Zhangjiajie – Day 1

To see the start of the story and how I wound up on a train, see my last post. If not, I’ll pick up the story the next morning, on the train heading for Zhangjiajie.

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Sleeping on a train is not easy when you’re sharing a car with 50 or so other people and a bunch of kids. But, thankfully, they turned out the lights around 10pm, people started to quiet down, and I was able to get some sleep, although I just remember being awake for a lot of the night.

Zhangjiajie West Station

I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore, or even a major city in China. None of the signs are bilingual, except the exit sign. That’s going to take some getting used to.

But, even if there wasn’t any English, all I would have to do to get out is follow the crowd. They all know where they’re going, even if I don’t. But, of course, they do. And I’m out and going through more security.

There’s a mass of people around a QR code on a pillar, scanning it and filling something out on their phones. So, following the locals, I scan it as well and am eventually rewarded with the local version of my green health code.

I go to line up with all the people going out the exit gates and am quickly spotted by a security guard and gestured to follow him. He leads me around to the special table for the foreigners, where I show my passport, my new green code, the special travel one (it’s a green arrow), tell him my hotel and phone number before finally being allowed out into the city.

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Now, on to the spikey mountains! I briefly consider trying to take a bus to the park, but it’s all in Chinese and, while I could ask the drivers, I’m lazy. I had already planned to take a taxi anyway.

They were easy to find and the drivers were all standing around. Most cabs that are waiting at airports or train stations will name a price for the trip, instead of using the meter. It’s usually a bit more than the meter would be, but if there’s traffic, it could be cheaper, waiting time and all. At first, they wanted to charge me way too much, but I got them down to close to where the meter should have been, if it was used. And he dropped me off near the park entrance, right by some people selling water, just what I needed!

Getting in to the Park

Finding the entrance isn’t hard – just follow the people. There are tour busses of folks getting dropped off. And the important signs are back to being in English and Chinese. I’m not completely clueless anymore!

Once the mass and I have turned a few corners in the people corrals that are so popular at tourist attractions, we come to some folks checking health codes. The lines move quickly until someone doesn’t have their code out and ready. Then the people that were in that line try to squeeze into one of the neighboring ones.

Next up is the x-ray machine. There are 4 things that look like metal detectors, but probably aren’t, with the one tiny x-ray in the middle. Everyone is trying to shove their bag on and make it in.

Immediately after there is a wall. You have the option to go right or left. There’s a massive sign all in Chinese telling you what is in both directions. The mass is going left. I went with the flow. At least until I could get out of it.

The sign over the doorway to the left said that it was the entrance. Nothing about tickets. A similar sign outside mentioned tickets. So, like a salmon, I went upstream and tried to get to the right.

I found the ticket counter. And a whole lot of people. They filled up the room and it wasn’t a small room. I eventually made it to the front and was able to show my passport, pay, and get a photo taken (I think they use facial recognition for the ticket?) which was particularly challenging as the people behind me wanted to meld themselves to my backpack. Shoving is a normal part of lining up in China, I guess.

Now, I got to join the mass of people and swim down to the entrance gates, granted most people broke off before that so by the time I joined the lines, it wasn’t much of a stream.

So, here’s where I’m not really sure how or why I was allowed in the park. The gates scan IDs and faces, probably putting one with the other to confirm identity, but my ID wasn’t scanned and the machine barely looked at my face before the person at the gate just waved me in.

Once Inside

Once past the gates, everyone decided to stop and find their tour groups, organize their parties, or just play on their phones. After shoving my way to the big map and taking a picture, it was time to fight my way to the bus lines. An important tip to remember – just because someone is standing at the end of a line doesn’t mean that they’re actually in that line; they could have just thought that was a good place to stop.

There are serval different bus lines I could join, 2 going to different destinations and one for guides. Today, I’m going to Tianzi Mountain and taking a cable car to the top. My line is the shortest and I only have to wait a couple of buses before I’m joining in a mad dash to the open bus doors. Why we’re running, I don’t know. I guess everyone wants a seat, but all except the last couple of people were sitting.

