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We contacted China Discovery for a private tour to Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang. We usually plan our own trip but due to Covid, we thought that a guide will make things easier, especially travelling with two young children (3+ years old twins).

Planning

The travel agent Zeva was very responsive towards our request. We have a reasonable amount of walking and took almost all cable cars, trains, boats and bus rides to break the walks.

We flew from Beijing to Zhangjiajie. there we met our wonderful tour guide Lily and the driver Huang Shifu. They both speak English and were very patient with our two young children. They have booster seats for the children which I am very thankful about because I am always worried about road trips in China.

The first Checked-in to Sunrise Resort, a pleasant surprise room. The bathroom has children seat and stool for the little ones. They were both very excited about the little swing and slide in the room. The nest day we started our road trip to Fenghuang. There were landslides and we have to back up into little roads that were too narrow for two-direction traffic but our driver was very patient while we waited for the commotion to resolve. We stopped at Furong Town on the way to Fenghuang. Beautiful site and the kids were excited about the stepstones on the water and the waterfall. I would recommend stopping here to break the drive from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang.

We checked-in to Lumen Xiju Inn in Fenghuang. The Inn is located by the bend just before the bridge, which gives us a great view from our Riverview room. Fenghuang is a pretty water town that has a good mix of tourist and historical museums. We spent two nights here and took many wonderful pictures. The best part of the room is that it comes with a little washing machine. If there is one recommendation that I can have for this place is to have bath mats in the washroom as the bathroom floor was wet from water dripping off the shower stall. Also, the floor was pretty cold. There is no breakfast in the hotel and we have to get our own breakfast although it was supposed to be included in our package.

On the fourth day, we are to take a drive back to Zhangjiajie. This time we will stop at the Dehang Miao village and trek to a waterfall in the village. Although the dance and costumes are very colourful, I would not recommend this stop as it is a bit of a detour and the views were ok.

Back in Zhangjiajie, we checked-in to Pullman. The hotel is quite dated and the lighting is very dim. The first breakfast we had was pretty chaotic as there were too many people in the western restaurant that the breakfast was set-up. People were being seated next to strangers, something that I find odd during the time of Covid. The restaurant was also pretty cold. We have to bring our jacket the next morning. The following few days, we went to Wulingyuan park. Lots of cable car rides and bus rides. Kids made it everywhere so that's amazing news for us. The stroll along the Golden Whip Stream was very beautiful. The only concern is that there are constantly monkeys eyeing you, waiting to pounce at any sight of food. It was rather scary to see monkeys snatching bags from tourist. We all enjoyed the train ride at the Ten-mile Natural Gallery and the boat ride at Baofeng Lake.

Then we packed our bag and moved back to Sunrise Resort that is closer to the Yuanjiajie mountains. Again, the kids loved their room. The Bailong elevator was interesting and having McDonald's at the top of the hills was amazing! The Tianmen Mountain, Tianmen Temple and the Glass Skywalk near the Tianmen Cave was one of my favourite part of the trip.

Accomodation

We stayed in a 4* hotel in Fenghuang, and 2 different 5* in Zhangjiajie (Sunrise Resort and Pullman). Accommodations were good especially Sunrise Resort.

Tour Guide

Our Guide Lily was amazing with the children's. They love her and she has made checking-in to the various entrances a breeze. She was also very helpful in getting us meals that the family can eat as Hunanese food tend to be spicy. Lily has been wonderful at watching the boys while we take pictures and she is a fantastic singer. I would highly recommend this trip for a family with young children, although maybe a 7 days would suffice. We spent Christmas at Zhangjiajie, I would probably recommend Crowne Plaza if you want more Christmas vibe.