Zhangjiajie Tickets Explained: All in One Guide

Here’s what catches almost every first-time visitor off guard: Zhangjiajie isn’t one park with one ticket. It’s a spread of completely separate attractions — each with its own admission system, its own pricing, its own booking platform. The three big ones (National Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain, Grand Canyon) get most of the coverage in English, but there are five other attractions many visitors only discover after they arrive.

This guide covers all eight: the forest park, Tianmen Mountain, the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, Baofeng Lake, Yellow Dragon Cave, Qixing Mountain, 72 Qilou, and Zhangjiajie Ground Rift. Pricing is pulled from official and government-registered sources. We’ve been running trips in Zhangjiajie for years at Travel China With Me, and we’ve seen every version of the ticketing confusion — people who didn’t know Baofeng Lake was a separate ticket, visitors who arrived at Yellow Dragon Cave at 17:30 and found it closed, groups who drove out to Qixing Mountain without knowing the cable car wasn’t included in the gate price.

All Attractions at a Glance

None of these tickets overlap. Each is a separate admission to a separate operator.

Part 1: National Forest Park (Wulingyuan)

Which Ticket to Buy

Get the Scenic Area + Eco-Bus at ¥224. It covers all four scenic zones and includes unlimited rides on the eco-buses that run between them. We’ve watched visitors try to stretch the ¥165 gate-only ticket and it never works out — the park covers over 26,000 hectares and the zones you want to see are not walking distance from each other. The ¥59 you save disappears fast once you’re stuck.

Cable cars and the Bailong Elevator are sold separately on top of this base ticket.

Admission Prices

All prices exclude the optional ¥3 travel insurance.

Your ticket covers four zones under one admission: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Ten-Mile Gallery in Suoxiyu, Tianzishan Nature Reserve, and Yangjiajie Scenic Area. It’s valid for 4 consecutive days from first use. Children under 14 enter free.

Cable Cars and the Bailong Elevator

These are purchased separately and are one-way. The four options:

The standard approach is to ride up and walk or bus back down. Buying a return on the same cable car is rarely necessary.

If you plan to use multiple rides across your trip, the pass options save money:

Four separate rides at full price would cost ¥195–¥228. The 4-trip pass at ¥238 makes sense if you’re taking three or more rides. If you’re doing four full days and want to ride freely without counting, the all-inclusive pass at ¥518 removes the mental overhead.

Discounts and Free Entry

• Free park entry: Children under 14, seniors 65+, people with disabilities, active military, military retirees, veterans, “three bereaved” families (martyrs’, fallen soldiers’ and deceased soldiers’ relatives), active military family members, and one accompanying caregiver per grade 1–2 severely disabled person.
• Half-price park entry: Youths 14–17, seniors 60–64, full-time university students with a valid student ID.
• Free cable cars and elevator: Children under 14.
• Half-price cable cars and elevator: Youths 14–17, seniors 60+, people with disabilities, active military and their families, “three bereaved” families, disabled veterans, military retirees, full-time students.

One point most English guides miss: the half-price cable car discounts are for Chinese nationals with the correct documentation. If you’re a foreign visitor — even a senior or a student — you pay full cable car price. The under-14 free rule is the one exception that applies regardless of nationality.

DIG DEEPER: Zhangjiajie Cable Cars Guide: Prices, Routes & The “No-Queue” Strategy

Which Gate to Use

All five gates open at 07:00 and close at 17:00. Which one makes sense depends on where you’re staying and where you want to go first.

• The East Gate (吴家峪) is the fastest route to Yuanjiajie — the area with the pillar formations that inspired the Avatar film — and also the closest gate to the Bailong Elevator. Most visitors on a short trip start here.
• The South Gate (森林公园) has the best public transport links from Zhangjiajie city and is the most commonly used entry point. It gets busy.
• The West Gate (杨家界) is significantly quieter and a good choice if you want to start in the Yangjiajie area. We often recommend it to clients who want to avoid the morning crowds at South Gate.
• The North Gate (天子山) puts you directly on the Tianzishan plateau, useful if that’s your priority for the day.
• The Central Gate (梓木岗) sees the lightest traffic and suits self-driving visitors who want to avoid the carpark situation at South and East.

DIG DEEPER: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Entrances: Which Gate Should You Use?

Gate contacts for special ticketing situations:

The Reservation System (Don’t Skip This Section)

Since June 2025, every visit to the forest park requires an advance reservation — and this includes return visits on days 2, 3, and 4 of your ticket window. This is the part most visitors get wrong.

