Zhangjiajie Forest Park Entrances: Gate Guide and Hotel Transport

Matching your park entrance to your hotel and first viewpoint saves time and cuts out steep climbing. The East Gate is the best starting point when staying in Wulingyuan town for Yuanjiajie or Tianzi Mountain. The South Gate leads straight to Golden Whip Stream and Huangshizhai. Knowing where your route starts and ends lets you walk or take a quick ride without backtracking across the mountain.

Choose from your hotel and first stop

Use the East Gate if your hotel is in Wulingyuan town and you plan to explore Yuanjiajie or Tianzi Mountain first. Use the South Gate for Huangshizhai or Golden Whip Stream. The other three gates work best when your hotel sits right on those specific park borders.

Staying within walking distance of the East Gate puts park transport, restaurants, and shops close together. For a two-day visit, use the East Gate on day one for the upper mountain viewpoints. On day two, start at the South Gate, walk along Golden Whip Stream, and exit east back toward Wulingyuan town.

If you stay in downtown Zhangjiajie, decide which sight you want to see first, then book a ride straight to that named gate.

What each entrance connects to

East Gate: the Wulingyuan town choice

The East Gate is also called the Landmark Gate (武陵源标志门). After passing ticket control, board a lower-valley park shuttle toward either the Tianzi Mountain cableway or the Bailong Elevator. This entrance sits below the mountain plateau.

To do a Tianzi-first mountain loop, ride the cableway up to Tianzi Mountain, take the upper plateau shuttle bus across to Yuanjiajie, ride the Bailong Elevator down to the valley floor, and take the shuttle bus back to the East Gate. To run the loop in reverse, take the valley shuttle to Bailong Elevator, ride up to Yuanjiajie, take the plateau bus across to Tianzi Mountain, and ride the cableway down.

When a ticket page labels the route A or B, match its named ascent and descent to your plan: Tianzi up and Bailong down, or Bailong up and Tianzi down.

Ten-Mile Gallery sits along the lower valley floor. You can explore it directly from the East Gate using the valley shuttle buses without taking any cableway or elevator up the mountain.

South Gate: Golden Whip Stream and Huangshizhai

The South Gate ticket station is located at Luoguta (锣鼓塔). Inside the gate, walk past Great Oxygen Bar Square (大氧吧广场) to reach the southern trailhead of Golden Whip Stream (金鞭溪).

For a short stroll, walk along the stream and retrace your steps back to exit at the South Gate. For a complete crossing, walk the full length of the stream to Shuiraosimen (水绕四门), then hop on the valley shuttle bus toward the East Gate or Zimugang.

Huangshizhai (黄石寨) requires a separate climb. Take the park shuttle to the Huangshizhai cableway lower station and ride up, or walk up the stair trail. You must descend back to this southern valley area before exploring Golden Whip Stream. Huangshizhai is an isolated mountain peak and does not connect to the upper shuttle buses running between Yuanjiajie, Yangjiajie, and Tianzi Mountain.

West Gate: start with Yangjiajie

Pick the Yangjiajie ticket station if you stay around Zhonghu or want to reach the Natural Great Wall cliffs early. A valley shuttle carries you to the Yangjiajie cableway lower station. Ride the cableway up, then use the upper shuttle bus network to explore Yangjiajie, Yuanjiajie, or Tianzi Mountain.

If your car or hotel is on the west side, ride the upper shuttle back to the Yangjiajie cableway upper station, take the cableway down, and catch the shuttle back to the West Gate. Descending by Bailong or the Tianzi cableway places you on the eastern or central valley side. If you exit there, arrange a road ride back to your west-side base.

North Gate: reach the upper park by bus

The Tianzi Mountain ticket station serves the northern perimeter near Tianzishan town. Park buses climb the paved mountain road directly to Sanchakou (三岔口) on the upper plateau. From Sanchakou, use the upper shuttles for Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie, and Yuanjiajie.

This entrance lets you reach the upper plateau viewpoints without paying for a cableway or elevator. It works best if you stay in the north and plan to spend the day along the mountain tops. When finished, take the upper bus back to Sanchakou and ride the mountain-road bus down to the North Gate. Viewpoint visits along the top still involve walking trails and outdoor stairs.

The North Gate is separate from the Tianzi cableway lower station on the eastern valley side. Note that Tianzi Mountain is inside this forest park, while Tianmen Mountain (天门山) is a completely separate mountain near Zhangjiajie city.

Zimugang: the valley entrance

Zimugang is labeled as Central Gate (中门) on some booking pages and Southeast Gate (东南门) on road signs. Both refer to Zimugang Ticket Station (梓木岗门票站). It sits on the southeast perimeter outside Wulingyuan town.

This gate works well for travelers staying at nearby rural guesthouses or those heading straight to the Bailong Elevator. Valley shuttles run from Zimugang to Shuiraosimen and the Bailong lower station. To exit here, return to the valley floor and take the shuttle bus back to the Zimugang gate.

Decide the ascent and descent

Plan your uphill and downhill transport before entering. Single-ride adult fares are:

The standard park entry ticket costs CNY 236 (≈ USD 35 ) per adult and covers four consecutive days of admission along with all internal valley and plateau shuttle buses. Elevators and cableways require separate tickets. You can book forest park admission tickets online before your trip.

