Guide de voyage : Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport is located in Hehua Village, Guliping Office, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City. It currently operates flights to and from more than 20 cities across China. The airport is just 5 km from downtown Zhangjiajie.

Airport shuttle bus: generally stops at the airport exit. The journey takes about a dozen minutes; ¥5 to the Airport Hotel in the city centre.

Bus: Route 4, fare ¥1–2, about half an hour.

Taxi: about ¥15–20 to the city centre during the day, around ¥30 at night. Going directly to the scenic areas is more expensive, around ¥100.

Apart from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao, Shenyang, Xiamen, Hangzhou and Nanjing, flights to other cities do not operate every day, so travellers should check flight schedules in advance.

Zhangjiajie Railway Station (张家界火车站) has passenger train connections with more than 20 major cities across China. Direct trains run to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Trains from Zhangjiajie to Guangzhou, Changsha and Zhanjiang originate here, making boarding convenient.

Since the railway station moved to the South Station in 2007, buses into the city from the station include routes 5, 6, 13 and 101. From the bus station, minibuses run to the scenic areas: ¥12 to Forest Park, ¥12 to Wulingyuan, one every 10 minutes.

Intercity high-speed trains run between Changsha and Zhangjiajie about a dozen times a day. The journey takes 2–3 hours, with fares of ¥130–166.

Here, “getting around” refers mainly to transport within the scenic areas. Zhangjiajie Railway Station is 33 km from the scenic areas.

Minibuses run daily between the Zhangjiajie city railway station and the scenic areas. Fare: ¥10; journey: 1 hour.

Tianzi Mountain cable car in Wulingyuan: ¥72 one way, ¥144 return. Huangshizhai cable car: ¥65 one way, ¥130 return. Where no cable car is available, sedan chairs can be rented for the ascent. Bailong Elevator: ¥65 one way, ¥130 return.

Food and drink in Zhangjiajie city are relatively inexpensive, with street-side canteens everywhere serving mainly Tujia-style dishes. Inside the scenic areas, however, meals cost much more: a vegetable dish is typically over ¥15, and dishes with meat are over ¥30. We advise against eating wild game, which is prohibited by law.

Tujia specialities include cured meats, blood tofu, reunion-dinner dishes, shefan (sticky rice steamed in a mould), and deep-fried bee larvae and pupae. Tujia hotpot and Tujia snacks are inexpensive and delicious. In Zhangjiajie you can also enjoy sweet corn cobs and wild kiwi fruit, which are hard to find in big cities.

Staying with mountain families gives you the chance to taste authentic cured pork, which city versions simply cannot match. Prices need not be a worry either: the higher the mountain, the fewer the visitors, and the cheaper the food.

Tujia cuisine also includes dried goods such as dried green beans and dried potatoes, which are tasty and make good gifts to take home.

L'hébergement à Zhangjiajie se répartit entre trois secteurs : Suoxiyu, le centre-ville et le parc forestier.

Kiwi fruit, Qingyan Mingcui tea, Longxia tea, and pine mushrooms are all local specialities, good value and high quality. Sangzhi salted dried tofu, Gegenbao drink, Maoping Maojian tea and Tujia-style cured meats are also worth trying.

Les kiwis de Zhangjiajie sont sucrés et juteux. Si vous voulez en emporter, mieux vaut les acheter non mûrs, car les kiwis mûrs s'abîment facilement. Les objets d'artisanat tujia se vendent au musée folklorique situé à l'est du temple Puguang ; avec un peu de chance, vous y trouverez une ou deux pièces qui vous plairont.

Tujia Maogusi dance, Tujia Baishou dance, Tujia martial arts and hard qigong, Tujia brocade weaving, Tujia Yang opera and more still retain distinctive ethnic characteristics. Local theatres and cultural centres host many impressive ethnic performances. If your visit coincides with a festival, you may join the local ethnic brothers and sisters in song and dance to your heart's content.