this blog tells you all about how to travel the avatar mountains in zhang jia jie in china. just like the mountains, the names of this place are confusing and used interchangeably, so we really hope to make things easier for you with this blog.

small heads up: we are separating the chinese pinyin-names (zhangjiajie becomes zhang jia jie) so they are less of a pain to read or memorize, and adding the chinese characters 张家界 - and a translation whenever it makes sense, so you can look them up!

things to know about zhang jia jie (i)

zhang jia jie as a name is pretty confusing, because that is just how the region is called. there’s a city with this name, but where avatar was filmed is actually inside a scenic area called wu ling yuan (武陵源), which unfortunately is also called zhang jia jie inofficially.

there’s a half an hour drive from the city of zhang jia jie - where your train or plane will likely arrive - to wu ling yuan. okay, this is as confusing as it gets, we promise it is getting better!

how did we travel?

a park pass into wu ling yuan scenic area (武陵源景区) is valid for four days. we spent three full days inside the park. if you hear about tian men shan (天门山), zhang jia jie grand canyon (张家界大峡谷) and bao feng lake (宝峰湖), these are all separate parks nearby that ask for separate passes. doesn’t sound like much then huh? in the three days we spent inside the park, there wasn’t a single moment we did not know what to do.

just like kruger national park in south africa, wu ling yuan scenic area has multiple gates for you to enter the park. you can think of the park as half of it is on a high plain, and the other half is on the valley plain. whenever the high plain and the valley plain meet you find the stunning rock formations.
on both plains, there are free shuttle busses driving you between the places. they are available anytime and leave when they are full. to get from the high plain to the valley plain and vice versa there are cable cars, elevators, or you can hike.

hiking in china means stairs

there are no natural hiking trails in the national park. all hiking trails are safe, made of stone steps and well developed, many are wheelchair-friendly and have rails so that you can't fall. the good and terrible thing is that you can actually do the entire hike in slippers. There are clean toilets at every section of the trail, there are garbage cans every 50 meters, and there is also CCTV every few hundred meters to never get lost.

a good itinerary

it is true that zhang jia jie has more than 200 rainy days a year. depending on whether you like hiking outdoorsy or prefer sightseeing, it is more or less important to you that the weather cooperates. we love hiking in good weather and were very lucky not to have had a single rainy day in the national park. on the other hand, the national park would certainly have looked particularly mystical and cinematic if it had rained.

we worked out three day programs in advance, two for good weather and one where the weather was less of a factor:

• hike from the bottom up to yuan jia jie (袁家界) - where avatar was filmed. the south sky pillar (南天一柱) became the floating hallelujah mountain in avatar. also there is the bai long elevator, which goes up to 326m in under 1:30. don’t miss out on the natural bridge (天下第一桥) and many viewpoints, e.g. (迷魂台) of the special mountains

• hike up to tian zi shan (天子山) - a similar, very scenic area with a pavilion and a park at the end of the hike. we even combined it with a hike in yang jia jie (杨家界) to the natural great wall (天然长城) in the afternoon where the shuttle takes you there

• calm walk along the golden whip stream (金鞭溪), drinking out of a holy water fountain and possibly checking out huang shi village (黄石寨)

hiking up the hallelujah mountains

yuan jia jie (袁家界) is the most popular spot in the wu ling yuan scenic area and can be reached by shuttle after the bai long elevator. however, the view should be well deserved, which is why we took a leisurely hike up yuan jia jie using just our feet from below.

the hike starts in the valley where you take the shuttle from the eastern gate to water winding four gates (水绕四门). stroll in the upstream direction along the golden whip stream (金鞭溪), where you are among many at first, but the deeper you walk in, the quieter and more peaceful it becomes, until at some point you can only enjoy the sound of the stream in peace, the butterflies, the wildflowers and the nature around you. you may encounter macaques along the way and walk past many food stalls where you can stock up on plenty of treats before reaching a point where a staircase leads up towards yuan jia jie.

from there, it becomes really idyllic. it goes through a dense forest where, if you look very closely, you can spot red-hipped squirrels, but you'll notice how it slowly gets steeper. it really doesn't take that long before you get your first impressive, breathtaking panoramic view. you can pat yourself on the back because it's your achievement. in our opinion, you can stick to this view and you don't have to put up with the masses of tourists waiting at the viewpoints of yuan jia jie. the mass tourism that comes by elevator and shuttle focuses on a few hotspots: enchanting terrace (迷魂台), the natural bridge (天下第一桥) or the floating mountain south sky pillar (南天一柱), which served as inspiration for avatar.

while a part of our group took the shuttle to head to the elevator, we hiked the way back down into the valley.

the food: tu jia!