It takes a few minutes to make it up and the bus is driving as fast as it can the whole way, which, considering that there are tons of turns with the speed checks saying to go 30 or less, is terrifying. If you’re ever unlucky enough to find yourself standing on one of these buses, hold on for dear life.

Going Up

But, the bus ride can’t last forever. We’ve safely made it to the stairs leading to the ticket counter for the cable car. Buying the ticket is about as complicated as getting a ticket anywhere else in China – I hold up one finger and have my WeChat Pay code open. But, they need my passport. Why? I don’t know.

Now, it’s time for more stairs to get to the bottom of the cable cars. I have to get my bag x-rayed again, show my health code again, show my passport again, and scan my ticket before I’m allowed to get in line for the ride up.

But it’s a very pretty ride up.

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About halfway up, the Chinese family I’m sharing a cabin with realized that there was a foreigner in their midst and start playing 20 questions. I was very happy when it was time to get off and I didn’t have to answer barely understandable questions about where I’m from and how I think America is handling the virus.

At the Top

After taking some panoramas, it was time to catch another bus. Yep, they have a bus route on the top of the mountain. From what I understand, it’s possible to drive up the back of the park, but to get there you have to first get there, which seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me.

This bus ride wasn’t quite as wild and crazy as the other one and it was short. I was only going to the first stop. There are a lot of things to see there and a way to walk down the mountain.

I also discovered, among the little shops selling souvenirs, art books, and hotdogs (well, a hot dog on a stick), and the Communist statues, there is a McDonald’s on top of Tianzi Mountain.

Going Down

After a lovely McDonald’s lunch, it was time to start walking down the mountain. There are bilingual signs and maps everywhere in the more popular locations, so there’s little chance of getting lost. Finding the right path down was as simple as figuring out the first sight and looking at the signs for directions. And avoiding the hordes of other tourists.

The entire path was paved in massive stones, so there’s lots of stairs. Lots of stairs. Mostly the stairs were going down, but occasionally, they went up and I wanted to cry.

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The little shops selling food and water were quickly left behind at the top. There were a couple places on the way down, at the beginning and the end, but for the most part, there were no shops. Make sure you have enough water before starting down.

I did see a few people going down and fewer going up, but for a lot of the trip, I was by myself. It was peaceful after shoving my way through all the other people.

If you’ve ever been to China before, you won’t be surprised to learn that there were sedan chairs, who are more than willing to carry you to your destination, for the right price. The many along the path who tried to get me in their chair only seemed to know one number – 100, as in 100 yuan for a ride. But, where to? Who knows. I didn’t take them up in their offer.

About a third of the way down, there was an option to go straight up to the Heavenly Platform. I didn’t want to. It’s straight up! But, I did. The torture was totally worth it. It has the best views I’ve seen so far.

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After more walking than my legs approved of, I was down. I took the little sightseeing train out because my legs keep trying to give out under me. But there is a boardwalk next to it that looks nice and flat, maybe slightly downhill, which I would have preferred to walk. Still, there were good sights to see, that I didn’t get a good view of because I was on the wrong side of the train.

Finally, it’s time to catch a bus to the exit and leave for the day. I will be so happy to sit and put down my backpack. I was amazed at how light my bag started the day and how heavy it ended it. And I didn’t add another to it!

I specifically chose a place to stay that was close to the park entrance so that I could just walk there after a long day at the park and wouldn’t have to worry about a taxi or bus. It’s only about 600m from the entrance, about 4 or 5 blocks.

It starts to drizzle just as I was turning onto the right street. All would have been well if I had not missed the place the first time. But, the rain had picked up and I had walked past it. It was pouring as I stopped to consult a map and grab my umbrella.

The entrance is down a side street. Just around a corner and as I wasn’t looking that way, I easily walked past. The rain was starting to slow down as I was walking in, about 10 minutes since it started drizzling.

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Today’s route:

Food and water spending: 58

Attractions/activities cost: 337 (+100 for the taxi)

Today’s total spending: 495