9 Days Guizhou, Fenghuang Ancient Town, and Zhangjiajie Tour

Your tour guide will wait for you at the arrival hall of airport with a smile and name plate. Travel to your hotel by private van and driver.

Drive from Guiyang to Kaili (4 hours by car). When you arrive at Qingman Miao village, friendly villagers will hold a welcoming ceremony dressed in their traditional clothing, and greet you with home-made wine. You might have the chance to see their old way of dying fabric.

Not far from Qingman is Shiqiao Village where their method of making paper from tree bark has a history of over 1,000 years.

Half an hour’s drive north from Kaili is Matang Gejia Village, home to some 400 Gejia people. Gejia is a very special ethnic group with a small population of only about 10,000 people, living scattered among several towns and villages. It was not classified as one of the 55 minority groups by the government. They are unique in many ways, including life style, language, and costumes. They’re known for singing, dancing, and making wax printings. Their costumes and headgear are all hand-made. The capes worn by their men make an imposing impression, like a general in ancient war time.

Head back to Kaili and drive south for another half an hour to Jidao Miao Village, nestled in idyllic surroundings by the mountain side and flowing river. People live in wooden stilted houses of two or three levels, with domestic animals on the ground level and people on upper levels. They are a branch of the Miao ethnic minority, and their costumes are unique as women all wear long skirts.

Drive about 3 hours from Kaili is Zhenyuan Ancient Town. Relax yourself and enjoy limestone mountain scenery as you boat on Wuyang River.

Visit Green Dragon Cave’s old architectural complex, a rare combination of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism built 500 years ago.

Enjoy your free time strolling in Zhenyuan Ancient Town, where many hundreds-of-years-old buildings, folk houses, and piers are well preserved.

About 3½ hours by road from Zhenyuan is Fenghuang Ancient Town, home to Tujia and Miao ethnic groups. Wooden tilted houses line the banks of the Tuo River. The town is secluded and tranquil by day, and it becomes a place of liveliness with bars along the river open at night.

Enjoy morning free time in the ancient town. A short boat ride of 10 minutes on the Tuo River is a good experience to relax, and you can also explore the small museums and former residences inside the town.
After lunch, hit the road and head for Zhangjiajie, about 4 hours by car. After arrival at your hotel, have a good rest.

Good to know:

Most flights land at Zhangjiajie at night, sometimes very late, so we use a hotel in Zhangjiajie city upon your arrival, and on days 7 and 8. You should leave big suitcases in the city hotel and only take what you need for two days (one night) in the national park.
    To avoid waiting in long queues, your Zhangjiajie guide might suggest you get up early or alter your attraction schedule. Please kindly understand and cooperate.

Breakfast at your hotel , so our guide will prepare bread, coffee, and fruit for you.
It’s about 40 minutes by car to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, a World Scenic Heritage Site since 1992. Take a cable car up Tianzi Mountain and walk on the trails to admire large areas of grotesque peaks. Viewing platforms along the way allow you to see the scenery at different angles.

Lunch on the mountain is very basic, and it is suggested that you bring some snacks. Local villagers sell fruits and food along the way, which are also good to try. If you prefer, we can arrange to have lunch at a McDonald’s on the mountain, and have a break in the air-conditioned building.

In the afternoon, take the public shuttle bus to Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, where recently-named Hallelujah pillar, one of the inspirations for Avatar’s floating rocks is located.

Good to know:
For getting back to the foot of the mountain, besides taking the cable car, there is also an option of taking Bailong Elevator, a glass elevator built on the side of a cliff, taking only 2 minutes. If you are interested, tell your tour guide in advance so that he/she can arrange to avoid long queues, which might take you 2 hours.

This area is a relatively newly discovered gem in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, with pristine beauty and fewer crowds. It’s a bit of an adventure, climbing steep and narrow steps to see the breathtaking scenery. Besides taking cable cars up and down the mountain, you will need to climb for about one hour on narrow mountain paths.

Alternative:
If you do not want to walk so much, we recommend Gold Whip Stream for a pleasant stroll along the stream, surrounded by grotesque rocks. You might see some monkeys there. Please don’t touch or scare them for safety reasons, but giving them food is ok.

You will knock on ‘Heaven’s Door’ at Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen literally means ‘heaven’s gate’, and the scenery of this area does match its name. To reach Tianmen Cave (a 30-meter-high, naturally-formed hole in the mountain) you will need to ride the world’s longest cable car, walk on a glass walkway suspended 1,430 meters up, and ride on a mountain road with 99 turns. And that’s not all: there’s still a 999-step ‘stairway to heaven’ before you reach the hole.

You will get back to the city at around 2 pm in the afternoon. After which is your airport transfer for your departure flight.

Good to know:
While on the way, if you still have time, drop by Zhangjiajie Old Courtyard, the residence of an imperial official some 1,000 years ago, with well-preserved ancient architecture and exhibitions of Tujia ethnic minority life.