Essence of Zhangjiajie
4-Day Zhangjiajie Tour
See the most beautiful attractions of Zhangjiajie, featuring pristine natural scenery of grotesque peaks, clear water, and dense forests. Grasp the chance to visit the world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge- the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. We will help you make the best use of your time and energy to see the essence of this World Heritage Site, and see in person why it inspired Avatar's Hallelujah Mountain.
Tour Highlights
- Peculiar sandstone peaks - the closest thing on earth to the Hallelujah Mountains
- Newly discovered Yangjiajie Scenic Area with a mountain fort
- The world's longest cable car to Tianmen mountain top
- Glass walkway suspended at 1,430 meters high
- Enjoy a relaxing boat ride at crystal-clear Baofeng Lake
- Visit the world-record-holding Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge!
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Zhangjiajie/ Spectacular scenery and great taste of local culture.
Zhangjiajie immediately went to the top of our list of natural attractions in the world. The landscapes are fascinating and unique. We really valued the guidance by China Highlights. Roger was good accommodating to our needs during the planning phase. In the actual trip Linda provided us with knowledgeable and passionate guidance. She was very personable and respectful at the same time. Her advice was critical to be able to see so much - as in every park or area there are multiple buses to move around. She showed us the best spots at the best time.Local restaurant selection was good. One piece of advice- make sure to specify how much spice you enjoy in your food. Local food can be quite spicy. more
Jan 2024, Raul C Mexico city
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An Unforgettable Experience
China Highlights and the local guide Linda deserve special kudos for making this trip happen for my family. Linda was very knowledgeable and passionate about the area and the subjects we cared about. She went above and beyond to accommodate extra activities for us and to assist with choosing the food so that we get to try the local cuisine. more
Jan 2024, Diana G
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Great experience in Zhangjiajie
Our trip to Zhangjiajie was fantastic. We had Terry as our tour guide for a few days and we loved all the experiences. He is a very capable guide and knows a lot about history. We needed him to translate many things in the city and he was very patient with us. He speaks very good English and is punctual. He took many pictures to us more
Jan 2024, shinemasla
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ZhangJiaJie Exploration with China Highlights
Bree (Xiao Hong) is our guide in ZhangJiaJie; she is very experience in handling our itineraries and always managed to work out our travel route to minimize the crash with big crowd; it really makes our visit more relaxing and joyful. Also, able to take extra care on my family meal preferences and diet constraints. Special thanks to Bree. more
Jan 2024, Kenneth C
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China Three (3) Cities Tours
To the tour guides, Ethan, Jason and Tony, you guys have made my visit an awesome and memorable experience. All the tour guides spoke english and communicated very effectively. They are knowledgeable about all the sites visited including, Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Panda Breeding and Research Center, Leshan Giant Buddha, Hallelujah Mountains, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge, and Tianmen Mountain. more
Nov 2023, Kadar
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Family trip
During our extended trip in China, we spent three days in Zhangjiajie with our fantastic guide, Tutu. She speaks English fluently, is always polite, and extremely proactive. She took us to visit less crowded places, where we could enjoy the views undisturbed. more
Nov 2023, Kamila1123
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Spectacular Zhangjiajie National Forest
My Guide Li Wen Jing’s English was perfect. I took a Soft Sleeper train to Xhangjiajie. The most exciting part of my visit to Xhangjiajie was the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Avatar Mountain) and the Grand Canyon of Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge. Liking excitement and technology Xhangjiajie has one of the most spectacular cable cars in the world. I don’t visit many places twice, but Zhangjiajie will be on my list. more
Nov 2023, BillWalton2
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Amazing experience in Zhangjiajie
We had a great time in Zhangjiajie thanks in no small part to our excellent guide, Apple, who took us to all of the major attractions throughout the region. He was very personable and his English is very good. Best of all, he took us off the tourist beaten path to some of his favorite places to visit with unique views and to restaurants with great food.Our trip to the Grand Canyon and the Glass Bridge was particularly memorable with taking the slide instead of the second down escalator. The day was capped off with a tour through the caves. Lots of steps! The trip to the top of Tian Men Mountain was quite memorable. more
Nov 2023, Pennie B
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Best 2 day tour in Zhangjiajie
