6 Days Best Mountains Tour with Huangshan & Zhangjiajie

Day 1 Huangshan Arrival

Pick-up in Huangshan & Hotel Check-in

Welcome to Huangshan! Upon arrival, be greeted by our local tour guide who is holding a sign with your name in the Arrival Hall of Huangshan Tunxi Airport or Huangshan North Railway Station. Then a comfortable vehicle (non-smoking) with an experienced driver will transfer you directly to your hotel in Huangshan downtown. Your guide will help you check in. The rest of the day is on your own to discover this beautiful city. 

Arrival ideas: Currently, there are non-stop flights to Huangshan from Beijing, Guangzhou, Xian and Chengdu, etc., usually 2 daily flights from each city. You can also take high speed trains from Shanghai (2.5~3.5hrs), Hangzhou (1.5~2hrs), Beijing (5.5~7hrs), and Guangzhou (7hrs), etc.

• Huangshan City

Day 2 Mt. Huangshan (B)

Route: Yungu Cable Way - Begin-to-believe Peak - Dispelling Cloud Pavilion - Bright Summit - Flying-over Rock

Today after breakfast, our guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel, then drive about 80 kilometers (1.5 hours) to the foot of Mount Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one of the most beautiful mountains in China. Your memorable Huangshan trip starts!

To save energy and time, you will directly transfer by park bus from the mountain foot to Yungu Temple to take a cableway to upper beautiful sightseeing area of Huangshan Mountain - North Sea Scenic Area which is famous for marvelous precipitous peaks, beautiful giant pine trees and far-reaching vision. Walk to lofty Begin-to-Believe Peak (1668m) to stretch your eyesight over cloud seas to far distance, and then hike about 40 minutes to Dispelling Cloud Pavilion to look down the Dreamland - West Sea Grand Canyon. Walk down along the stone steps to the bottom of the canyon while enjoying the Avatar-like rising rock peaks, unfathomable cliffs, bizarre stones and tenacious pine trees. 

Generally speaking, it takes about 3 hours for energetic hiker to hike from the Dispelling Cloud Pavilion, via 1st Ring and 2nd Ring to the bottom and return to the starting point. For beginners, children, and senior travelers, you can decide the hiking length on your own according to your physical condition, usually 2 hours for the 1st Ring and 2.5hrs for the 2nd Ring. In the bottom of the canyon, there is also a monorail cable trains for those who don’t want to return by walking to transfer back to the peak area. 

If time and energy allow, you can spend about one hour to explore the Sky Sea Scenic Area where you can enjoy the sunset from the second highest peak - Bright Summit (1840m), visit the incredible Flying-over Rock, then return back your hotel and have a good rest.

(Please Note: from December to the late March of next year, West Sea Grand Canyon is usually closed for the cold weather and heavy snow. Please feel free to contact us to adjust your itinerary)

• Jack and Emily from UK visited West Sea Grand Canyon, Yellow Mountain in October, 2019
• Anjali from USA visited Yellow Mountain Huangshan in January, 2019
• Robert from USA enjoyed the sea of clouds on Yellow Mountain in June, 2019

Day 3 Mt. Huangshan - Hongcun - Xidi - Huangshan Downtown (B)

Lion Peak - Yungu Cable Way - Hongcun Ancient Village - Xidi Ancient Village - Huangshan Downtown

On this day, get up early (usually around 5am to 6am) to enjoy the magnificent sunrise from Huangshan. We suggest you watch the sunrise from the Refreshing Terrace which is only a few minutes’ walking from Beihai Hotel. In good-weather days, you can see clearly the golden light of the sun piercing the mists, and rocky peaks rising above the frothy, ever-changing sea of white clouds. After the sunrise, get back to your hotel for breakfast.

Continue on your wonderful sightseeing on the Yellow Mountain to see the famous Dawn Pavilion, Stone Monkey Watching the Sea on the Lion Peak (1690m). Then walk along the wood path to the cable station to take a cable car to exit the mountain.

After the scenic visiting, you are going to visit two remarkable ancient villages - Hongcun and Xidi which are the best examples of ancient Huizhou-style architecture, and listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Quite different from other traditional ancient villages in China, the layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features Hongcun and Xidi are much more exquisite and grandiose, because they were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business.

Hongcun, originated during Song Dynasty (960-1276), is praised as the most beautiful village in China. It is famous as the ancient village in the Chinese painting. The most beautiful sites are the Moon Lake, the crescent-like pond surrounded by several grand dwellings, and Southern Lake Academy, a private ancient school served for the village. One interesting fact is that the whole village is arranged in the shape of an ox. The famous Oscar-winner film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed in Hongcun.

Xidi Village is only about 10km from Hongcun. Its well-spaced houses with white walls, elegant decorations and black tiles are surrounded by mountains, which makes Xidi an ideal place for paint from life. Xidi is a magnificent villager of imperial officers. It contributed about 130 government officials, some of whom were dignitaries in the imperial courts, during Ming and Qing Dynasties. Currently, there are still 124 well-preserved ancient dwelling with unique style in the village.

After the tour, be transferred to Huangshan downtown area for accommodation.

