Zhangjiajie Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village has an altitude of 1,080 meters. Instead of a village, it is actually a square shaped plateau formed by quartz sand. The terrain is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. Surrounded by cliffs, the flat top of Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village has an area of 16.5 hectares with the largest and the most beautiful observation deck overlooking the sandstone mountains. Huangshizhai is an ideal place to watch the sunrise and the sea of clouds. In general, Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village has less tourists and is less crowded comparing to other scenic areas, therefore tourists coming here can appreciate the beautiful sceneries on their own pace.
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☝ Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village Scenic Area
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park ticket includes Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village Scenic Area, and the ticket is valid for four consecutive days. It opens daily from 07:00 to 18:00.
Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village is located in the heart of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, closing to the east entrance gate or Wulingyuan Landmark Gate Ticket Station. Entering from the east gate and walking through the Grand Oxygen Bar Square, visitors can then reach the entrance of the Yellowstone Village in about 20 minutes.
Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village has two hiking trials including the northern trail and the southern trail. To go to the top of the mountain through either of the trails, visitors need to climb 3,878 steps and walk 4 kilometers which takes about 2 hours and a lot of strength as well. Besides this, hikers may meet monkeys jumping out blocking their way and trying to grabbing food from time to time throughout the trip. In one word, the hiking trip is a bit annoying if you happen to meet monkey groups.
☝ the view of Huangshizhai Scenic Area
An easier way is to go uphill by cable car. At the left side of the east entrance of the Park, there are eco-friendly free sightseeing buses going directly to cable car station of Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village. The cableway here is about 1,000 meters long. In 2005, it was awarded as one of the "Top 10 cableways in China". Cable car ride itself is smooth and safe. Interestingly, two of the cable cars have transparent glass bottom. If you are lucky enough to ride on either of them, you are guaranteed to have a wonderful thrilling journey.
Cable car ticket is CNY 65 Yuan one way or CNY 118 Yuan round trip. Going uphill by the cable car is actually a good choice. The cable car consequently passes through the forest of mountain peaks, huge rocks in various shapes and the vast sea of clouds bringing you a grand feast for the eyes.
A single ride on the cable car takes about 10 minutes.
☝ Monkeys in Huangshizhai Scenic Area. Don't worry please, monkeys in the scenic area are polite enough as long as you don't make them angry intentionally.
There are more than 20 observation decks in Huangshizhai Yellowstone Villages, including the Front Garden, the Five-Finger Peak, the Ruins of The Heaven Bridge, the Star Picking Terrace, the South Sky Pillar and the Dinghai Magical Needle. These observation decks all have wide view and the best angles for sightseeing. Locating to the left front of the observation building named Six Wonder Pavilion, the extended observation deck called "Star Picking Terrace" is one of the best places for visitors to embrace the extraordinary scenery.
The scenery in Zhangjiajie is famous for danger, steepness, and uniqueness. Only by overlooking or looking horizontally from a high place can visitors feel the uniqueness and independence of each stone mountain peak clearly. Coincidently, many of the observation decks in Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village happen to be at the same height with the opposite mountains which offers ideally horizontal angles to explore the scenic mountains and take pictures. That is why this place is favored by tourists around the world, especially those photography enthusiasts.
☝ Feeding the Monkey on the viewing terrance of the Five Fingers Peak in Huangshizhai Scenic Area.
The air in the Huangshizhai is fresh, the water is clear, the trees are tall and the environment is perfect. By following the guide signs and walking along the big loop-line on the mountaintop, travelers can have the world beneath their feet and all the wonders from close to distant under their eyes without missing any main attractions. Under good weather and clear visibility, travelers can finish the Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village Scenic Area tour in about 2 hours by excluding the transportation time.
Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village has heavenly, beautiful scenery especially in cloudy days or thin foggy days.
When the weather is fine, visitors can see rolling mountain ranges from the top of Huangshizhai Mountain; after the rain, with clouds and fog gathering, Huangshizhai or Yellowstone Village disclose the completely different scene to visitors.
On rainy days and dense fog days, the visibility on the mountain is low and it is not recommended to go there unless your purpose is to breathe the fresh air and enjoy the peaceful moment when people and animals (mainly monkeys) live in harmony.
The snow scene in the Yellowstone Village is also worth to see. While the winter scenery in Tianzi Mountain Scenery Area is mainly dominated with ice, Yellowstone Village has heavy white snow on trees, roads and mountains making it a real life fairy tale place to many people.
☝ Travelers are visiting Huangshizhai Scenic Area in the rain.
