ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Five Natural
Wonders in a Dynastic Country
You may be so used to
national parks, especially if you live in the Woods or in the countryside.
China has national parks too, 225 in total! They cover both scenic and historic
preservation areas. Here you will concentrate on five China’s top scenic
national parks, featuring outstanding
scenery and reputation.
1. Wulingyuan National Park — Zhangjiajie’s
Precipitous Pillars
It is considered the only
one of China’s national parks to make it to a top-in-the-world list. It
features some awesome towering geology, alongside rich wildlife. Zhangjiajie
National Forest Park makes up most of it, alongside Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. Its
inspiration for the floating rocks in Avatar has added to its fame.
Popular
activities: hiking,
mountain climbing, photography, and rafting.
Access: From Zhangjiajie take a bus or private transport 1
hour north to Wulingyuan. From there hike or take local transport on park
roads.
Suitable for: adventurous hikers with enough to tire the fitter.
Best time(s) to
visit: October is the best month,
with cooler temperatures and fall foliage; but for summer activities like
rafting, you’d better go in the early summer to beat the rain.
Popularity: Expect crowds at the major view points in the peak seasons.
Otherwise there’s moderate to low visitor concentration.
Facilities: Two cableways, an elevator, and electric cart; farm
houses and small tourist shops provide food and snacks inside the park.
Accommodation: The best hotels are in Zhangjiajie, but there are
some good hotels in Suoxiyu and the west gate. Farmers’ guesthouses inside the
park can be quite rudimentary.
Entry fee: about $40.
2. Jiuzhaigou National Park — Multicolored Mountain
Lakes
Jiuzhaigou (‘Nine-Village
Valley’) National Park is famous for its colorful lakes in high-altitude
valleys, with waterfalls, snowy peaks, forested slopes, and Tibetan villages.
It’s a classic national park.
Popular
activities: hiking,
photography, marveling at lakes, and reflected mountains.
Access: Flight or 8-hour bus ride from Chengdu; then 50 km of
good park roads are plied by buses and hikers.
Suitable for: All who can tolerate mountain bus journeys will enjoy
it. Altitudes over 3,000 m in the upper valleys shouldn’t trouble very fit
hikers; others should be prepared to take it easy.
Best time(s) to
visit: The fall colors reflected
in the lakes is when the park is at its prettiest. Winter is harsh there, and
travel is unadvisable.
Popularity: Avoiding the Chinese holiday crowds (especially Oct.
1–7), when the park in overrun, it is still difficult to get away from tourists
at the main speak times.
Facilities: good valley roads, guest houses, and
Tibetan-family-run shops/eateries.
Accommodation: Better hotels outside the park gate; much simpler guest
houses inside.
Entry fee: around $50 (not including $12 for a 2-day bus pass)
3. Guilin Li River National Park, Guangxi — Karst
Landscapes
More than a scenic area,
with not much of a national park feeling, the Li River National Park has no
entrance, and fee to get in. It covers the 80-km (50-mile) stretch of river
between Guilin, and Yangshuo, bounded by classic sheer karst hills, which have
inspired many a poem and ink painting.
Top features: Nine Horse Fresco Hills, Yellow Cloth Shoal,
20-Yuan-Bill Hill, and Xingping Ancient Town.
Popular
activities: cruises,
hiking, photography, and hill climbing.
Access: from Guilin, take a Li River cruise, or visit
villages along the river by mountain/rural roads.
Suitable for: anyone who can take a cruise or vehicle to see this
amazing limestone and water scenery.
Best time(s) to
visit: summer for misty peak views
after the rain; fall for drier, cooler weather.
Popularity: Immensely popular, dozens of tour boats ply the river
daily, but you can find quieter villages, and hills to enjoy relative peace.
Facilities: Cruise boats serve lunch buffet. Bamboo rafts are
another choice to see the river; Guilin and Yangshuo offer everything from
Western food to local specialties, while farmer restaurants along the river
provide simple local fare.
Accommodation: Hotels in Guilin and Yangshuo are the mainstay with several
price ranges. However, more modest lodging is offered in Xingping, and other
riverside resorts.
Entry fee: none
4. Lijiang Yulong Xueshan National Park —
with Tiger Leaping Gorge
Yulong Xueshan (‘Jade Dragon
Snow Mountain’ 5,596m or 18,360 ft) National Park includes the popular hiking
route Tiger Leaping Gorge on its west side. The mountain has glaciers and a
small ski resort, and the Yangtze thunders north in the gorge, one of the
deepest and most spectacular in the world.
Popular
activities: hiking,
photography; glaciers viewing, yaks, and snowy peaks.
Access: The gate is 15 km north of central Lijiang. Trams go
up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) where the glacier park is situated, and to other
mountain sights. Take the G214 to 40 km (25 mi) north of Lijiang to access
30-km-long Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Suitable for: The gorge hike is strenuous, but enjoyable for those
of normal fitness. A trip up the mountain, especially with physical exertion,
should be considered with caution, due to altitude sickness, especially at
Glacier Park.
Best time(s) to
visit: February to June is the
best time frame to visit the snow mountain.
Popularity: you can visit Yunnan all year round, but avoid the
Chinese holiday crowds (especially Oct. 1–7).
Facilities: Tiger Leaping Gorge is well-developed for hiking visitors
with plenty of shops and hostels. Trams, oxygen, and the usual range of
day-visit facilities are available on Yulong Mountain.
Accommodation: good hostels on the gorge hiking route, and plenty of
hotels in Lijiang.
Entry fee: The Snow Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge are entered
separately. $30 for snow mountain (entry ticket and environmental car are
included), $12 for Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Surrounded by myths of
ancient immortals, the Yellow Mountains have some bizarrely charming
geomorphology. Compact and complex, this National Park has it all in a small
area. There are peaks to climb, gorges to hike, and ethereal sights to see.
Top features: the seas of clouds, bizarre rocks like ‘Monkey
Watching the Sea’, and strange pines like Welcoming Guest Pine.
Popular
activities: trekking the
mountain paths, photography, gazing out over the swirling mists and island-like
peaks, and getting up before dawn to see the sun rise.
Access: 3 hours by coach from Hangzhou, or 1 hour from
Huangshan to the main gate; there are taxis in the park to take you to the
cableways. From there, you have to go on foot along narrow concrete paths, and
steps.
Suitable for: Avoiding the steepest climbs and the long hikes, most
of the top sights are accessible even by those of low fitness.
Best time(s) to
visit: Summer provides the best
weather, but a crowded season; winter is beautiful and peaceful, but
treacherous underfoot and closed in places. The intermediate seasons offer a
compromise.
Popularity: Crowds peak in the summer, when the narrowest passes
become queuing places, as lines of tourists march up and down alternately, and
Welcoming Guest Pine becomes clogged with hundreds trying to snap themselves in
front of it.
Facilities: Three cableways, including Asia’s longest funicular
and a monorail provide access from every side. The mountainside is well-signed.
There are plentiful semi-expensive restaurants, and shops. There’s a hot-spring
spa at the mountain foot.
Accommodation: The mountain-top hotels offer everything from
four-star dormitories, all at least twice the price of those at the mountain
bottom. An overnight stay is recommended to catch the dawn and to save time
going up and down.
Entry fee: about $40 in peak season, $25 in low season, not
including cableways or monorail.
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