Shennongjia Self-driving Tour Travel Guide

Some say that traveling is just going from a place you are familiar with to a place that others are tired of, but I don’t think so. Traveling is a state of mind, it’s about happiness. Today I’m going to recommend a self-driving tour of the Shenlongjia Scenic Area. I have personally experienced it, and I will introduce it to you below.

DAY1

I came from the Yichang direction, via the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, Baoxing Highway, Shenyi Highway, and Hubeline, entering the scenic area. Therefore, the first day’s visit was to Tianshengqiao, Shennongtan, and Guanmenshan (on the way), which took about half a day (generally half a day is enough, not far apart).

Tianshengqiao

Tianshengqiao Scenic Area is not large, the ticket price is sold separately for 80 yuan. It is just a circular trail. For those with good physical strength, it takes about half an hour, provided that you enter the scenic area smoothly, rather than like us, having to park the car a few miles away and then walk to the entrance.

After getting off the car, our eyes were immediately attracted by the beautiful scenery of the mountains shrouded in mist. This kind of scenery was constantly displayed in Shennongjia, so Tianshengqiao is still worth a visit. Upon entering the scenic area, a not very big or small waterfall came into view.

Compared to the Three Gorges Grand Waterfall we had visited before, this one was quite limited in its appeal. Most people took a few pictures and then immediately climbed up the winding trail, reaching a natural through-cave formed by millions of years of water erosion, where mountain springs flowed through the cave, hence the name “Tianshengqiao”.

We originally thought that this was just the beginning of the beautiful scenery of Tianshengqiao, but after visiting it, we realized that this was the peak. The scenery after that can’t be said to be not beautiful, but compared to the later Shennongding, it is obviously much inferior, after all, such scenery is everywhere.

Shennongtan

It is more of an altar than a scenic spot, of course, the full name of the scenic spot is indeed called Shennong Altar, it is just called Shennongtan for short. It is very small, besides a few botanical gardens, the most eye-catching is a giant ox-head human-body statue, and a thousand-year-old ancient camphor tree.

There are many old people burning incense and praying here. Most young people, besides stopping to take photos at the ox-head human-body statue and the thousand-year-old ancient camphor tree, come and go quickly. Therefore, if you don’t have time, you can choose to give it up. If you come to play, it only takes half an hour.

Guanmenshan

This attraction can be said to be built for children. Inside there are several animal halls, such as salamanders, pandas, bees, etc. To be honest, if there are no children, this artificial attraction can be completely abandoned, and time can be wasted on more beautiful scenery.

Shennongding

After visiting the above three attractions, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon (with old people and children, you can’t be fast). We then went to Shennongding. We drove for a long time on the winding mountain road before reaching the entrance of the scenic spot, and three or four people were already carsick.

After getting off the car to check tickets and take pictures, I asked the staff how long it would take to reach the top of the mountain, and the answer was that it would take another hour. Hearing this, those who were carsick had already started to despair. I didn’t dare to tell them that the Pingqian Town where we were staying for the night was on the other side of the mountain, and we would have to go down the winding mountain road.

As the main scenic spot, Shenlongding has more than a dozen large and small attractions, and the very physically demanding attractions are Shennong Valley and Qingyun Ladder, but the latter has been closed, leaving only a Shennong Valley that requires climbing up and down and takes three to four hours.

DAY2

The plan for the second day was to visit Dajiuhui in the morning, and then go down the mountain to continue visiting the Shennongding Scenic Area. The reason why I booked the hotel in Pingqian Town near Dajiuhui was because the best time to see Dajiuhui is in the morning, and in the evening when there is the setting sun.

Dajiuhui

In order to protect the local green mountains and clear waters, the local government prohibits private cars from passing through the scenic area. You need to spend 60 yuan per person (half price for children) to take a bus and a small train inside the scenic area. There are buses at 5:30 in the morning, so if you want to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the morning, you need to get up early.

Dajiuhui is made up of nine large and small lakes. If you only look at the lake water, you will be disappointed. But when the distant mountains shrouded in mist appear in the lake in the form of reflections, you will marvel at how nature is truly a good painter.

As I walked by the lake, I said to my family, “This is truly a good place to shoot a costume drama.” As soon as I finished speaking, someone next to me said, “This place has been used as a location for many popular costume dramas, such as the recently popular “The Empire of the Winds.”

Taiziya

Taiziya is just a path through a primeval forest, about half an hour’s walk, coming out from another parking lot. Because I am the driver, I have to walk with the car, so I didn’t go, luckily there is another viewing platform called the Three Provinces Platform next to it, which allowed me to take pictures for memory.

The introduction of this viewing platform says that when the weather is good, you can see Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hubei, which is why it’s called the Three Provinces Platform, but then it says it’s derived from “Three times a day, I examine myself”, according to my observation, the former is bragging, the latter is a bit relevant.

Banbiyan

The second attraction from Taiziya is Banbiyan, a bunch of oddly shaped rocks. If I hadn’t been to Zhangjiajie before, I might have thought it was very beautiful, but compared to that, this one is obviously much inferior, of course, this is just my personal opinion. Just share the photos!

Notes

1: Clothing: Bring a change of clothes. Shennongjia has unpredictable weather, so be sure to bring a long-sleeved shirt.

Shoes: Please wear comfortable, non-slip athletic shoes, as there are some hiking activities! If you are not afraid of trouble, you can bring two pairs of shoes, as Shennongjia has a lot of rain in the summer, and shoes can get wet, so it is convenient to change! You can bring a pair of slippers for playing in the water!

2: Medicines: The journey is long and there are many mountain roads, so those who are carsick must bring some motion sickness medicine. Bring some common medicines (fluoroquinolones, cold medicine, heat-clearing medicine, especially medicine to prevent mosquito bites, band-aids, etc.) and some anti-fatigue drugs!

3: Shennongjia is China’s botanical treasure house, with many rare plant species. If you find strange fruits and vegetables in the forest, please try not to eat them to avoid poisoning!

4: Pay attention to environmental protection in the forest.

5: Prevent fires, try to avoid smoking in the forest and playing with open flames!

6: Listen to the guide’s instructions and do not act alone, lest you be abducted by wild people!

7: The food quality is not as good as in the north, it is mainly mountain specialties, the portions are not large, the food tastes bland and spicy, please adapt to local customs and prepare yourself mentally in advance!

8: Please be sure to bring an umbrella, preferably a raincoat, just in case.

9: When checking into the hotel room, please check the hotel items. Non-disposable items should not be taken away.