China-2023: Wulingyuan, Zone Four – yet more rocky splendor!

Herewith, Zone 4 report…

Also, for those of you, dear readers, who may one day visit Wulingyuan national park in China – herewith, details regarding the optimal timing – in terms of getting there, and also movement among the various zones, (that is, Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, and Zone 4).

Back to our Zone-4 experience, note that it was in the afternoon after we experienced Zone 3 in the morning. So, we were up and in the minibus from our hotel by 9am. The minibus was the same one every day, btw – since we’d rented it for the whole of our stay (starting out at Enshi Grand Canyon, and ending back at the airport when we were leaving).

Here’s the minibus:

It’s designed for 19 passengers, while our group numbered just 10 – so there was plenty of room.

The minibus dropped us off at the Zone 3 parking lot, but it was only after a full 45 minutes that we got onto the cable car to Zone 3 itself. Now, this wasn’t down to any great distance that needed to be walked, but to a need to repeatedly stop here and there – including at a particular currency exchange point. We weren’t taking photos, and we weren’t even eating our favorite corn-on-the-cobs; it was pure logistical nuisance-delays.

To recap: Zone 3 ->

10:45 – we get onto the cable car
11:00 – walkies (clockwise)
13:00 – we begin our descent
14:30 – we’re down below waiting for our minibus to take us to Zone 4

All the above was taken slowly and comfortably.

But to get to Zone 4 (marked in purple on the map) wasn’t so simple…

It took us more than an hour to get from the parking lot of Zone 3 to the cable car of Zone 4! First you go by bus, then it’s up and down for a stretch on foot, then it’s onto another bus (!) for another lengthy ride. And all this action takes place within and between the small red boxes I’ve marked on the map: the lower one = where we came down to from Zone 3; the upper one = getting to the cable car for Zone 4 ->

We got into the cable car at around 15:45, and flew up to the “table tops” of Zone 4 in no time at all…

Up top, we strolled about for just half-an-hour, and took the bus back to Zone 1 (the main zone). We arrived there at 16:30, and quickly completed the path route we’d already done – only the other way round (and this time with no other folks around either).

Even with the place deserted, it still took us an hour-and-a-half to re-do Zone 1 (the ultimate in awesomeness). We arrived at the main lift at 18:00, waited in line for a short while for the bus, and by 19:00 were on our way.

Thus, in two full and active days you can cover practically all the main attractions here.

But for now, back to Zone 4… ->

More bonsai penjing trees. How do they manage to grow?! ->

Woah – a town. So, folks actually live among these colossal cliffs. Imagine? ) ->

Btw – by this point we’d already been walking around here a full two days – but we weren’t getting bored in the slightest!

Some of the cable car cabins have glass floors! Not for the vertiginous! Choose carefully! ->

PS pics ->

These balls have different Chinese hieroglyphics printed on them, and the idea is to collect the ones that spell out your name. Not for the impatient, however: there are more than 5000 hieroglyphics in Chinese!

Clearly the Chinese are patient ) ->

The tourism here is physically very demanding; just ask this chap! ->

And that’s it. Shame! I could have carried on for another few days and another few posts!

PPS: no comment! ->

The rest of the photos from China-2023 are here.