Furong

There are many ancient towns in China, much of which have been well preserved and renovated to fit tourists’ needs. This was the first one we visited (right before The Phoenix Town), and we found it truly fascinating! Although it was raining rather heavily during our two-day visit, the town left an incredible impression on us and didn’t discourage us from walking around until our shoes were completely soaked.

What to see

The town has a history of more than 2.000 years and is mostly inhabited by the Tujia ethnic group to this day. Their signature architectural style is still well-preserved, you can see many stilted wooden houses lined up along the river and the cobbled streets. Almost all of them are completely renovated and many of them were turned into restaurants, shops and hotels for visitors.

Wander around the ancient streets of the old town – the famous Wuli street, meandering through the town, is probably the best place to take a closer look at the traditional buildings. You can walk down the hill to the river and approach from both sides. There is a stone path over the water where you can cross, if the water level allows.

View the breathtaking waterfall from all angles as you walk on the path around it. If water levels allow, you can also cross on the jumping stones from one side to the other on the upper level. It is especially fascinating in the evening when the town gets lit up in different colours! The fairy tale pictures speak for themselves!

Many people also visit the Tusi Palace right next to the waterfall. It used to be the residence of King Tusi, the founder of the city.

Not too far, you can see the Xizhou Bronze Pillar, a sacred relic of the Tujia people. It symbolises peace between the Chu and Xizhou states, agreed upon in 940.

For more impressions of the city, check out our video on the Hunan region:

We stayed only one night here, which was plenty to explore the city. A day trip is also viable from Zhangjiajie; however, it would be a shame to miss the evening illuminations! In the summer, the lights turn on at around 7 pm, as soon as it gets a bit dark.

Where to stay

Most people try to snatch an accommodation close to the river with a view of the waterfall – and that is exactly what we would recommend. We managed to find a cute traditional hotel called Baihe Wharf Inn ($) and couldn’t have wished for better hospitality and overall experience. We must have looked like crap when we arrived at the hotel because the owner immediately ushered us to the table and cooked us a quick tea with some puffed rice snack and fruit. They even fixed the Wi-Fi after we couldn’t connect, turns out that they had forgotten to pay the bill. 😀

Our hotel room was decorated in a traditional Chinese style, but the real highlight was the balcony, which offered a view over the river and waterfall between the ancient buildings. There was even a nice tea setup on the balcony – imagine sipping traditional Chinese tea while admiring the waterfall lit up in various colours in the evening. When we were leaving, they even gave us some souvenirs to take home. What a nice touch! From the moment we entered, we felt very well taken care of and got the impression that the hotel staff were excited to see us. We figured that the town does not get many Western tourists yet.

Here are some other hotel options we considered that all seem great with good location:

• Floral Hotel Furong Town Galaxy Heights Hotel ($)
• Baihe River Valley ($$)
• A more high-end option is the Tianquan Inn (Furong Town Waterfll Branch) ($$$).

As with all our accommodations in China, we booked our hotel through Trip.com or Expedia beforehand. Read our article How to travel China to understand all the preparations and things to consider before travelling to the country.

What to eat

Be sure to have a meal with a view of the river! The Hunan region is home to delicious regional dishes such as Changsha stinky tofu, steamed fish head, crayfish and red braised pork belly (more about that in our Zhangjiajie article), and Furong has no shortage of restaurants to try them. While we do not have any specific recommendations this time, there are countless options along the main road running along the old town. As always, check Amap or Dianping for reviews and dishes.

On a side note: not every meal is a success. After having had some bad luck with questionable parts of animals being served to us, we thought we cannot go wrong with an innocent spicy chicken stir fry. Well, it turned out to be only chicken intestines. The taste was quite good, but the consistency is something you have to get used to. Also, the abundance of chicken feet everywhere would have made my grandma salivate, God bless her.

How to get to Furong

From Zhangjiajie, we took the high-speed train to Furong, a single journey costs around €5 / $6 per person and only takes 20 mins. There are not a lot of DiDi drivers in the city, so it is best to organise the last leg of your journey through your hotel, they will be happy to help you.

You have to buy an entry ticket to the old town at one of the checkpoints, it costs ¥108 (around €12 / $14) per person, but you can stay in the historic core as long as you want.

While in Furong, we walked around on foot and didn’t need to take any other form of transportation, which is quite limited in the old town area anyway. Distances are short and you don’t need a lot of time to cover the main areas in the centre.

Furong 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!