Things to do in Wulingyuan, Hunan, China, Day 2

Things to do in Wulingyuan including Zhanjiajie National Forest Park, Baofeng Lake, Xibu Street, Salamander Science Museum, Wulingyuan Zixiaguan, directions, daily cost summary, other useful information, and perhaps also some not so useful personal observations and opinions.

It was raining when I woke up this morning, and it only just stopped about an hour ago (it’s 2100pm). Thank f*k for my poncho and waterproof socks.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Needless to say I’m glad I did all that hiking yesterday, because today was not a good day for it. In any case, I went back into Zhangjiajie National Forest Park but didn’t accomplish much.

On the way I got some cheap rain-pants (5RMB) which are now going to be a permanent part of my kit.

I took a few bus rides around the place and went for a short stroll through up to and around an abandoned hotel. Not quite as cool as the ones in Croatia (Kupari, Dubrovnik).

Abandoned hotel in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Actually, since I’m comparing to Croatia, Plitvice National Park, in my opinion, is better than Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. To be fair, I did not see that much of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, but that is a good reason why it is not as good. It’s too difficult to navigate, and the Chinese make you pay for things that you kind of have no choice but to do to get to other areas of the park e.g. the tourist elevator.

Wulingyun, Just walking around

I only stayed in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park for a couple of hours, then went to explore Wulingyuan.

Wulingyun, Just walking around

Baofeng Lake

I slowly made my way to Baofeng lake. When I got there I discovered that you have to pay to get in (96RMB), and there were a bunch of tour buses there. I did not go in.

Baofeng Lake Entrance

Getting to Baofeng Lake

It’s about an hours walk from the Wulingyuan entrance to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. See the map below.

Map to Baofeng Lake

Xibu Street

I guess this is like a tourist street. It has a snack street, bars on the river and shops, cafes etc. There wasn’t much going on there during the day. I assume it gets a bit more lively at night, but I wasn’t bothered to check it out. Also, there was a lot of construction going on.

Xibu Street

Getting to Xibu Street

Xibu Street is located to the left of the bridge as you are walking to Baofeng Lake. It also marked on the map above.

Giant Salamander Science Museum

This is something I just walked past on the way back from Baofeng Lake (its all on the same street). I didn’t go in, didn’t check out the costs and didn’t even snap a pic from the front, but it is there and it is something to do.

Wulingyuan Zixiaguan

Again, on the way back from Baofeng lake. It is to your right as you are walking towards town. There’s a parking lot and some temples on a hill. I did not go in. They are charging 128RMB.

Wulingyuan Zixiaguan

Costs Summary for Things to do in Wulingyuan, Hunan, China, Day 2Food

Nu Rou Mian. 9RMB
Afternoon Tea. 4RMB

Food Costs Total: 13RMB

Other

Rain-pants. 5RMB

Other Costs Total: 5RMB

Grand Total for Day 2 in Wulingyuan: 18RMB
Grand Total in USD (Approx): $3.00

What other things have you done in Wulingyuan?

We’d love to hear about it in the comments… or anything else you want to say

It feels like Wulingyuan is very much a tourist town and alot of the things to do in Wulingyuan are over-priced tourist ‘attractions’. In hindsight, I probably should have spent more time in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, but I think a combination of the weather, bus rides, loads of people and not feeling 100% put me off.

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