Starting at the North Gate and staying along the upper plateau uses mountain-road buses for both uphill and downhill travel. Walking along Golden Whip Stream in the valley requires no cableway or elevator. Both options avoid extra transport fees.

Choose the exit before entering

Wulingyuan town base and mountain viewpoints: Enter via the East Gate, take one transport facility up and a different one down, then catch the valley shuttle back to the East Gate. You will finish within easy walking or taxi distance of your hotel.

Wulingyuan town base and Golden Whip through-walk: Take a morning taxi or bus to the South Gate. Walk the scenic valley trail from the South Gate to Shuiraosimen, then board the valley shuttle toward the East Gate. You exit straight into Wulingyuan town without having to backtrack.

Car or hotel at the West or North Gate: Return through the upper network and the same gate's descent connection. For a North Gate return after taking Bailong down, ride a facility like Tianzi cableway back up, use the upper buses toward Sanchakou, then take the North Gate bus down. If you finish at the East Gate or Zimugang, hail a taxi or car back to your hotel.

Start with your hotel’s street

Wulingyuan sits right outside the park's East Gate. Your exact walking route or ride depends on the street where your hotel sits:

For a short morning walk, choose a hotel within 500 m of East Gate ticket control. In your map app, check the walking route from the hotel entrance to 武陵源标志门.

Wulingyuan Bus Station is about 1.2 km from East Gate. Take town bus 1 toward 标志门, or a taxi, to save that walk. For a Chengjing Bus custom ride, select 标志门 as your dropoff.

Walking to East Gate from Jundi Road

A tall pagoda-style tower marks East Gate, beside the Wuling Road and Jundi Road approach. On map apps, search for 武陵源标志门 or 吴家峪门票站.

From hotels on the western end of Jundi Road (军邸路), turn onto Jundi First Street (军邸一街), then follow Wuling Road (武陵路) to the entrance. From hotels near Guihua Road (桂花路), take Weiyang Road (未央路) to Wuling Road. Both routes lead to the pedestrian plaza in front of the gate tower.

Xibu Street and Baofeng Road hotels

From Xibu Street (溪布街) and hotels along the north bank of the Suoxi River, walk west along Wuling Road straight toward East Gate.

From Baofeng Road (宝峰路) on the south bank, walk north to Baofeng Bridge (宝峰桥). Cross the river onto Tianzi Road (天子路), then turn onto Wuling Road.

To save your energy for mountain trails, take a taxi or hail a ride on DiDi. Set your dropoff point to 武陵源标志门. The driver will drop you at the edge of the plaza, where you can walk straight to ticket control.

The road bus to South Gate

To reach South Gate at Luoguta from Wulingyuan town, go to Wulingyuan Bus Station (武陵源汽车客运站) at the corner of Weiyang Road (未央路) and Guihua Road (桂花路). Look for the regional public shuttle (环景巴士) marked for South Gate (森林公园门票站).

• Fare: CNY 8 (≈ USD 1.2 ) per person each way.
• Hours: Buses run between 07:00 and 18:30 from Wulingyuan.
• Travel time: About 30 minutes on the road.

This bus runs on regular outside roads and is separate from the free eco-buses inside the park.

For door-to-door service, hail a taxi set to 森林公园门票站. At the South Gate parking lot, walk through Wu Guanzhong Sculpture Square (吴冠中雕塑广场) to reach the ticket line.

Rides to other park entrances

If your route starts at an outer gate, use these exact Chinese names in your taxi app or show them to your hotel front desk:

Have your driver drop you right at the ticket plaza. When planning your return, check the forest park internal transport guide to see how your inside trail connects to your chosen exit.

Getting back to your hotel

Exiting at East Gate: Walk through the main plaza onto Wuling Road to reach nearby hotels, or hail a taxi by the roadside.

Exiting at South Gate: Head to the outer bus lot and take the CNY 8 (≈ USD 1.2 ) road bus back to 武陵源汽车客运站 (runs 07:30 to 19:00), or hire a direct taxi to your hotel.

Starting at South Gate and ending at East Gate: Walk the trail along Golden Whip Stream to Shuiraosimen, then take the free internal park bus directly to East Gate. Walk back to your hotel or take a short taxi ride.

Exiting at Zimugang, West Gate, or North Gate: Hail a taxi or meet a booked driver outside the ticket station for the ride back to Wulingyuan town.

Practical tips

1. Select the exact ticket station name when reserving your entry time slot. Both first and repeat visits require a gate and time reservation through the park booking system. US passport holders scan their physical passport at the gate turnstiles for entry.
2. Purchase your cableway and elevator tickets matching your planned direction of travel. Ascent tickets work only for going up, and descent tickets work only for going down.
3. Make transport plans matching your chosen exit gate. If doing the South-to-East through-walk, leave your main luggage at your Wulingyuan hotel before heading to the South Gate in the morning.

When asking your hotel front desk to call a ride to South Gate, you can show the note 请帮我叫车去森林公园门票站。 Replace the ticket station name when using another entrance.