Day 178: Zhangjiajie – Day 1
Even though the Harmona Resort ran a free shuttle bus to the park entrance, the first shuttle didn’t leave until 9AM, which was a much later start than we wanted, so we booked a taxi there and reserved seats for the 5PM return at the end of the day. We made our way to the buffet breakfast (which was AWESOME! Best breakfast spread so far in China – huge selection of Western choices) at 6:30AM, and took off for the park at 7AM.
We had tried to download an English map the night before without any luck, but we had a vague idea of where we wanted to hike, thanks to the Lonely Planet’s “Zhangjiajie in Two Days” recommendations. While most tourists head straight for the Bailong Elevator – a 1,070ft glass elevator which is the tallest lift in the world – we hopped off the shuttle bus early and approached the cliff on foot via the Golden Whip Stream.
As is the case everywhere in China, there is construction going on in Zhangjiajie Village (more hotels, no doubt), just outside the park entrance
We are shocked at the lack of a line at the ticket counter – at least getting into the park will be easy!
The park is massive – according to the Lonely Planet it is divided into three scenic areas. We start off on the canyon floor in the main “Zhangjiajie” section, and head towards the Bailong Elevator, which is the start of a second scenic area
While there are a handful of tourists on the trail next to the stream, very few plan to walk the whole way – most just take a few pictures then turn around and catch the bus. We plow forward and soon find ourselves ahead of the crowd
We have a clear trail along the Golden Whip Stream where we can admire our first view of the famous karst pillars of Zhangjiajie
Lindsay refuses to even consider taking the glass elevator up the mountain! Nevermind the long line of annoying tourists, or the RMB 75pp cost – we visit parks to enjoy the nature! The walk up the mountain wasn’t easy, and takes us over an hour. Lindsay has to redistribute her backpack during the hike, and watches in amazment as a local vendor carries 4 boxes down the mountian on his shoulders!
When we finally reach the top, we find ourselves alone with a beautiful, unobstructed view of the “Stone Peak Forest”
Just the two of us and a couple dozen karst towers in the distance
Backpacker Igor takes in the stunning view of the Zhangjiajie landscape
We were now in a second section of the park – Tianzi Shan Scenic Area. Even though we knew we would run into crowds, we had climbed all the way up here so we figured we couldn’t climb back down again until we had visited the famous view points. We joined the herd and slowly shuffled forward, like cattle being driven to a slaughter…
We cross a narrow ravine, where we get a bird’s eye view of more majestic karst pillars
The bridge crossing the ravine is *packed* with selfie-snapping tourists
Don’t care how long my life would be, get me away from this crowded puddle!
It’s a short circuit to visit the most famous lookouts, but it’s slow going due to the number of people on the trail
The No. 1 Highest Natural Bridge connects two of the karst towers, 350m above the canyon floor
Taking a break from the masses to check out the view
Thousands of red prayer ribbons and “locks of love” cover every inch of the guardrails on the “Mountain of Lock”
We return to the canyon floor and hike 5KM along the Golden Whip Stream to the other end of the Zhangjiajie Sceneic Area
It was only 1PM by the time we reached the end of the trail – far too early to call it a day (especially since we were planning to take tomorrow off). We decided to forgo the cableway and climb yet *another* mountain – 2+ hours up over 3,000 stone steps to reach the Huangshi Village viewpoints, 1,000m in the air! The second ascent of the day was a true test of Lindsay’s stamina, but the views were totally worth it – the late afternoon light lit up the rocks with a gorgeous golden glow, and (best of all!) this part of the park wasn’t nearly as popular as the section near the elevator, so the trails were actually pleasant to walk on!
The hike up to Huangshi Village is longer and steeper than the first mountain, but has the added bonus of lookout points along the trail
We pass a large troop of macaques on our way up – luckily we ate all of our food already and they ignore us as we calmly walk by
Getting a close-up view of a neighboring karst tower
Zhangjiajie – the “Avatar Mountains” of China
Taking our time to explore the many pillars surrounding the Huangshi Village mountain
We are utterly exhausted after our two strenuous hikes, but we feel satisfied that we covered a lot of ground during Day 1 of our park visit, and feel guiltless about taking it easy on Saturday. By the time we reached the base of the mountain, it was already 4:45PM, so we knew making it back to the park entrance in time for our 5PM shuttle was a long shot. Once we reached the exit, however, we realized it was impossible – apparently the shuttle buses within the park do not connect to the separate entrances! When we showed the park staff a picture on our camera of the entrance we needed to get to, they told us the only way back was to exit the park and take a public bus for RMB 10pp.
We were a little annoyed by the hidden cost, but as there were plenty of shops outside this exit for us to do our grocery shopping, we decided to make the best of it. We picked up enough instant dinners and snacks to last us for two days before trying to hail a taxi directly to the hotel. Unfortunately, the only guy we could find was an unmarked taxi who insisted on charging us twice the fair price, so we ended up taking the public bus to the main park entrance so we could find a real taxi. By the time we got back to the hotel, we had been out for about 12hours – we had earned a rest!