Lonely Planet China

by Lonely Planet

  1Sights & Activities

  Turn right out of the main bus station to reach the páifāng (牌坊), a decorative stone archway, and a focal point in town.

  Walk through the páifāng to reach the tourist centre (1km; follow signs for Zhùróng Peak) and the town's temples, all of which are also signposted.

  Héng ShānMOUNTAIN

  (衡山 )

  Seventy-two peaks spanning 400km comprise Héng Shān, but most visitors focus on Zhùróng Peak (祝融峰; Zhùróng Fēng ¥120), rising 1290m above sea level.

  The lung- and knee-busting, 13km ascent up winding paths, steep staircases and, in places, a road busy with tourist shuttle buses, takes around four hours one way, although it can fill the best part of a day if you take in the many temples en route. Alternatively, tourist buses, or a combination of bus and cable-car, can ferry you almost the whole way up in a sedentary posture.

  If you want to take the bus, buy the bus ticket (车票; chē piào; ¥80 return, including cable car), along with your entrance ticket (门票; mén piào; ¥120) on the 2nd floor of the modern tourist centre, where you can also store luggage (¥10 per bag) and pick up a free leaflet with a map (地图; dìtú) on it. Buses depart directly from here to the mountain's halfway point (半山亭; Bànshān Tíng; 15 minutes). From there, you can either take the cable car (横山索道; suǒdào return trip included with bus ticket) to Nántiānmén (南天门; five minutes), or change to another bus. From Nántiānmén, it's a 30-minute hike to Zhùróng Peak.

  Note, the mountain is open 24 hours, but the buses and cable car only run until around 6pm. It's worth packing a waterproof jacket, although you can buy plastic ponchos (¥10) from hawkers.

  If you decide to hike up the mountain (a wise choice, as you'll miss most of the temples if you take the bus), it's nicer to start up the tree-lined road 300m east of the tourist centre marked by the stone Shènglì Archway (胜利坊; Shènglì Fāng). This road leads to another entrance, where you can pay admission, and then to a tranquil path that winds 5km past lakes, waterfalls and streams in Fànyīn Valley (梵音谷; Fànyīn Gǔ), almost to the cable car departure point at Bànshān Tíng. Along the way, you can stop to see the colourful figures of Taoist and Buddhist scripture on display in Shénzhōu Temple (神州祖庙; Shénzhōu Zǔmiào), the grand and dignified Nányuè Martyrs Memorial Hall (南岳忠烈祠; Nányuè Zhōngliècí), dedicated to the anti-Japanese resistance, and a stele inscribed with a dedication from Kuomintang leader Chiang Kaishek celebrating the pine forest. Before you jump on the cable car, take a break at Xuándōu Guàn (玄都观), an active Taoist temple. The couplet carved at the entry reminds weary climbers that the path of righteousness is long, so don’t give up halfway through!

  The next 4.5km up to Nántiānmén frequently takes the busy road and scattered staircases, but there are plenty more inspiring temples along the way. Once you reach Nántiānmén, it’s a chilly (outside of July and August) 30-minute ascent to the peak – you can rent coats (¥20) by the cable car station.

  At the top is Zhù Róng Palace (祝融殿; Zhù Róng Diàn), an iron-tiled, stone structure built for Zhu Rong, an ancient official who devised a method of striking stones to create sparks. After his death, he became revered as the god of fire.

  Nányuè TempleTAOIST, BUDDHIST

  (南岳大庙; Nányuè Dàmiào ¥60; h7.30am-5.30pm)

  This huge Taoist and Buddhist temple originally dates to the Tang dynasty and was moved from Héng Shān summit to its foot in the Sui dynasty and then rebuilt many times, most recently in the Qing dynasty. Each carved panel in the main pavilion’s balustrade tells a legend of one of Héng Shān’s peaks. Its north gate is opposite the tourist centre.

  Zhùshèng TempleBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (祝圣寺; Zhùshèng Sì 67 Dong Jie; 东街67号 h5am-6pm)F

  A 10-minute walk east of Nányuè Temple, this Zen (Chan; 禅) Buddhist temple, with an attractive stone-carved entranceway, dates as far back as the Tang dynasty. Outside, on Dong Jie, you can watch carpenters making wooden Buddha statues for the various temples in town.

  4Sleeping & Eating

  The cheapest hotels can be found near Nányuè Bus Station. On the lower slopes of the mountain, basic hotels line the road at various places, while some places exist higher up on the mountain, for those who want to catch the sunrise.

