3 Days Amazing Fanjingshan & Fenghuang Ancient Town Tour
Unspoiled Unusual Mountain Plus Beautiful Ancient Town in China
Unspoiled Unusual Mountain Plus Beautiful Ancient Town in China
Mount Fanjing is the most unusual mountain in China with remarkable strange peaks formed in the sea of Karst since billions of years ago. It is also reputed as the Fifth Buddhist Mountain in China with unique temples built on the mountain top. This is a fairy mountain well worth your exploration. Fenghuang Ancient Town, about 125 kilometers away, is the best extension after the mountain visiting. Travelers who take this 3 days Fanjingshan short tour will not only fully enjoy breathtaking natural mountain scenery, but also immerse in the exotic featured traditional ancient town in China.
Trip Extension Ideas: Many travelers would like to take a longer tour and go like this: Fanjingshan - Fenghuang Ancient Town - Zhangjiajie for 6 days. It means you can head to Zhangjiajie after Fenghuang Ancient Town visiting to explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge of Grand Canyon, Tianmen Mountain, etc. If you are interested in this plan, please feel free to contact us and our travel consultants can customize the tour for you.
Day 1 Fanjingshan Arrival
Pick up in Tongren - Transfer to Fanjingshan
Welcome to Tongren! Upon your arrival, your local guide and driver will meet you at the arrival hall in the airport / train station. And then escort you directly to your hotel around Fanjingshan (about 1.5 hours) and help you check in. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the surrounding part of the sacred beautiful mountain. Have a nice sleep to prepare for the hiking exploration of Mount Fanjing on the next day!
Arrival Ideas: Visitors heading for Tongren can take a flight from domestic cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Kunming, Xiamen, etc. Besides, you can get to Tongren South Railway Station by bullet trains from Guiyang (1.5-2hrs), Kaili (1hr), Huaihua (1-2hrs), Chongqing (6.5hrs), Changsha (2-2.5hrs), Chengdu (5hrs), Guangzhou (5hrs), etc. or to Tongren Railway Station by overnight trains from Chengdu (11-11.5hrs), Guangzhou (14.3hrs), Changsha (13hrs), etc. Please feel free to contact us for the arrival info from your destination to Tongren.
Fanjingshan National Nature Preserve was listed as the UNESCO World Natural Heritage in 2018 with the peculiar conspicuous mountains formation in sea of karst retained from the remote era 65-2 million years ago and praised as the No.5 Buddhist Mountain in China for being the place of enlightenment of Buddha Maitreya.
Fantastic Aerial View of Fanjingshan
Day 2 Fanjingshan & Drive to Fenghuang Ancient Town (B, L)
Fanjingshan Sightseeing Bus - Cable Car - Mushroom Stone - Old Golden Summit - Red Clouds Golden Summit - Chengen Temple - Drive to Fenghuang Ancient Town
After breakfast, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel. Then, you will be driven to the entrance of Fanjingshan to discover this world well-known fantastic holy mountain along the popular south route.
Enter the mountain and take a sightseeing bus to Yu’ao Station and continue to take the cable car there to catch a bird’s eye view of the dense emerald forest of Mount Fanjing. Now, start your hiking from the Forest Hiking Road to witness the famous Mushroom Stone. It is the landmark of Fanjingshan and draws people’s follow by its unbelievable image of the bigger top quadrate putting off center on the smaller quadrate bottom, which forms like a mushroom vividly and seems easy to fall. However, for one million years, it just stands so still there after centuries of rain, snow, wind and sunburn. Remember to take a standard photo of tourists with it!
Then, continue to hike to the Old Golden Summit and walk up to its peak. With an elevation of 2,494 meters, it is the best observation deck to appreciate the panorama of Fanjingshan. Also, from the summit, you will see the iconic Red Clouds Golden Summit clearly from a distance. Then, walk down gradually to admire the natural scenery along the way to visit the sacred Buddhist attractions including Wanming Cave, Buddha Worshipping Stage, Monk Pagoda, Pudu Square, etc. You will not miss the Cheng En Temple that was built first from the Ming Dynasty and one of the four royal temples at Fanjingshan. Walk in the major temple with solemn scarlet walls and dark tiles, worship among the about 10 halls, and imagine the rising and falling and recovery of Fanjingshan’s Buddhist status in the past hundreds of years.
Here, take your challenge to hike along the narrow, steep and rough steps with iron chain up to Red Clouds Golden Summit that shows particularly often on Fanjingshan photographs. This thumb-like peak is a world rare miracle erecting about 100 meters high from the flatter mountain bed millions of years ago and is separated with two peaks and a gorge by natural wearing and with a bridge linked between. After reaching the top, visit the appealing Temple of Buddha, the bridge and Maitreya Temple in sequence to feel walking from present to the future in Buddhist belief. While witnessing the hard-to-believe difficulty of building houses on such a steep crest, stand on the peak to command the panoramic view of Fanjingshan and enjoy the feeling of being in the “space in the sky”. (Note: You can choose to go up or not considering your physical condition at that time. Just tell your needs to the guide.)
After the physical consuming hiking, walk by Jingxin Pool and go to see Wanbao Rock. You will truly believe Fanjingshan was in fact a part of ocean in the remote 1.4 million years ago by the strong proof of the cobbles, shells, paleontological fossils, and so on left within the shale rock there.
