The word “breathtaking” is truly only befitting of Zhangjiajie.
I first heard of Zhangjiajie when I was very young, because I came across a passage about it in my Chinese language class. Although my understanding of the text back then was limited to that of a fourth grader, the parts I could grasp were enough to spark my curiosity about this mysterious place in western Hunan.
That longing stayed with me all the way into high school. I read more books, met more people, and even had a little girlfriend (puppy love!). Back then, James Cameron’s *Avatar* was all the rage. I saved up my allowance for half a month and took my little girlfriend to see our first movie together. I’ve long forgotten the plot, but what I do remember is our silly promise to go to Hallelujah Mountain together — we even wrote a little “pledge” about it.
Later, I happened to learn that Hallelujah Mountain was actually modeled after Zhangjiajie. By then, though, my little girlfriend had long since left my life.
It made me feel like some kind of fate was at play — as if the mountains and waters of Zhangjiajie had been waiting just for me, enduring the test of time for millions of years. I believe our encounter was only a matter of time.
And that time turned out to be 23 years.
But enough of these sentimental musings — my journey to Zhangjiajie is about to begin~
3. Chef Tang’s Tujia Home-style Restaurant
Wuling Avenue, Wulingyuan District: Close to Tianzi Mountain Hotel, this is an old favorite in Wulingyuan. Locals say the food here is pretty good and the prices are reasonable. The sour soup fish comes with plenty of fish, which feels quite generous, and their rice is one yuan per person with unlimited refills — they serve it in a wooden bucket, which is pretty wild. The stir-fried sweet potato starch with cured meat tastes great too — highly recommended.
4. Chef Hu’s Sanxia Pot
Sanjiaoping: What I miss most about Zhangjiajie is the sanxia pot. I used to know that the walnuts meat version from Fengwan was famous, and I had it a few times. Lately, I heard the sanxia pot itself has become even more well-known, so I made my way straight to Sanjiaoping.
Just my recommendation, folks — there are plenty more delicious spots waiting to be discovered.