Greater Western Hunan

Zhangjiajie, Xiangxi Prefecture, Huaihua, Shaoyang and Loudi make up Hunan's largest tourism region, bringing together striking peaks, ancient towns and ethnic minority culture.

Greater Western Hunan is one of Hunan's four major tourism regions and covers the entire jurisdictions of Zhangjiajie City, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua, Shaoyang and Loudi. Note that Taohuayuan in Changde lies to the northwest but belongs administratively to Changde, which is part of the Dongting Lake region. Zhangjiajie is the region's top destination. The core Wulingyuan scenic area is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and the quartz-sandstone pillar forests of Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain and Golden Whip Stream are world famous; Tianmen Mountain and the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge are also very popular. In Xiangxi Prefecture, the night views of Fenghuang Ancient Town with its stilted houses along the Tuo River are hugely popular, Aizhai Bridge, Dehang Miao Village and Furong Town can be visited in one loop, and the ancient town of Liye in Longshan is famed for the large number of Qin bamboo slips unearthed there. In Huaihua, the Hongjiang Ancient Commercial City preserves many Ming and Qing merchant buildings, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County has Dong villages with drum towers and wind-and-rain bridges, and Yuanling and Xupu lie along the Yuan River, with ancient towns and the Shanbei Yao terraced fields. In Shaoyang, Mount Langshan in Xinning is part of the UNESCO-listed China Danxia site, and Nanshan in Chengbu is a high-mountain grassland in southern China; in Loudi, the Ziquejie terraces in Xinhua are a World Heritage Irrigation Structure. A classic route is three days in Zhangjiajie plus two in Fenghuang; a more extended trip adds Huaihua and Shaoyang, for seven to ten days in total. For transport, Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport has the most flights, the Zhangjiajie–Jishou–Fenghuang–Huaihua high-speed railway links Zhangjiajie, Jishou, Fenghuang and Huaihua, and the Shanghai–Kunming high-speed railway passes through Huaihua, Shaoyang and Loudi; places such as Langshan and Ziquejie require a self-drive. In peak season Zhangjiajie is extremely crowded, so book tickets in advance and keep a spare day in case of rain or fog.

Destinations

Itineraries