The common mistake: buy the ticket, show up the next morning for day two, and find that returning visitor slots are full because first-time visitors take priority during peak season. It happens regularly from May through October. Book each day you plan to enter at the time of purchase, not the morning of. Treat each day as a separate booking.

Part 2: Tianmen Mountain

What You’re Buying

The Tianmen Mountain ticket is an all-day package that bundles more than the forest park does. The ¥288 standard ticket includes the main cable car from downtown (7.5 km, the longest high-altitude passenger cableway in the world), the Tianmen Cave Express Cableway, the upper through-mountain escalator connecting the cave interior to the summit, shuttle buses, and insurance. For most visitors, ¥288 covers the complete experience.

The ¥345 bundle adds two extras: the summit forest sightseeing cable car (aerial views across the plateau) and the lower escalator at Tianmen Cave, which is the alternative to climbing the 999 Steps. If your group includes anyone who’d struggle with the Steps, or you simply want the summit cable car without buying it separately, the ¥57 upgrade is worth it.

Tianmen Mountain has no connection to the forest park. Separate park, separate ticket, separate day.

Active renovation notice: As of late 2025, the upper section of the main Tianmen Mountain Cableway is under renovation and suspended. Lines A and B have adjusted routes during this period. Line C operates normally. Verify current status before booking.

Ticket Prices

All three routes (A, B, C) are priced identically.

Children under 14 enter free regardless of nationality. Collect a complimentary ticket at the gate with a passport or ID on the day.

Included vs. Extra

The shoe covers aren’t optional. You cannot step onto the glass walkway without them.

Lines A, B, and C

The route you choose changes the order of the experience, not the price or what’s included.

Line A starts with the main cable car up from the city, takes you through the summit plateau and glass skywalk, then down through the mountain interior via the upper escalator to Tianmen Cave, and finishes with the Express Cableway back down. This is the sequence most visitors find most satisfying — the grand entry by cable car, the summit and glass walk, then the cave as a finale. It’s the route we recommend for a first visit.

Line B reverses this: Express Cableway up to Tianmen Cave first, escalator through the mountain to the summit, then the main cable car descent back to the city. The experience is identical, the order is flipped.

Line C skips the main cable car and uses the Express Cableway for both the ascent and descent. The 999 Steps are part of this route. It’s the right choice for visitors with a genuine fear of heights — the main cable car is exposed in a way the Express Cableway isn’t — or those who want a shorter day centred on Tianmen Cave.

DIG DEEPER: Tianmen Mountain: Line A, B or C? The Ultimate Route Comparison Guide

Refund Policy

This matters more here than at other parks because of the date-specific tickets.

For Lines A and B: cancel more than 2 days before your visit (before 23:59) and you pay a ¥30 handling fee per ticket. Cancel less than 2 days before but before 17:00 on the visit day and it’s ¥60 per ticket. After 17:00 on the visit day, no refund at all. Multi-ticket orders can’t be partially refunded. Date changes are not allowed after booking.

For Line C: no cancellation fee before the visit day. After 17:00 on the day, no refund.

Getting There and Entry

Open 08:00–17:00. Your ticket is valid only for the date you selected. Entry is time-slotted — book your window when you purchase and arrive within it. Missing your slot doesn’t void the ticket; you can still enter before closing, but you’ll be directed by staff on when to join the queue.

There are two entry points. The Tianmen Mountain Cableway Lower Station is near downtown and the right starting point for most visitors — particularly anyone arriving by public transport and doing Line A or B. The Tianmen Mountain Gate is about 6 km away and works better for self-driving visitors, since parking at the cableway station fills up fast on weekends and holidays. A free shuttle runs between the two.

Part 3: Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge

What to Expect

The Grand Canyon is about 60 km from Wulingyuan and has no ticketing connection to either of the other two attractions. It’s its own full day. The Glass Bridge — 430 metres long, 350 metres above the canyon floor — is the reason most international visitors make the journey out here, and it earns its reputation. The canyon below is a genuinely different landscape from the forest park: narrow gorges, waterfalls, karst formations, and a bright green lake. After two or three days in the forest park, it feels like a different country.

The practical reality: it’s a longer drive, so most itineraries put the Grand Canyon on the last day before departing, or combine it with a stay nearby.

