Enshi travel guide
恩施
Enshi travel guide with a day by day itinerary, 6 places with tickets and opening hours, where to eat and stay, and how to get there.
6 places · In the guidebook: pages 2033–2038
Enshi, Hubei Province · AI illustration for China Trip
The feel of the place
Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture lies deep in the rugged mountains of southwestern Hubei. Enshi preserves some of the best-intact Tujia mountain villages, where more than 500 Tujia households still live. Its distinctive ethnic customs include Tujia stilt houses (diaojiaolou), Dong-village wind-and-rain bridges, the Daughters' Festival in July, haocao luogu (薅草锣鼓) drum performances during farming season, sa'erhe (撒尔荷) dances at funerals, and baishou dances (摆手舞) at celebrations. Enshi's summers are not scorching and its winters are rarely severe, but it is foggy and receives abundant rainfall, so it is best to avoid the rainy season.
Things to see
Enshi Grand Canyon Scenic Area
1–2 days · Qixingzhai ¥185; Qixingzhai + cableway ¥290; combined scenic area ticket ¥265; combined scenic area ticket + cableway ¥370
Located near the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, in Tunpu Township and Banqiao Town of Enshi City, this section of the Qingjiang Grand Canyon rivals the Grand Canyon in Colorado, USA, and ranks among the most beautiful canyons in the world. Highlights include hundred-li sheer cliffs, thousand-foot waterfalls, the solitary Aoxiao Peak, primeval forests, and ancient villages, all breathtaking in their own way.
Suobuya Stone Forest
2–4 hours · ¥108 (includes sightseeing bus)
Known as the “Kingdom of Coolness,” the scenic area is an excellent place to escape the summer heat. Its unique “Rippled Patterns” and “Crown” rock formations are a highlight. It is home to the largest crowned stone forest in China. Visitors can also witness natural firefly displays.
Enshi Tusi City
This site showcases the traditional architecture of the three main ethnic groups of the Enshi Prefecture: Tujia, Miao and Dong. At the heart of the ethnic culture zone stands the Tujia “Jiujin Hall,” the largest, most typical and most spectacular replica Tujia stilted-house complex in China.
2–4 hours · ¥45
Shennong Stream
Known as the “Pearl of Western Hubei,” the river is divided into four natural gorge sections: Longchang Gorge, Parrot Gorge, Shennong Gorge and Jinzhu Gorge. The most distinctive experience is the Shennong Stream rafting, which uses a type of flat-bottomed boat shaped like a pea pod. Cruising along the stream, you’ll be surrounded by lush green banks and sheer cliffs, where ancient hanging coffins can still be seen.
2–3 hours · ¥140
Tenglong Cave
One of China’s largest karst caves and one of the world’s premier cave systems. The dry cave extends 52.6 kilometres, with an entrance 74 metres high and 64 metres wide, making it Asia’s largest dry cave. The water cave swallows the waters of the Qingjiang River and forms a 23-metre waterfall, after which the river flows as an underground stream 16.8 kilometres long. Remarkably, the wet and dry caves are separated by just a single wall.
2–3 hours · ¥170
Luyuanping Scenic Area
Hidden in a rift valley between the Liuliao and Zhongjian rivers lies an undeveloped and beautiful place called Luyuanping. Surrounded by sheer cliffs, its mountains, waters, forests, fields, roads and farmhouses have all remained in their natural state, thanks to the area’s unique terrain.
1–2 days · ¥128
Getting there & around
Getting There
By Air
Enshi Xujiaping Airport has flights to Wuhan, Yichang, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Beijing and other cities. Bus No. 18 runs from the airport into the city. A taxi costs ¥10–15.
By Rail
Enshi Railway Station is an important stop on the Yichang–Wanzhou Railway, with direct trains from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and other cities. Since the Hanyi Railway (汉宜铁路) opened, the high-speed train from Enshi to Wuhan takes just 3.5 hours.
By Road
Several buses run daily from Wuhan to Enshi, with fares of ¥130–150. The bus from Yichang to Enshi costs ¥110. As Enshi borders Chongqing Municipality and Hunan Province, you can also enter from the Chongqing or Changde (常德, Hunan) direction.
Getting Around
Local transport is very convenient, with 38 bus routes. Buses are unmanned (pay on board) and cost ¥1. Taxis start at ¥5 for the first 2 km, then cost ¥2 for each additional kilometre.
Eat & drink
Enshi's Tujia cultural performances are closely tied to food. Built around the Tujia four dishes (white crane greens (白鹤菜), paor greens (泡儿菜), rapeseed soup (油菜汤) and the wine-lapping dish (舔酒菜)), the show weaves in Tujia mountain songs and dances. These include solo, duet and small-chorus singing, along with vibrant numbers such as shuershuer (耍耍儿), lianxiangr (莲响儿) and baishou dance. The full performance lasts about one hour.
Local Snacks
Hezha
Local SnacksAs the name suggests, soybean dregs, peanut dregs and minced meat are stir-fried or boiled together, in a variety of flavours.
Cured Pork (腊肉)
Local SnacksEnshi's cured pork is prepared quite differently from elsewhere. The vendor typically grills the cut the customer has chosen over a coal stove until it starts to render fat, then soaks it in an alkaline solution and scrubs it until the skin turns golden-yellow. Watching the process is mouth-watering in itself.
Dried Potato Slices
Local SnacksPotatoes are sliced and sun-dried until completely dry. Locals stew them with cured pork, and the result is very tasty.
Where to stay
Enshi Yilu Tongxing Hotel
Located on Yanjiang Road Food Street, with a free car park. The hotel has well-equipped facilities and friendly service.
- Address:
- 60 Dongfeng Avenue
- Phone:
- 0718-8200006
Enshi Mushang International Hotel
Well located: a drive of about 5 minutes reaches Enshi Square, Baijia Plaza and other shopping and entertainment centres, and Enshi Tusi City is only 3 km away.
- Address:
- Block B1, Herun City, 168 Shizhou Avenue
- Phone:
- 0718-8029999
Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), pp. 2033–2038. Translated from the Chinese edition; names and prices follow the guidebook. · Plain text version