We booked a 2 day tour in Zhangjiajie and had a wonderful experience visiting the Zhangjiajie National forest park where the avatar movie was inspired from, and on our second day we went the Tiamen mountain. Our Guide Wendy is very knowledgeable and took us to places unknown by tourists and she showed us the best spots for the best views. Thanks to Wendy for making our visit such a wonderful and memorable experience. more
Nov 2023, annenguyen2016
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An amazing experience at the avatar park
My friend and I really enjoyed our 3 days in Zhangjiajie! We had a great enthusiastic tourguide Tony who is a local of the city and knew the nature and city so well. We were so lucky with the weather and because of Tony we could also avoid the crowded areas. The views were beautiful and we made a lot of pictures. Oh and Tony could make beautiful pictures as well. Overall an amazing experience with china highlights! more
Oct 2023, Sümeyye S
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Super customized guided experience
Zhangjiajie is a beautiful and truly special place for nature lovers. Be forewarned that it's super busy though, so we were really glad to go as early as possible (the park opens at 7), and we were glad to book with China highlights as they helped us with all of the ticketing and helped us dodge the lineups and many of the crowds. Our guide Lee was knowledgeable and with great English, and they gave me a number of great hiking recommendations to make sure I got the outdoor experience I was dreaming about. I traveled here with an aging parent, and I'm super grateful to Lee for juggling both our needs and being super flexible with our schedule to make sure I got in some solo hiking time while also catching all the most important sights inside the park. more
Sep 2023, Stephanie N
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Highly Recommend Zhangjiajie Tour
Had a great tour of Zhangjiajie with our guide,Tony. Each day was filled with activities that smoothly flowed from one to another with little to no wait time. We saw everything that was advertised and more. Lunches were delicious and filling. Tony is very engaging with tremendous local knowledge. He knew the best spots to take pictures and how to get away from the crowds. He was also very good about taking photos of our family and sending them to us. more
Sep 2023, Pat S
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Wonderfull and memorable experience!
The natural scenery is majestic and wonderful in Tienmen and Zhangjiajie. Fenghuang guzhen is also well worth a visit.We also thank our tour guide David, who did his job very well: understanding local history and culture. he also helped us buy tickets to great shows: the Fox Fary….High recommend for this tour and service! more
Sep 2023, Thu? N
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Unforgettable tour!
Myself and my boyfriend spent 4 days in Zhangjiajie exploring the amazing scenery. The tour was seamless and we would not have navigated the parks without our tour guide Chris, who took us on the best routes through the parks and showed us the best places to take pictures. more
Aug 2023, Declan O
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Fantastic private tour
We had an excellent trip; we did the 3 day (4 nights) tour and our guide Wendy made it an exceptional experience. She was so informative and planned our itinerary so well - even though the attractions are very busy in the summer season, Wendy made sure that we did our best to avoid the crowds. The sights are beautiful and it is absolutely worth travelling from the bigger cities. Tianmen mountain was the highlight of the trip! We are so glad we booked a private tour. Hotel was also excellent. more
Aug 2023, Ailin C
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Beautiful scenery with and without local tourists
Another excellent 3-day section of our 3-week tailor made China Highlights tour, this time with Pan Hon (Bree). On the first day we saw the beautiful karst peaks in the Zhangilajie national park with - and completely without - local tourist crowds thanks to Bree. On the second day we did the Grand Canyon, a zip line descent over it and traversed the longest glass bridge in the world where we added an impromptu 260m bungee jump to our itinerary! Day three we ascended Tianmen mountain via the world’s longest cable car, walked on top of it and then took seven escalators and the stairs down from Heaven’s Gate before coming back via the other cable car. This way we encountered less queues and also made the ascent easier for us, especially since Bree managed to get us VIP tickets on the first and third day (for an additional Y100 per person) which meant we queued for half an hour instead of the usual two hours plus during China’s school holiday peak season. Bree is a caring, friendly, efficient, extremely flexible guide who thinks of everything and is very attentive of what her clients’ needs are. We couldn’t have wished for a better guide! Thank you Bree. more
Aug 2023, Axel R
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Marvelous
We visited Zhangjiajie for 3 days as part of our China trip. We spent unforgettable 3 days due to our perfect guide - Lee from China Highlights. The timing was great, the food- so delicious. We saw everything as planned in the itinerary. Lee is the best guide! We had great time, unforgettable moments with the amazing nature. more
Jul 2023, Viki B