Ticket Prices

Two options. Line A is canyon only. Line B adds the Glass Bridge.

Line A — Canyon only:

Line B — Canyon + Glass Bridge:

Tickets are valid for 3 days from purchase. Entry is by passport or ID scan — no physical ticket needed. The ¥178 price includes ¥3 insurance.

Glass Bridge hours are roughly 09:00–15:30, but the bridge closes in bad weather without notice. Main canyon hours: 07:30–17:30 peak season, 08:00–16:00 in winter.

Line A or Line B?

Line B (¥178) if the Glass Bridge is why you came. Arrive before 10:00 — the bridge is far more manageable in the morning before tour groups arrive, and the light is better for photos. Midday in peak season can get genuinely crowded on the glass.

Line A (¥60) if you’ve already been to the bridge on a previous trip, or if the canyon scenery is the draw rather than the bridge itself. The trails on the Line A route are noticeably quieter and the canyon is impressive on its own terms.

Optional activities inside the canyon — ziplines, a sky lift, slides, Rainbow Lake boating, rock climbing — are all sold separately inside the park once you’re in.

For international visitors: the official Grand Canyon website requires a Chinese ID for online booking. Use Trip.com or Klook, or buy on-site. Discounted and free tickets can be purchased at the gate with valid ID.

Part 4: Baofeng Lake

Baofeng Lake is 1.5 km from the forest park south gate, and frequently left off itineraries because visitors assume it’s included in the forest park ticket. It isn’t. It’s a separate 4A/5A scenic area with its own admission.

The setting is genuinely striking — a high gorge lake, 2.5 km long and 72 metres deep, surrounded by karst peaks with waterfalls dropping into the water. The route includes a boat ride across the lake with live mountain folk song performances, which the forest park doesn’t have. The combination of water, peaks, and music makes it feel like a different type of experience from a full day on the walking trails. It’s well-suited as a morning or afternoon half-day stop, especially combined with a forest park day.

Ticket: ¥96 per adult. This includes the boat ride and the eco-bus within the scenic area — it’s not an additional charge.

Hours: 08:00–17:00 year-round.

One practical point: the boat performance schedule is fixed, so arriving early in the morning gives you more flexibility on timing. The lake is connected to the forest park scenic area by road — it’s a short drive or can be walked if you’re staying in Wulingyuan.

Part 5: Yellow Dragon Cave

Yellow Dragon Cave is 8 km from the forest park and is one of the most decorated karst cave systems in China — it holds the title of “world all-round champion of caves” from international speleology assessments, which sounds like marketing until you see the scale. The cave has four floors, a total explored area of 100,000 m², an underground river navigated by boat, and 100+ named formations including the landmark “Dinghai Shenzhen” stalagmite: 19.2 metres tall, 10 cm in diameter at its thinnest point, estimated to have taken 200,000 years to form.

The route is water and land combined — you walk one section, then board a boat on the underground river (about 15 minutes), then continue on foot to the exit. The entry and exit are not the same point.

Ticket: ¥96 per adult. This includes the boat ride inside the cave.

Audio guides are available for an additional ¥25 — useful given there’s limited English signage in the cave.

Hours: 08:00–17:30 peak season (roughly April–October); 08:00–16:00 off-season. The cave’s internal temperature is a constant 16.6°C year-round — bring a layer regardless of what it is outside.

Part 6: Qixing Mountain

Qixing Mountain is the least-known of the major Zhangjiajie attractions among international visitors and the most recently developed. At 1,528.6 metres, it’s the highest point in the Zhangjiajie area — 10 metres taller than Tianmen Mountain — and has a large plateau summit (about 12 km²) with views back toward Tianmen Mountain across the gorge.

The signature experience is the 1520 Sky Eye: a 360-degree glass-floored observation platform at 1,520 metres that on clear days looks back across to Tianmen Mountain and down into the valleys below. The mountain also has a 2 km cable car, a glass-floored sky bridge, a 1 km toboggan run, and winter skiing on the summit plateau when snow conditions allow.

It’s about 13 km from the city. A free shuttle runs from Huatian Hotel every 30 minutes between 09:00 and 16:00.

Ticket Prices

The 1520 Sky Eye and glass walkway (¥11 on-site) are worth including — they’re the main reason to go. The ¥199 bundle is the cleaner option for most visitors.

Optional paid extras on-site: toboggan run (¥60 downhill / ¥30 uphill / ¥80 return), go-karts (¥30–¥50), hot air balloon, helicopter observation flights.