after a sporty day in the wild, there are numerous restaurants outside the national park waiting for you with hearty tu jia cuisine. from delicious zhang jia jie specialty beer to wild vegetables and mushrooms, we really had a great time as vegetarians. in our experience, the chefs are very flexible and made many things to our liking.

but there are also numerous street food vendors on the streets of wu ling yuan - the hotel town in front of the eastern gates of the national park.

evelyne's highlight? pa pa gan (the finest mandarins from japan) or local chinese bananas. they are so sweet and have so much character! for frank, it was definitely the beer!

hike up tian zi mountain

we haven’t had enough on our first hiking day. so that is why on our second day, we went on a hike up to tian zi shan, which is just as impressive like day one.

the journey begins in the valley, where you can take a shuttle to the picturesque ten-mile natural gallery (十里画廊). from there, you’ll walk along the panoramic railroad. while the train passes quite close to the trail and there’s no alternate route, don’t let that dampen your spirits!
once you reach the end of the railroad, stay optimistic - even if the crowds grow thicker near the monkey attraction. beyond that point, you’ll be rewarded with plenty of peaceful, expansive nature to explore and admire. follow the signs to tian zi shan…

… and just like the first hike, this one starts in the valley and leads up to the plateau via steps carved out of the precarious rocks. towards the end, there is a detour to ‘heavenly terrace’ (天台), which you should definitely not miss. it offers views of the high plain and the pavilion peacefully watching over the mountains in the distance.
enjoy the peace and quiet, as you can already hear the megaphones in the distance. from here, you can either walk back down or plunge into the crowds. we opted for the latter, because on tian zi mountain (天子山) you are rewarded with the view over the valley and the rocks.

while you can enjoy the view while having american mc donald’s, we continued our journey to yang jia jie (杨家界). yang jia jie is another area on the same high plain to explore. it’s about 30 minutes away by shuttle. the road is narrower, and through hairpin bends you get to witness how locals inside the national park grow tea. once you arrive, it’s only a short walk to the natural great wall (天然长城).

a peaceful walk along the golden whip stream

a peaceful walk along the golden whip stream (金鞭溪) - isn’t that the ideal mindful and slow relaxation to complement the active hiking days?

just like you would hike up yuan jia jie on day one, the walk starts at the water winding four gates (水绕四门). but instead of taking the stairs up to yuan jia jie, you keep following the stream. a lot of exciting and entertaining things await you along the walk. although as in all chinese national parks, taking a cold plunge is not allowed, there is a water fountain before you reach oxygen bar square (氧吧广场). the cold spring water promises eternal life, so be sure to not miss out on the opportunity to taste the water!

as the stroll progresses, it becomes gradually busier with visitors. guides enthusiastically share stories how the valley’s rock formations served as backdrop for ‘journey of the west’ - a must-know film for every chinese. you’ll encounter amusing attractions such as a wobbly wooden bridge, and of course delicious local produce.

this is the southwest gate of the national park. from here, you can take the cable car up to huang shi village (黄石寨), hike up on foot, or do what we did - exit the gate. we decided to leave because we still wanted to visit bao feng lake (宝峰湖). to get there, we took a taxi.

the serene bao feng lake feels like a tranquil escape from the bustling zhang jia jie national park and a good bonus if you have some extra time. the park separately sold entrance includes a boat ride across its emerald waters accompanied by traditional tu jia folk songs performed by local artists. you are not allowed to swim in the lake however - neither does it have hiking infrastructure.

things to know about zhang jia jie (ii)

where did we stay?

those who have seen the traffic outside of the national park know it’s absolutely essential to book the hotel within walkable distance. our travel agency booked us a hotel that was five walking minutes away from the east gate. even after breakfast, we were one of the first visitors to walk in.

people mountain, people sea

ren shan ren hai (人山人海) - this is a chinese saying that made it all the way to america. it accurately describes giant crowds of people: as mountains and lakes full of people! it is not too hard to grasp that when visiting the most popular national park of the second most populous country in the world there will lots of people.

while it is hardly possible avoid people mountain people sea at the most popular spots like the hallelujah mountain viewing platform, there are simple tricks how you can make a relaxing time out of most of your time.

for this you have to know that chinese travelers value comfort and familiarity. this means if for example you take the hiking trail instead of the cable car, you will have the entire place to yourself.

how did we get to zhang jia jie?

after spending four spectacular days in hong kong, we traveled into china by land, heading to zhang jia jie. we took a high-speed train to changsha, made a quick transfer, and soon arrived in zhang jia jie city. from there, a personal driver picked us up and drove us to wu ling yuan city, about 30 minutes away, where our hotel was conveniently located near the national park east gate.

our journey continued to chengdu in sichuan. for this leg, our driver took us to zhang jia jie airport, a charming little airport where everything went smoothly, and before long, we were on our flight to chengdu.

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