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Rated 5 out of 5 stars
We had a wonderful time in Hunan. All sites we visited were spectacular. The Nature around Zhangjiajie is perhaps most beautiful on the Planet. The trip was prepared perfectly, and we were very lucky with the weather. Our personal guide, ToNy, was perfect: he is a very nice person, very responsive, with full head of ideas of making the trip nicer than in the itinerary. I would recommend him as a personal guide to everybody. more
May 2023, Pawel from Warsaw
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Zhangjiajie magic
Our tour guide Tony was very friendly and enthusiastic about sharing his magical hometown. We really enjoyed our trip with him, and especially appreciated his ordering recommendations at lunch (which were all delicious), taking us to the ‘secret’ quiet spots, great photography skills and sharing facts about the local people and customs. We would recommend a trip to Zhangjiajie with China highlights and Tony to other travellers. more
Apr 2023, Rhiannon E
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Spectacular landscapes
Our guide David from China Highlights was awesome and showed us the best spots and also some secret spots off the beaten track. He was always helpful with restaurant recommendations and make sure we have a pleasant stay. Thanks David. more
Mar 2023, Steffen Wet
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Suggested Itinerary
Most flights land in Zhangjiajie in the evening. Upon arrival your local tour guide will meet you at the arrival hall of the airport with a name plate. If you arrive by train, your local tour guide will meet you with a name plate at the exit of the train station.
After meeting your tour guide, he/she will take you by private van and driver to your hotel. Have a good rest and be ready for the next day's adventure!
Good to know
To avoid waiting in long queues, our tour guide will suggest the best time to start the day, and might suggest you get up early or alter your attraction schedule. Please kindly understand and cooperate.
Your private guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Wulingyuan Scenic Area, where Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is located, to visit its two most classic and popular attractions.
Take a cable car up to Tianzi Mountain, and you will see large areas of grotesque peaks thrusting up. Walking along the steps spectacular views unfold in front of you from different angles.
Lunch in the moutain area is simple and in Chinese-style arranged at a local restaurant. There is a McDonald's near Tianzi mountain, if you prefer western style we can have lunch there, for a good rest indoors with air-conditioning.
In the afternoon, ride a public shuttle bus to Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, whose mountains are said to be the inspiration for Avatar's Hallelujah Mountain. This area is the most visited area due to its fame. It takes about 1 hour to walk the tourist trails, before you take the shuttle bus for the cable car down the mountain.
There is another option for getting down the mountain - Bailong Elevator. This glass elevator was built on the side of a cliff, and it claims to be the world's highest of its kind. It takes only 2 minutes, but at peak times you might need to queue one or two hours to take it. If you are interested in taking the elevator, tell your guide in advance, so that he/she can arrange beforehand to avoid the long queues.
Retire to a hotel near Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, to save time on transportation and avoid morning crowds on day 3.
Good to know:
Evening free time recommendation: The Xibu Ancient Streets are a Tujia minority culture and tourist area. They contain a local snack street, a folk culture souvenir street, and a bar street. About 2 km from the hotels area of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, it is a convenient place to explore in your evening free time. Besides, street barbecues are very popular in Zhangjiajie. Try sitting down and enjoying the barbecue and local beer like a local!
Breakfasts offered at the hotels are usually Chinese-style, with not much choices. If you prefer, your guide can pack you some bread, instant coffee, and fruit for an alternative breakfast.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is a recently developed natural wonderland. It incorporates mountains, streams, caves, cliffs and forest. The world's longest & highest glass-bottomed bridge is located in this area. Walking along this glass bridge 300 meters above ground-level will be one of the coolest experiences of your tour!
If you prefer not to walk on the bridge, we'll take another route to visit the area.
Then drive to Baofeng Lake that is in a basin in the middle of this mountainous area. You need to walk about 20 minutes to reach the lake; then you'll enjoy a 30-minute ride in a wooden boat. It is a leisurely experience as you cruise on the clear water, view hills of various shapes, and enjoy the entertainment of local minority people singing their traditional songs.
Good to know:
The world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, started trial operation on Aug. 20th, 2016. During the trial operation, entrance tickets can only be obtained by reservation, and travel agencies have first priority for ticket purchase. Tickets are limited to 8,000 per day. Book with us as soon as possible and seize the opportunity!
