Fenghuang (Phoenix Town)

This ancient city, also called Phoenix town, is locally known as “the most beautiful town in China”. It is conveniently located a 30-minute train ride away from Furong. Apparently, the city receives 30.000 visitors a day. In general, this town was way busier than Furong, especially with local tourists, but at the same time, we had the impression that there was also more to see & do.

The buildings and the core city are very well preserved and renovated. There is no entry fee to the old town area. The evening view of the ancient village is incredible, mostly because the whole village and ancient buildings are lit up with spectacular lights. There are women dressed up traditionally, dancing and singing, basically performing a free concert.

Things to do

Soak in the view: take a walk and enjoy the beautiful ancient city views. During the daytime, it is a little less busy. In the evening, around 6 pm, it becomes a magically lit spectacle.

Explore the bridges: you can stroll along the river from the Hongqiao Bridge to the Yunqiao Bridge, or venture a bit further onto the Fenghuangyi Bridge for a bird’s-eye view of the whole town.

Enjoy the traditional performances: there are shows running in the evening on the street and on the river! We did not book anything in particular but just wandered around a bit and saw the performances from afar for free.

Dress up in traditional Chinese costumes of the Miao culture – this seems to be every Chinese couple’s favourite activity; you will find them everywhere posing in front of the lit-up scenery for a photoshoot.

Take a ride on the river: evening boat rides on the river are a popular activity.

Party the whole night! It gets very busy in the evening, and there is definitely nightlife, with many bars and clubs having singers and dancers. Due to our cold, we were not in the mood to check them out but got the impression that you won’t get bored at night!

Where to stay

We recommend staying somewhere with a nice balcony overlooking the river and pagodas. There are many stunning stilted wooden houses along the river, most of them serving as hotels, restaurants or shops. Don’t be fooled by the rough exterior of the buildings: most of them are fully renovated on the inside, with air conditioning and modern amenities. The entrances are sometimes hidden behind restaurants and shops; just ask your way through, people will be happy to help.

We booked the Mengqi River View Homestay ($), which is also located in a nicely renovated stilted building. We even got two protection amulets and some ginger candies as a souvenir from the hotel staff. They are supposed to be famous in the region and helped us heal our sore throat.

Some other great hotel options we considered:

• Fenghuang Yujiang River View Guesthouse ($)
• Fenghuang Lanqiju River View Stilt House B&B ($$)
• Qichi Yijiaren River-view Hostel ($$)
• For a more luxurious option, the Sulv Lianhua Hotel ($$) is often stated to be the best hotel in Fenghuang

The service was great everywhere, you can really tell that most people live from tourism. They value their visitors very much, no matter how many of them storm the city.

After all, spending one night here was enough for us. The crowds diminish the experience a little bit, but luckily you can cover everything on foot during a single day if you arrive in the morning hours.

What to eat

Try some of the regional dishes of the Hunan cuisine. It is characterised by the generous use of chilli, fresh produce and smoked/cured ingredients. Some popular dishes are Changsha stinky tofu, steamed fish head, crayfish and Chairman Mao’s red braised pork belly, which used to be Mao Zedong’s favourite dish apparently (more in our article about Zhangjiajie).

There is no shortage of restaurants, many along the river with an incredible view of the town.

• Shiji: we had a really nice dinner here, tried the mapo tofu, a corn soup, and the braised pork belly – this was our favourite dish in the region! Location: Amap
• We tried a traditional yoghurt and took the cup home with us as a souvenir. There are many yoghurt shops around, we tried the one on the southern bank of the river near the Hongqiao Bridge.

Transportation

We arrived by train (around €5 / $6 per person from Furong town) and took a taxi to the city centre. This was the only place where DiDi didn’t really work, there is a local taxi company shuttling visitors between the train station and the old town area. If you let them know that you are willing to share the ride with others, you can get a better price in exchange for waiting a bit. This is also what we did, the same applies to the ride back too.

There is also a scenic train route served by a maglev train between Fenghuang station and the old town. You can buy tickets at the central station.

You can see the ancient town by walking around, there is no real need for a car or taxi here.

For information on how to prepare for your China trip including connecting to the internet, essential apps to download, booking transportation, hotels and restaurants, check out our comprehensive China travel guide.

Fenghuang is also part of our recommended two-week itinerary in China for first-timers, make sure to take a look to find out what other gems we recommend visiting!