  Nányuè has more than its share of restaurants. Zhurong Lu, the road that Nányuè Telecom Hotel is on, is a good choice for a variety of eateries. Accommodation places cook up meals on the mountain, although they can be pricey (but the vegetarian meals at Zǔshī Temple are decent value).

  In Town

  Auspicious Margin HotelHOTEL$

  (吉缘宾馆; Jíyuán Bīnguǎn %187 1149 7187; 338 Hengshan Lu; 衡山路338号 r ¥70-100; aiW)

  Opposite the bus station, this simple place has a slightly bizarre name and a variety of room choices, all with air-con, TV, bathroom and wi-fi.

  Nányuè Telecom HotelHOTEL$$

  (南岳电信宾馆; Nányuè Diànxìn Bīnguǎn %153 0734 2269; www.nydxhotel.com; 173 Zhurong Lu; 祝融路173号 s/tr/ste ¥228/248/578, d ¥198-268; aiW)

  This large hotel has comfortable, smart twins and doubles and a good restaurant, serving up some tasty dishes. Turn right out of the bus station, left through the páifāng (decorative stone archway) and it's on your left.

  Cohere HotelHOTEL$$$

  (枕岳楼大酒店; Zhěnyuèlóu Dàjiǔdiàn %0734 539 8888; 8 Jinsha Lu; 金沙路8号 s/d/ste ¥688/888/1088; pnaiWs)

  The nicest hotel in Nányuè is this attractive health resort that doesn’t serve soda in the lobby bar. It has everything else you might need though – foot massages, gym, pool, roof garden, ping-pong room, three restaurants and an ATM. Rooms discounted by 40% in slow periods; another reason to avoid the peak holiday crush.

  On the Mountain

  Zǔshī TempleGUESTHOUSE$$

  (祖师殿; Zǔshī Diàn near Nántiānmén; 南天门附近 d ¥348; i)

  The rooms in this Taoist temple are spartan for sure, but the views are magic and vegetarian rice meals are served up throughout the day. It's a five-minute walk from the cable-car station by Nántiānmén – turn left as you exit the cable car.

  Wàngrì Tái JiēdàizhànHOTEL$$

  (望日台接待站; Wàngrì Tái Jiēdàizhàn %0734 566 3188; Wàngrì Tái; r from ¥360; W)

  The mountain's highest accommodation, this place is just a 10-minute walk below Zhùróng Peak (up to your right as you are climbing), and has small but modern twins with air-con-heaters, TV, bathroom and wi-fi. Cooked meals also available (mains ¥30 to ¥60).

  8Information

  Bank of ChinaBANK

  (中国银行; Zhōngguó Yínháng 270 Hengshan Lu; 衡山路270号 h9am-5pm)

  Just past the páifāng (decorative arch), this branch changes money and has a 24-hour ATM.

  Tourist CentreTOURIST INFORMATION

  (旅客服务中心; Lǚkè Fùwù Zhōngxīn Yanshou Lu; 延寿路 h7am-5.30pm)

  Tourist leaflets and maps are available at this modern tourist centre, where you can also store luggage.

  8Getting There & Away

  Very regular bullet trains from Chángshā South Station (2nd/1st class ¥65/100, 29 minutes, 7.11am to 9pm) stop at Héng Shān West Station (衡山西站; Héng Shān Xīzhàn), 10km from Nányuè town centre.

  Returning to Chángshā, bullet trains leave Héng Shān West Station roughly half-hourly from 9.09am to 9.09pm; trains take 34 minutes in this direction. You can buy tickets at a train ticket office (火车票代售; huǒchē piàodàishòu %0734 568 2222; 167 Zhurong Lu; 祝融路167号 commission per ticket ¥5; h7.40am-9pm) near the páifāng – walk through the páifāng, and it's on your left (on the way into town).

  Buses from Chángshā arrive at Nányuè Bus Station, which has 12 buses a day back to Chángshā (¥42, three hours, 7.50am to 4.30pm).

  8Getting Around

  Local buses wait at the train-station car park to take passengers to Nányu�
� (¥6). They will drop you at a small local bus station, called Zhōngxīn Zhàn (中心站), which is diagonally opposite the main Nányuè Bus Station (南岳汽车站; Nányuè Qìchēzhàn).

  Zhāngjiājiè 张家界

  %0744 / Pop 1.7 million

  Rising from the subtropical and temperate forests of northwest Húnán, Zhāngjiājiè (张家界) has a concentration of quartzite-sandstone formations found nowhere else in the world. Some 243 peaks and more than 3000 karst pinnacles and spires dominate the scenery in this Unesco-protected park. If caught in the right light or when the early-morning mountain mist rolls in around them, the effect is otherworldly.