Your heart will beat fast at Tianmen Mountain on the world's longest cable car, the suspended glass walkway almost a mile (1,430 meters) above the ground, and the '99 Bends' mountain road.
Tianmen Mountain is regarded as the 'soul' of Zhangjiajie, its highest mountain. The views include graceful ancient trees, karst hillocks and long roads that are carved from the sides of the cliff. The cable car takes 30 minutes from the city center to the mountain top and is the longest cable in the world.
Tianmen Cave (literally 'Heaven's Gate Hole') is a 30-meter-high hole formed naturally in the mountain like a doorway, well-known for being glided through by a world-class stuntman in a wing suit. To reach the hole, you can climb for about half an hour up the 'Stairway to Heaven'.
After the trip we will send you to the airport and wave goodbye.
Good to know:
Tianmen Mountain is adjacent to Zhangjiajie city, so we put it in the last day of the tour, when its convenience for the airport / train station is most useful.
Trip Notes
1. Customizing the Tour - according to your needs
This tour is very flexible. You can alter the itinerary, extend or shorten it to suit your price, interest, and schedule.
You can extend it with an extra day to Fenghuang Ancient Town, where the daytime is picturesque and charming, and the night is lively; or with an extra day to the city of Changsha; or add one more day to discover more at the National Park (the entrance ticket is valid three days). If your time is limited, shortening by one day can also be arranged.
For a multi-city tour, we would recommend combining Zhangjiajie with Guilin (mountain and water scenery), Yangtze River cruise (relaxing cruise on the Yangtze River) or Guizhou (ethnic minority villages). Feel free to tell us your interest and idea.
Weekend Travel Idea for EXPATS, business people, etc.
If you live in China and have very limited time, but still want to explore Zhangjiajie, here is a suggested concentrated itinerary:
Friday night: Most flights land in Zhangjiajie in the evening, so you can take an evening flight after work. Cities with direct evening flights to Zhangjiajie: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Guilin, and Kunming.
Saturday: See the highlights of Zhangjiajie: Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain.
Sunday: Tianmen Mountain and Zhangjiajie departure
2. Guiding Service
Your personal tour guide will accompany you throughout the tour, providing guiding service and local knowledge. He/she is ready and willing to help you solve problems while on the tour.
3. Accommodation
Star-rated hotels in Zhangjiajie might not be up to the standard of those in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Most hotels in Zhangjiajie opened over 10 years ago and have not undergone renovation, so the facilities might not be very new. For example, 4-star hotels in Zhangjiajie might only compare to economy standard hotels in cities like Shanghai. The hotels we use in the tour are carefully selected based on criteria like hotel environment, location, service, and previous customer feedback. Breakfast at a 4-star hotel at Zhangjiajie is very basic, and 5-star hotels breakfast is usually Chinese style mixed with some western choices. We suggest you bring your own toiletries and towel, and if you meet any problems in your hotel, our tour guide will help you arrange with the hotel to make your stay as comfortable as possible.
If you have other hotel choices or wish to book hotels by yourself, feel free to tell us your idea.
4. Food
Restaurant and cuisine choices are very limited in the national park. We will find the best available, but it is also suggested that you bring some snacks. Local villagers sell water and food like fruits and corn on the mountains, which are good to try while you climb the steps.
As for dinners (not included in the tour), you will have better and more choices while you are down the mountain. Feel free to ask your tour guide for recommendation of restaurants and dishes to try.
There are no vegetarian restaurants available in Zhangjiajie. For vegetarian travelers, please tell us your meal requirements in advance, so that we can make relevant arrangement for you.
5. How the Weather Affects the Scenery and What to Bring
It is foggy/rainy for over 200 days per year in Zhangjiajie, but the mists make Zhangjiajie mysterious. It might rain or be foggy (obscuring some of the view), but even then the scenery is beautiful.
A pair of comfortable walking shoes with good grip is a must.
Clothing: In summer, bring mosquito repellant, sunglasses, sun block and hat. Prepare an extra light coat for the cool early mornings and evenings. Bring warm clothes for winter, but you will get warmer climbing the mountains, so layers are recommended for flexibility.
Tour Price
Price includes: