient town in the afternoon. During the day, tourists were bustling, and the surrounding commercial atmosphere was quite strong, which left us slightly disappointed. But after we ventured deeper into the ancient alleys, we discovered the true appearance of Phoenix Town.

Having been to Xitang before, coming to Phoenix Town, possibly due to first impressions, I felt it lacked distinctiveness. Perhaps ancient towns are like beauties: their outward charm may be similar, but it's their temperament that differs. Phoenix Town is divided by the wide Tuo River; unlike the modest elegance of Xitang, it has a bold and open character. For visiting Phoenix Town, I recommend the quiet early morning or the nighttime scenery under the stars. In the early morning, there are fewer tourists, and without the daytime hustle, walking alone on the ancient bricks and carefully observing the town offers a unique experience. At night, the dazzling lights make Phoenix Town splendid, allowing one to fully enjoy its prosperity. Although the "Lijiang drumbeat" (that kind of drum sound that makes you mistakenly think you're in Lijiang, heard in many places) could be heard, so what?

In Phoenix Town, we also had a very distinctive meal—firewood cuisine. I had heard about it before but never actually tried it. This time in Phoenix Town, seeing many travel enthusiasts recommend it, we deliberately went to experience it. It was indeed very unique: a large stove platform, a big pot, fire lit in the stove, and food cooked in the pot. The taste was genuinely good—the more we ate, the more delicious and flavorful it became! It was very popular; visitors to Phoenix Town should give it a try!

On the last day of the itinerary, we basically spent the whole time on the bus. We took a nearly five-hour bus ride from Phoenix Town to Jingzhou, then caught a train at 2:06 PM and arrived at Suzhou Railway Station at 9:00 PM. Travel is tiring, isn't it? Although there were some minor dissatisfactions during the trip, looking back, I still feel joy and satisfaction. The five-day trip allowed me to witness nature's uncanny craftsmanship in Zhangjiajie and also experience human ingenuity and great engineering. Moreover, I met a group of lovely people. Though we may never cross paths again, they added many colors to the journey. The world's rare "Zhangjiajie Landform" is worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. As for the hauntingly beautiful Phoenix Town, only by going there can one fulfill the inner longing.

Travel Diary Contents:

1. Jingzhou

2. Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan

3. Yuanjiajie

4. Golden Whip Stream

5. Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge Grand Canyon

6. Tusi City

7. Phoenix Town

8. Final Thoughts

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