  For thousands of years, this was a remote land known mainly to three minority peoples: Tujia, Miao and Bai. Today more than 20 million visitors come here every year. It is also home to more than 3000 distinct plant species as well as diverse fauna. You'll see lots of macaques on the main trails (remember, they are wild so don't feed them), while endangered species such as the Chinese giant salamander, Chinese water deer and the elusive clouded leopard (only their tracks have been seen) lurk deep in the park.

  1Sights

  The National Park

  Wǔlíngyuán Scenic & Historic Interest AreaNATIONAL PARK

  (武陵源风景区; Wǔlíngyuán Fēngjǐngqū adult/student ¥248/160)

  The national park's official name is the Wǔlíngyuán Scenic & Historic Interest Area, but almost everyone refers to it simply as Zhāngjiājiè, the name of one section of the park.

  The park, covering a vast 264 sq km, is divided into three main areas: the Zhāngjiājiè, Tiānzǐ Shān and Suǒxī Valley scenic areas.

  Zhāngjiājiè is also the name of the city (张家界市; Zhāngjiājiè Shì) 30km south of the park, and the village (张家界村; Zhāngjiājiè Cūn) by the 'Forest Park' entrance.

  There are access points on all sides of the park, but most enter from the south, passing through Zhāngjiājiè village to the Zhāngjiājiè National Park entrance (张家界公园门票站; Zhāngjiājiè Gōngyuán ménpiàozhàn), more commonly called Forest Park (森林公园; Sēnlín Gōngyuán). Otherwise, many enter from the east through the less spectacular Wǔlíngyuán entrance (武陵源门票站; Wǔlíngyuán ménpiàozhàn).

  Organised tours to the park and Jiǔtiān Cave (九天洞; Jiǔtiān Dòng ¥76; h8am-6pm) often include a rafting trip (漂流; piāoliú), or you can join a tour and just do the rafting trip. While good white-water rafting is possible northwest of Zhāngjiājiè near the Húběi border, you'll have to make special arrangements for the equipment and transport.

  Most rivers are pretty tame, so don't expect great thrills, but the scenery is fantastic. The actual rafting usually lasts about four hours, with about the same amount of time taken up in travel to and from the launch area.

  A simply staggering admission fee includes ¥3 compulsory insurance and buys a ticket that is valid for two days. It must be used on consecutive days, and thumb prints are taken at the entrance, so tickets can't be resold or passed on. There are admission fees to some other sights within the park as well. Available from the ticket office, and hotels in the village and city, the Tourist Map of Wulingyuan Scenic Zone (武陵源景区导游图; ¥5) contains an English-language map of the scenic area and a Chinese-language map of Zhāngjiājiè City.

  Zhāngjiājiè Scenic AreaNATIONAL PARK

  From the 'Forest Park' entrance, there is an early opportunity for a bird's-eye view of the karst towers from Huángshí Village (黄石寨; Huángshízhài), a 3km loop on a plateau 1048m up. It’s a two-hour slog up 3878 stone steps, or a half-hour by electric bus (free), then cable car (one way ¥67).

  Back on the canyon floor, the Golden Whip Stream Scenic Route (金鞭溪精品游览线; Jīnbiānxī Jīngpǐn Yóulǎnxiàn) is a flat path meandering 5.7km east along its namesake stream to the Báilóng Elevator (白龙天梯; Báilóng Tiāntī; one way ¥72), a cliffside lift rising 335m in under two minutes to the Tiānzǐ Shān section of the park. There are steps up the cliff as well (one hour).

  Tiānzǐ Shān Scenic AreaNATIONAL PARK

  This area is on top of the plateau, and hence enjoys most of the park's more spectacular (and busiest) viewpoints. Touring here means manoeuvring around particularly large crowds (and waiting in long lines for buses), but the vistas are worth it; not least the No 1 Highest Natural Bridge (天下第一桥; Tiānxiàdìyī Qiáo), a remarkable stone structure spanning two peaks, 357m above the canyon floor.

  A further 30-minutes bus ride from here, at the far end of the plateau (before it descends into the Suǒxī Valley), is the Grand Sightseeing Platform (大观台; Dà Guān Tái), a massively popular spot for sunrise. Near here clusters a collection of other fine viewpoints, including Celestial Bridge (仙人桥; Xiānrén Qiáo) and Emperor's Throne (天子座; Tiānzǐ Zuò). A cable car (索道; suǒdào; one way ¥67) can whisk you down into the Suǒxī Valley, or you can hike down then take a cute monorail tram-car (电车; diànchē; one way ¥52) along a short stretch of the valley.