After the tour, you’ll be driven about 125 kilometers (around 2 hours) to Fenghuang Ancient Town well located on the border of Guizhou and Hunan Province. Upon arrival, your guide will help you check in your hotel. When night falls, every old house lights up and the whole atmosphere becomes festive, colorful and amazing. Take a relaxing walk and appreciate the fabulous night view of this ancient town.
Day 3 Fenghuang Ancient Town & Tongren Departure (B, L)
Tuojiang River boat experience, Former Residence of Shen Congwen, Rainbow Bridge; Flight / Train off Tongren
In this morning, you’ll have a nice tour in Fenghuang Ancient Town. With over 300 years’ history, it is located on the western edge of Hunan Province and next to Guizhou Province. Praised as the most beautiful tiny town in China, it sets an example of what villages were like before the start of modernization. In the town dozens of lanes are paved with stones that run between the wooden houses built on stilts. Generations of local people have stepped on the lanes and worn them down bit by bit.
Fenghuang Ancient Town offers a totally different day views which would really bring you back to ancient time. Have a slow walk and feel the calmness and zen of this beautiful place. Take a small boat ride on the Tuojiang River passing through the most essence part of the old town (from Beimen Pier to Longevity Palace) to imagine what life was going in the past. Visit Former Residence of Shen Congwen to listen to the beautifully novel of “Border Town” which is Shen Congwen's masterpiece for its brilliant portrayal of Chinese rural life before the Communist Revolution. Enjoy more memorable time to have a look at the landmark of the ancient town - Rainbow Bridge and explore East Gate Tower, Wanming Pagoda, etc.
In the afternoon, drive to Tongren and escort you to the airport or train station to next destination. Service ends!
Other Departure Option: It is also available to leave Fenghuang Ancient City directly by taking a high speed train to Changsha (2~2.5 hours),Guangzhou (5 hours), Zhengzhou (6 hours), Wuhan (4 hours), Beijing (9.5 hours), etc.
Trip Extension Ideas: Many travelers would like to take a longer tour and go like this: Fanjingshan - Fenghuang Ancient Town - Zhangjiajie. It means you can head to Zhangjiajie City with China Discovery after Fenghuang visiting for another 2 to 3 days’ exciting tour to explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge of Grand Canyon, Tianmen Mountain, etc.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 6.85. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi Mr Wang,
Thanks! I had a weekend away to Xi’an, China to celebrate my birthday. It was an exciting weekend and it was certainly something off the beaten trail for most of my friends. The itinerary you have suggested provided good coverage of the city’s rich history. From the fascinating Terracotta Army to the City Walls to the sacred Mount Hua, to the Muslim Quarter to the Drum & Bell Towers, there’s an interesting story from every historical era in Xi’an. I managed to hike up Mount Hua from North Peak to West Peak, but I didn’t get to do the dangerous plank walk as it was closed.
The hotel Eastern House was very accessible too with food places within steps and its proximity to the Drum Tower is a plus. The room was very clean and comfortable.
At this point, I have to quickly mention our amazing tour guide Betty Jiao Yan who was assigned to us as part of our private tour package. She made our time feel so very special and I wonder if Xi'an would have been as awesome without her. She had such a positive and caring nature and when we had to say goodbye, we felt very sad. It was strange to miss a guide after only knowing her for 5 days! Luckily we still keep in touch on WeChat. Our driver Mr Ma was very polite, punctual and accommodating, making our travel a pleasant experience
Anne
Hi Jack,
Thanks. The Harbin and Snow Town trip was excellent and very enjoyable. We are now in Japan skiing, and will send our feedback upon our return on 31st Jan.
Best wishes
Leong
Hi Rita,
From my end, everything is remarkable! Jane is amazing! She really make us feel welcome.
All the hotels were amazing too! My parents also very impressed.
I will definitely reaching out again, next time when I visit China. There’s many more places I want to visit.
Best regards,
Jefry
Dear Rita,
We are home. Thanks for arranging this nice trip. Everything worked out nicely except the smoking room problem in Chengde.
Thanks again.
John
Hi Rita,
In response to your enquiries, we had a wonderful experience with the tour arrangements in both Guilin and Yangshuo. Both the tour guide and driver were very professional and handled the arrangements well.
I am surely recommending any friends or relatives who are interested in travelling to China in future to use China Discovery. Also, will be looking at other destinations for ourselves too.
Thanks once again for the wonderful experience.
Kwan
We are one of the few China travel agencies who have kept active and received lots of feedbacks and reviews during pandemic years
"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.
Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.
Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!
After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.
Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.
We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.
Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.
Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.
Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!
Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!
Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.
Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!
In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!
The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.
If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.
Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.
We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.
The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.
There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.
All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!
Fantastic Aerial View of Fanjingshan -
Tongren Fenghuang Airport
Bizarre Fanjingshan Mushroom Stone - Jessica's Group from Malaysia
Red Clouds Golden Summit View from Old Golden Summit - Jessica's Group from Malaysia
Panorama of Sacred Cheng En Temple
Red Clouds Golden Summit at Fanjingshan
Fanjingshan Temple Built on the Crest
Challenging Steep Steps Up to Red Clouds Golden Summit
Snow Scenery of Wanbao Rock
Mr. Pasquale from Italy - Amazing Night View of Fenghuang Ancient Town
Mr. Pasquale from Italy - Fenghuang Ancient Town
Mrs.Tracey's Group from USA - Fenghuang Ancient Town
Tongren / Fanjingshan / Tongren
Tongren / Fanjingshan / Tongren / Zhangjiajie
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