Wulingyuan is the name given to the broader UNESCO World Heritage landscape of which Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is the most famous part. The designation covers some 630 square kilometres of karst and sandstone terrain in northwestern Hunan, encompassing four separate scenic areas — Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxiyu, Tianzi Mountain, and Yangjiajie — administered together under a single multi-day ticket. The defining landform is the quartzite sandstone column: more than 3,000 of them, most rising over 200 metres, densely wooded to the crown, emerging from forested gorges in formations that look less like geology than like something a painter invented.
The park protects extraordinary biodiversity alongside the scenery. Over 500 tree species grow here, including dawn redwood, a tree presumed extinct until a living population was discovered in a Chinese valley in 1948. Giant salamanders inhabit the rivers; rhesus monkeys work the more-visited trails with practised efficiency, stealing food and white plastic bags from inattentive tourists. The best walking is in the valleys rather than on the ridgelines — Golden Whip Stream runs for several kilometres through the park's heart, beneath columns that close overhead and create a sense of enclosure that the high viewpoints never quite provide.
The infrastructure built into the landscape is staggering in its ambition. The Bailong Elevator, a glass-sided lift bolted to a cliff face, rises 326 metres — the world's tallest outdoor elevator — connecting valley and plateau. Cable cars serve Huangshizhai, Tianzi Mountain, and Yuanjiajie. The First Bridge of the World at Yuanjiajie is a natural rock arch with safety railings from which the Avatar peak is visible below. Nearby, Huanglong Cave extends more than 11 kilometres underground and features an underground waterfall 50 metres high. The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, outside the main park boundary, has a glass-bottomed bridge across its span.
The gateway city of Zhangjiajie is the practical base, with accommodation ranging from hostels to hotels immediately outside the park entrance at Wulingyuan village. Tickets in peak season (March through November) cost around ¥227 and cover four consecutive days including internal buses; cable cars and the Bailong Elevator cost extra. The park is most atmospheric in fog, which is frequent; summer brings humidity and crowds; autumn brings clearer skies. Arriving on a weekday in shoulder season makes a real difference to the experience.