  Zhāngjiājiè City

  Tiānmén MountainMOUNTAIN

  (天门山; Tiānmén Shān ¥258; h8am-4.30pm)

  Visible from anywhere in Zhāngjiājiè City, this distinctive mountain range features Tiānmén Dòng (天门洞), a prominent keyhole cut through the mountainside. The seriously lengthy 7km-long Tiānmén Mountain Cable Car (天门山索道; Tiānmén Shān Suǒdào) is Asia's longest, and takes half an hour to hoist you up. The cable car is included in your entrance ticket. There are several glass-bottomed walkways at the top, including a nerve-shredding 100m-long stretch over a 300m drop that opened in 2016.

  ZHāNGJIāJIè IN TWO DAYS

  If you're stuck for ideas, the following mini-itinerary takes in all three of the park's main zones, and can be done leisurely in two days, or in one day at a push.

  Enter the park at the Zhāngjiājiè National Park entrance, more commonly known as Forest Park. Follow the Golden Whip Stream Scenic Route, an easy 5.7km path along the canyon floor, which leads to the Bǎilóng Elevator. Before you reach the elevator, though, take the steps up to your left at a point called Qiānlǐ Xiānghuì (千里相会), about one hour from where you started.

  It's a tough one-hour climb to the top (you're now in the Tiānzǐ Shān Nature Reserve), from where you can follow a short path to various viewpoints, including the famous No 1 Highest Natural Bridge. From here you can either hop on one of the free tourist buses, or walk along the main road (20 minutes) to Zhōngtiān International Youth Hostel, where you can either stop for the night, or just for lunch or a drink. Either way, don't forget to check out the path behind the hostel, which accesses two stunning viewpoints.

  The hostel is right beside Wàng Qiáo Tái (望桥台) bus stop. From here, take a free bus about 30 minutes further up the mountain to the bus stop for the Grand Sightseeing Platform, and find a rarely taken trail, which starts near a place called One Dangerous Step (一步难行; Yī Bù Nán Xíng). Follow this cliff-hugging trail through dripping-wet forest and past numerous small waterfalls, until, after about an hour, you reach a small rural hamlet where, if it's getting late, you can stay the night in the rustic family guesthouse Qíngrén Kèzhàn. Or turn left to follow the lane back up to the main road where you can pick up another free bus, at Xiāng Dà Lù Kǒu (湘大路口) bus stop, to the terminus at the Tiānzǐ Shān cable car station (天子山索道站; Tiānzǐ Shān suǒdàozhàn).

  It's ¥67 to descend in the cable car. Alternatively, follow the stepped path down (about one hour – the views are fabulous in places). At the bottom (you're now in the Suǒxī Valley area) you can take the monorail tram-car (¥52 one way, 10 minutes) or walk another 20 minutes to a bus depot. From the depot you can either take a free bus 10km to the Wǔlíngyuán park entrance (武陵源门口; Wǔlíngyuán ménkǒu), from where buses head back to Zhāngjiājiè City (¥12, 45 minutes), or turn right to get back to the path where you began your hike. After a few hundred metres you'll reach the bottom of the Bǎilóng Elevator befor
e continuing for about 90 minutes along the Golden Whip Stream Scenic Route again, back to the Zhāngjiājiè entrance.

  2Activities

  With more than 40 limestone caves hidden along the banks of the Suǒxī River and the southeast side of Tiānzǐ Shān, the region offers ample opportunities to raft (漂流; piāoliú) and tour caves.

  Zhōngtiān International Youth Hostel in Zhāngjiājiè City runs numerous one- and two-day tours, including a number of rafting trips (per person ¥200 to ¥500).

  BīNGLáNG VALLEY

  oBīngláng ValleyAREA

  (槟榔谷; Bīngláng Gǔ )F

  A free alternative to Zhāngjiājiè national park, this staggeringly beautiful mountain valley and its caves, natural arches and vertiginous cliffs, 90 minutes by bus from town, makes for a sublime day trip or overnight expedition. And it's free to enter. You begin by descending through a beautiful flat valley called Moon Valley (月之谷; Yuè Zhi Gǔ) surrounded by limestone cliffs before climbing to a vast cave called Cathedral Gate (教堂们; Jiàotáng Mén), after which you thread through a bamboo forest to make your way towards a 1km-long subterranean cave.

  On the way you will pass the Two Layer Cave (双层洞; Shuāngcéng Dòng) before reaching the astonishing Angel Castle (天使城; Tiānshǐ Chéng) – a formation of vast limestone cliffs that encircles you – with the Angel Gate (天使门; Tiānshǐ Mén) at the far end, a further cave that drills through the entire cliff to the far side.