• Stone Monkey Watching the Sea (on Lion Peak)
• Yellow Mountain Sunrise
• Hongcun - the masterpiece of ancient Hui architecture
• Archway at Xidi Ancient Village

Day 4 Huangshan & Transfer to Zhangjiajie (B)

Huangshan to Zhangjiajie Via Other Cities

On this day, you are free on your own until be escorted to take the flight or train and then make a transfer to Zhangjiajie. (Note: There is no direct flight/train from Huangshan to Zhangjiajie that you need to make a transfer via other cities such as Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanjing, Changsha or more.)

Transfer Ideas: Shanghai is the connecting city with many flights/high speed trains from Huangshan and with suitable flights to Zhangjiajie. This is the common choice for most travelers. While, some travelers may transfer via Wuxi, Nanjing or Changsha. Flights and trains vary based on different date and time, please contact our travel experts for the detailed transportation plan with exact schedule.

Free Time Activity: You are recommended to go for a relaxing stroll on the 900-year-old Tunxi Ancient Street to appreciate authentic old Huizhou-style architectures.

• Tunxi Ancient Street

Day 5 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (B, L)

Yuanjiajie - Tianzi Mountain

After breakfast, you will go to explore the core scenic area of Zhangjiajie National Park - Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain. Firstly, take a sightseeing bus to experience Bailong Elevator, the fastest elevator and also the tallest outdoor elevator in the world. Enjoy the 1.5 minutes to be shot from the valley bottom up to the pillar peak. And then, hike amongst the multiple erupting stone columns at Yuanjiajie Scenic Area and open the mysterious “Pandora World”. During the exciting hike, get a good preparation to have an enviable look at the South Sky Pillar of around 150 meters high, the authentic prototype inspiring the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain; enjoy the best scenery at Enchanting Platform with tens and hundreds of beautiful stone peaks similar to a lot of nutritious bamboo shoots towering from the ground; also, closely watch the peculiar First Bridge of the World that is naturally made with an only 5-meter long stone platform linking the two peaks together to form the rare world wonder.

Then, take the sightseeing bus to visit Tianzi Mountain. Walk to He Long Park there, which is the best viewing deck to admire very closely the incredible and magnificent view of odd stone peaks standing one after another. Most appealing pictures of the four wonders of Tianzi Mountain are photographed there, including the mists and clouds, moonlight, rays of sunshine and winter snow. Also, step a little further to Tianzi Pavilion nearby to enjoy the marvelous view and terrific sightseeing of the Xihai Peak Forest from another angle of view. After that, take the cool Tianzi Mountain Cable Car down with groups of rockery hills passing by outside your glass window, and then take the sightseeing bus to exit Wulingyuan Park.

After the exciting tour, your guide and driver will escort you to your hotel.

• Millicent's group from USA visited Hallelujah Mountain at Yuanjiajie in April 2021
• Chona from Philippines visited Tianzi Mountain, Zhangjiajie in September, 2018
• Tianzi Mountain's Forests Taken by Chona from Philippines in September, 2018

Day 6 Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge - Tianmen Mountain & Zhangjiajie Departure (B, L)

Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge - Tianmen Mountain - Flight / Train off Zhangjiajie

After breakfast, drive about 40 minutes to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon experience thrilling walk on the transparent Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge which is the world longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge so far in the whole universe, with total length of 430 meters and height of 400 meters above the deep valley. You will skip the visit of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon so that you have more time for Tianmen Mountain which is even more beautiful.

Next, you will transfer to take the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car and ascend from Zhangjiajie downtown up to the peak of Tianmen Mountain of over 1,400 meters above the sea. Travel by the about 7,455 meters long cableway that is so far the longest one among the whole world and have a shocking look at the wandering Avenue toward Heaven from the glass. Then, take the Forest Sightseeing Cable Car to visit Tianmen Temple originated from Tang Dynasty on the mountain peak, which is one of the only world 5 Buddhist temples preserving the Buddha body relics. Walk around the temple cluster to appreciate the featured Qing Dynasty styled Buddhist structure with verdant forest surrounding by.

And then, hold your breath to take two scary walks on the cliff path circling the mountain body. One is the 60-meter long and 1.6-meter wide Glass Skywalk with transparent glass material 1430 meters above the bottomless valley, which makes you feel walking in the air in sunny days and fairyland in misty and cloudy days, while another must be the 1600-meter long Ghost-Valley Plank Road hanging on the cliff. Just step on and test!

After that, take the escalator from the peak down to Tianmen Cave to see the giant hole on the mountain. Formed by natural pressing and collapsing into 131.5 meters high, 57 meters wide and 60 meters deep, this cave is really a rare wonder of the world. Next, walk downstairs along the super steep 999-steps with the highest inclination up to 45°, which is the only access to Tianmen Cave from the foot of the mountain for a lot of prayers worshiping there. Lastly, walk several minutes to take a cable car to descend the mountain.

Travel tips: For safety reasons, the Ghost-Valley Plank Road and Tianmen Cave may be closed in winter if there are heavy snows, freezing weather or regular maintenance. Your travel consultant and tour guide will adjust your itinerary accordingly.

After the tour, your guide and driver will escort you to catch your train/flight to next destination.

• Luliia from Russia visited Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie, in 2020.
• Zhangjiajie Grand Cayon Glass Bridge Taken by Our Client Our client Mr. Pasquale from Italy in December, 2018
• Tianmen Cave of Tianmen Mountain Taken by Our Client Mona and Thomans from Germany in November, 2021