Wulingyuan Scenic Area, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China (2024)

A Wulingyuan Scenic Area (or called Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area) tour is somewhat traveling outside the earth land.Before coming to Wulingyuan, we held the view that mountains in the world are always fat and huge, and we could never take selfies with an entire mountain. However, things change when it comes to Wulingyuan. The mountains there are split into countless tall, narrow and straight pillars, and you can easily find their border. Some of the pillar tops only allow several small trees to stand. If you stand tall enough, you can even easily squeeze one of the pillars and these small trees into a picture!

When James Cameron was looking for inspiration for the alien landscape of“Pandora” depicted inAvatar, he couldn’t move his eyes from these marveling finger-like projections. Finally, he brought these columns into his movie, and thus the mountains of Wulingyuan got their name “Avatar Mountains”.Pandora is far but Wulingyuan is near!Why not give yourself a chance to bring theAvatar Mountainsfrom the film to your eyes? Contact China Discovery to tailor-make a Wulingyuan Avatar Mountain trip now!

Latest Travel News: For security reasons, Oolong Village (乌龙寨) and Tianbo Mansion (天波府) in Yangjiajie are temporarily closed. There is no exact notification of the reopening date. Please stay updated with the latest news on our website. You can also contact us for the most recent information.

Highlights of Wulingyuan Scenic Area

Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area is composed of four parts, including the firstly discovered and most famed Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the tranquilSuoxiyu Scenic Zone, the largest Tianzi Mountain Natural Reserveand the primevalYangjiajie Scenic Area. The Wulingyuan - the Core Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie shares one ticket and the ticket is valid for 4 days, covering famous scenic zones including Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain, Ten Miles Gallery, Golden Whip Stream, Huangshizhai, Yangjiajie. For more details of the highlights and transportation of each area, you could check the following articles.

Warm tip:Some people also think that Wulingyuan is just another name of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The reason for this misunderstanding is that the park was established in 1982 while the whole Wulingyuan Scenic Area got its name in 1984. Wulingyuan is a broader area with a larger total area and more diverse landscapes. To put it simply, while the Wulingyuan Scenic Area encompasses popular sites like the Yellow Dragon Cave and Baofeng Lake, admission to these specific sites is not covered by the ticket for the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which is known as the core scenic area of Wulingyuan.

Which Area of Wulingyuan to Go

Wulingyuan - Core Scenic Area	Landscape	Hiking Difficulty	Crowdedness	Cable Car/Elevator/Tram	Time Needed
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park			/	Yes	1-3 Days
Yuanjiajie			Sometimes crowded	Elevator	Half day or A Day
Tianzi Mountain			Sometimes crowded	Cableway	Half day or A Day
Ten Miles Gallery			Less crowded	Sightseeing Tram	Half day or A Day
Golden Whip Stream			Sometimes crowded	On foot	Half day or A Day
Huangshizhai			Not crowded	Cableway	Half day
Yangjiajie			Not crowded	Cableway	Half day or A Day
Other Attractions in Wulingyuan Scenic Zone	Landscape	Hiking Difficulty	Crowdedness	Cable Car/Elevator/Tram	Time Needed
Yellow Dragon Cave			Not crowded	Boat & On foot	Half day
Baofeng Lake			Not crowded	Boat & On foot	Half day

See Also

Zhangjiajie e Wulingyuan, la mia guidaWulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, ZhangjiajieViaggio a Zhangjiajie e all'area paesaggistica di WulingyuanParco Forestale Nazionale Zhangjiajie | Le montagne fluttuanti di Avatar in Cina

Important Wulingyuan Travel Information & Tips

Wulingyuan - The Core Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie
Ticket Including: Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain, Ten Miles Gallery, Yangjiajie, Golden Whip Stream, Huangshizhai
Ticket Excluding: Yellow Dragon Cave, Baofeng Lake

The admission of Wulingyuan - the Core Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie is charged CNY 227/pp (including CNY 3/pp insurance fee) during the peak season (March to November) and CNY 116/pp during the off-season (December to next February). Sightseeing bus CNY 60/person is included.Once you have a ticket, you can enter the tourist spot for unlimited times from either one of the five entrances during the 4 days after booking.The sightseeing bus fee is included. But you have to pay an extra fee for the cable cars, elevators and sightseeing tram. To make planning your trip to Wulingyuan easier, we have compiled some important and useful articles for you below:

How to Get to Wulingyuan

Wulingyuan - The Core Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie is settled in the Wulingyuan District of Zhangjiajie City. There are altogether 5 ticket stations (entrances) to enter the scenic area, including Forest Park Ticket Station (森林公园门票站), Wujiayu Ticket Station (吴家峪门票站), Zimugang Ticket Station (梓木岗门票站), Yangjiajie Ticket Station (杨家界门票站) and Tianzi Mountain Ticket Station (天子山门票站). You could enter from either one of the five entrances, while the most used entrances are Forest Park Ticket Station and Wujiayu Ticket Station. And usually driving from Zhangjiajie downtown to the closest southwest entrance (Forest Park Ticket Station) takes about 1 hour!

To get to the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, you can choose to ask for a taxi, which needs about CNY 100- 150. Besides, you can go to Zhangjiajie Central Bus Station (张家界中心汽车站) to catch a coach. The coaches need about CNY 10-20 and most of the coaches would stop at Forest Park Ticket Station.

Warm tip: tell the taxi driver which entrance you are going to when you get on the taxi, and usually you are suggested to start your Wulingyuan tour from Forest Park Ticket Station (森林公园门票站) or Wujiayu Ticket Station (吴家裕门票站). If you still feel confused and worried about your tour, please feel free to contact us for help. We can provide a convenient private car tour for you.

How to Travel around Wulingyuan

Taking sightseeing buses and hiking are major ways to travel around inside Wulingyuan - the Core Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie. However, to make everyone enjoy the otherworldly scenery of Wulingyuan with ease and convenience, the scenic spot also offersa sightseeing tram, cable cars and elevatorsfor extra payment.

The free sightseeing buses can take you to most of the tourist attractions or the foot of some mountains inside the scenic area. There are many bus lines, and you are suggested to make a confirmation whether it is going to your destination or not when you get on.

Notes: 1) the above info like opening hours, fee and duration may be slightly changed according to real-time situation. 2) The cable cars may be suspended in severe weather such as rainstorm, lightning, etc.

Useful Wulingyuan Scenic Area Maps

To help you know the location, transportation and attractions of Wulingyuan Scenic Area clearly, we offer some useful maps at below. You could also get more map info at Wulingyuan Map and Zhangjiajie Map.