Hours: 08:00–18:00. The summit is one of the best places in Zhangjiajie to see sunrise and can be done as an early morning trip.

Part 7: 72 Qilou

72 Qilou is Zhangjiajie’s main cultural evening attraction — a large-scale complex built around Tujia and Miao ethnic architecture, mythology, and performance. The centrepiece is the main tower at 109.9 metres, with 18 original Xiangxi stilt houses (吊脚楼) suspended across a 38-metre central arch, said to be the world’s tallest stilt-house construction. The complex includes food streets, artisan workshops, an art museum, and immersive theatre performances.

It’s in the city centre, which makes it logistically easy to combine with any other day. Most visitors go for the evening — the night show is what makes it worth the trip. The daytime ticket is cheap and mainly for exploring the buildings; the evening admission is where the performances happen.

Ticket prices:

Children under 14 and seniors over 70 enter free. Discounts for students, military, and others with valid ID.

One practical tip from visitor experience: if you buy the ¥20 day ticket before 16:30, you don’t have to leave when the evening session starts. The venue doesn’t clear the daytime crowd, so you can pay ¥20, arrive mid-afternoon, walk the grounds, and stay through the night performances. You miss nothing except ¥68.

Part 8: Zhangjiajie Ground Rift

The Ground Rift — officially Zhangjiajie Chaoyang Ground Rift — is the least-visited of the attractions on this list for international travellers and probably the most underrated. It’s a 5-kilometre karst gorge crack in Cili County, with walls averaging close to 200 metres deep and a top width as narrow as 1 metre in places. The internal temperature stays around 19°C year-round. It became a 4A scenic area in 2022.

The experience is different from anything else in the Zhangjiajie area: instead of looking up at peaks, you’re walking through a vertical crack in the earth with walls closing in overhead. The trail follows a stream along the canyon floor. It takes about 2 hours to walk through.

It’s in the same general direction as the Grand Canyon (both in Cili County, east of Wulingyuan), which makes a combined day trip with the Grand Canyon viable rather than making a separate trip.

Ticket: ¥108 adult, ¥55 discounted.

The Ground Rift is not covered by most standard Zhangjiajie tour packages and has very little English-language online booking support. On-site purchase with passport is the most practical option for international visitors.

How to Buy Zhangjiajie Tickets

Forest park: Book through the “张家界旅游小助手 (Zhangjiajie Travel Assistant)” WeChat mini-program or buy on-site with your passport. You’ll need to reserve each day you plan to enter — not just the first day.

Tianmen Mountain: Book through the “张家界旅游小助手 (Zhangjiajie Travel Assistant)” WeChat mini-program. Date-specific and time-slotted. Book ahead. Morning slots on popular days sell out, especially May through October and during Chinese national holidays. Walk-up tickets exist but the window you want may be gone.

Grand Canyon, Baofeng Lake, Yellow Dragon Cave: “张家界旅游小助手 (Zhangjiajie Travel Assistant)” WeChat mini-program, Trip.com and Klook carry official tickets in English with international card payment. On-site purchase is straightforward for any ticket type including discounted and free admission.

Qixing Mountain: Book via the “张家界旅游小助手 (Zhangjiajie Travel Assistant)” or 张家界七星山 WeChat official mini-program. Walk-up purchase with passport also works.

72 Qilou: Walk-up purchase on the day. No advance booking required.

Ground Rift: Limited online booking support for international visitors. On-site purchase with passport is the practical route.

If You’d Rather Have Someone Handle This

Managing three separate booking systems, in Chinese, for different dates, with advance reservation slots that can fill up — it’s genuinely time-consuming for independent travelers. We’ve watched well-prepared visitors run into problems because the forest park’s slot system works differently from how they expected, or because Tianmen Mountain’s refund policy caught them after a weather change.

At Travel China With Me, we handle Zhangjiajie for international visitors from start to finish: all ticket bookings across all attractions, advance slot reservations, private transfers between sites, hotel recommendations based on where you actually need to be each day, and a day-by-day itinerary built around your group and how long you have.

If you’d like us to plan your trip, get in touch here. We’re happy to answer questions even if you end up booking everything yourself.

FAQ – Zhangjiajie Tickets

Prices based on official park information as of 2026. Always verify before booking — rates and policies can change. For Tianmen Mountain, confirm current cableway renovation status before your visit as it affects which routes are available.