Zhangjiajie: World Capital of Stairs

Stairs. Fog. Stairs. Fog. Stairs. Fog. Stairs. KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF MOUNTAINS!

Zhangjiajie and Wulingyuan are definitely two of the most picturesque towns in China, with Avatar–like mountains, forest canyons, yellow dragon cave, and sloping valleys with glistening lakes. Last week, I spent 4 days exploring this part of China, which is smack down in the middle of the country in Hunan Province.

My favorite part was Zhangjiajie Forest Park, which is actually not located in Zhangjiajie city, but in a small town called Wulingyuan.

My homebase was at Wulingyuan Zhongtian Intl Youth Hostel (home to one of the friendliest hostel keepers Ive met yet, and who helped us plan out our whole three day expedition in the park) and spent one night on top of one of the mountains at Yuanjiajie Intl Youth Hostel.

I would definitely recommend both these hostels! The one in Wulingyuan was centrally located and had steady dorm beds–plus the staff are great and they have a reasonably priced breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu. The Yuanjiajie hostel was lacking a little on amenities and I had to sleep on a matress on the floor, but hey, youre on top of a mountain!

The first day inside the park was pretty rough to say the least. The weather was NOT on our side AT ALL, and, after an hour and a half of straight stairs, we were greeted by a view of thick fog. We could barely see a few hundred feet in front of us, much less the gorgeous views of the Avatar Mountains. So, sadly, we spent the bulk of the morning and afternoom wandering from peak to peak of thick fog while dogging the rain as best we could.

We started the hike up to our hostel in the mid afternoon, which lead us directly up another mountain that had promising lookout points. But there were SO MANY STAIRS. I thought I was going to die from lack of oxygen and burning calves. The only thing that keep me going was fear of being outpaced by sadan carriers. I was NOT going to let two tiny Chinese men carrying an entire person on their backs get up that mountain faster than me. I may be weak and out of shape, but theres a line.

And... it was AWESOME! The views were absolutely breathtaking. During our hike up the second mountain, the fog had decided to begin to clear, so we were left with just enough to add a mystical feel to the mountains!

But, its safe to say that by the time we reached out hostel, we were both exhausted and fell asleep easily.

The next morning, we took a park bus to the canyon, which had exellent views of strange rock formations that I thought only existed in movies. The weather was great, and we were able to see everything super clearly! Every look out point brought a wave of fresh amazement, I loved it!

The hike down the mountain was rough, not only because of the seemingly endless downward stairs, but because of all our aches and pains from the day before. 

On the third day, we had originally planned to hike a somewhat unpopular section of the park, but couldnt make it up the first hundred stairs before heading back and taking the cable car (no shame) up to the mountain from the first day. And the views were so much better this time without the fog!

That afternoon, we had a few extra hours and decided to check out Yellow Dragon Cave (黄龙洞), which is also in Wulingyuan.

We figured visiting a cave would be a good break for our ailing feet. I mean, theres no stairs in a cave, right? WRONG!

There were sooo many stairs. I felt like I was climbing a mountain INSIDE a mountain.

But it was definitely worth it. The cave was HUGE and even had an underground river where you could take a Disneyland–style boat ride!

Overall, Zhangjiajie is definitely a must–see in China! Its mountains are incredible and spending time in the park will definitely be an experience. So next time youre in the Hunan area, make sure to check it out–it wont disappoint!