Zhangjiajie or Guilin, Which City Do You Prefer to Visit

In China, there are two popular destinations, Zhangjiajie and Guilin, when you are stuck in choosing Zhangjiajie or Guilin, reading this article will definitely give an answer. So Zhangjiajie or Guilin, which is better to visit, first I make a contrast table of Zhangjiajie VS Guilin, then I will introduce something deep to you.
 

Choose Zhangjiajie Over Guilin

(Above picture/ Zhangjiajie National Forest Park)

Reasons for choosing Zhangjiajie over Guilin in the case that:
 

• You are a big liker of mountain hiking, Zhangjiajie attractions are the highlight of mountain scenery and mountain hiking.


• You are a thrill-seeker, want to experience the longest mountain ropeway ride, have a great walk on a glass skywalk hanging on a mountain, try the screaming Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge.
   
• You want to take an elevator hanging on the mountain cliff and see the most winding roads from the ropeway.


• You are not the senior citizens in 70s and 80s, and you do not have acrophobia.
   
• The important one is that you are in a big tour budget.
  
   

Choose Guilin Over Zhangjiajie

(Above picture/ Li River)

Reasons for you to pick Guilin over Zhangjiajie:
 

• Guilin is suitable for people from baby to senior citizens in 80s.    
   
• Guilin has diverse attractions, mountains, rivers, caves, Li River Cruise is one of  the most recommended highlights.
   
• In Guilin, you could enjoy the most beautiful scenery, watch show, and join in outdoor activities, like hiking, rock climbing, boat cruise and bamboo raft.
   
• Serene scenery in Guilin is suitable for a relaxing tour, especially when you have a countryside bike tour, and countryside hiking, it would pacify you and give you a good mood.
   
• You would like to cut down tour expenditure, but hope you have a great tour.
   
• If you are in a winter vacation, Guilin is better for you.
  
   

Weather & Best Time to Visit: Guilin Wins in Winter

(Above picture/ Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park/ Spring)

► Zhangjiajie weather: Zhangjiajie is hot and wet in Summer, and cold in winter, and it has an annual average temperature of 17℃, and an average temperature of 28℃in July, and 5.1℃ in January.
 

• Zhangjiajie weather in winter( December, January, February) is from 2℃ to 14℃, and it would not be so good for hiking, and climbing, and views in winter are not as good as in other times.
   
• Zhangjiajie weather in spring(March, April, May): in March, it is from 8 ℃ to 25℃. In April, it is from 12℃ to 29℃.  In May, it is from 16℃ to 30℃.
   
• Zhangjiajie weather in summer(June, July, August): it is from 24 ℃to 35 ℃, but it would be not so hot in the forest parks due to lush trees.
   
• Zhangjiajie weather in autumn(September, October, November): in September, it is from 19 ℃ to 30℃. In October, it is from 12℃ to 28℃. In November, it is from 9℃-23℃.

► Best time to visit Zhangjiajie: from April to October , spring and summer would be better for its lush greenery. 


► Guilin weather: Guilin is also hot in summer and cold in winter, with an annual average temperature of 19.1℃, and an average temperature of 28℃ in July, and 9℃ in January.


(Above picture/ Longji Rice Terraces/ Autumn)

Below Table for Guilin Weather from Januray to December:
 

► Best time to visit Guilin: from the end of March to November. If you are in a winter vacation, Guilin would be better for you.
 

Best Places to Visit:  Unrivalled Mountains in Zhangjiajie, Diverse Attractions in Guilin 

(Above picture/ Yuanjiajie in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park)

► Zhangjiajie best places to visit: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park,  Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, Zhanghai Grand Canyon. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a huge attraction, composed of 8 parts, such as Yuanjiajie, Yangjiajie, Golden Whip Stream, and Tianzi mountain.


(Above picture/ Longji Rice Terrace)

► Guilin best places to visit: Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, Li River, Yangshuo West Street, Yangshuo Ten-mile Gallery, Longsheng Longji Rice Terraces.

In Zhangjiajie, you would admire its tremendous and magnificent mountains, have a thrilling experience of walking on a transparent skywalk and a glass bridge, and have a tiring but exhilarating trekking. In Guilin, you could see those unique mountains, and splendid caves, take a boat cruise on Li River, visit spectacular rice terraces and villages of minority group. Guilin is more diverse in attractions than Zhangjiajie, but Zhangjiajie is more thrilling due to its skywalk and glass bridge.
 

Zhangjiajie VS Guilin: How Many Days to Stay 

► Zhangjiajie tour: 3 days is perfect for you to visit best places in Zhangjiajie, if you have pretty time, 3-5 days would be good for a deep Zhangjiajie tour.
 

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► Guilin tour: 3-5 days is perfect for having a Guilin essential tour. If you want to cover Longji Rice Terraces , Yangshuo and Guilin, then it would need 5 days.  If you have more time, 7 days would be enough.
 

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Trip Cost: Zhangjiajie More, Guilin Less

Zhangjiajie has higher tour cost than Guilin, which is reflected in transport fee, entrance fee of attractions, and fee for having a tour guide.

► Transport fee. For going to Zhangjiajie, you need to go Changsha first, then fly to Zhangjiajie or take train to Zhangjiajie. While tourists could take direct flights to Guilin from almost all cities in China, or from some cities abroad. Entrance tickets of Zhangjia attractions are over 2 times higher than those of Guilin.

► Tour guide charges. Tour in Zhangjiajie attractions would be exhausted, and you should have a tour guide because you may get lost in those big attractions, thus the fee for having a tour guide could be expansive. Except this, tour cost is variable according to your hotel, food, and tips for tour guide and drivers.
 

Transport:  Guilin More Convenient to Go

(Click the picture to Enlarge/ Above picture/ China city map/ the red circle is Guilin, the blue is Zhangjiajie)

Zhangjiajie is a city in Hunan province, close to Changsha. Usually speaking, if you want to get to Zhangjiajie, your first stop would be Changsha, and transfer to Zhangjiajie from Changsha by flight(about 1 hour) or by train(about 5 hours).

Guilin is in Guangxi province, close to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. For travelling to Guilin, tourists could take direct flights to Guilin from almost all cities in China or from some cities abroad, and could take train to Guilin too. Guilin has high speed train travelling to Hong Kong and also flights to Hong Kong.

In Getting In and Getting Out, Guilin is much more convenient and also with lower transport fee. For getting around, tourists could take advantage of bus and taxi in Zhangjiajie and also Guilin.

Related Readings:

How to Get to Longji Rice Terraces from Guilin

How to Get to Yangshuo from Guilin
 

Dining & Food: More Choices in Guilin

► What to eat in Zhangjiajie: Zhangjiajie has various local food, Hunan cuisine for tourists and visitors, and Hunan cuisine is  famous for spicy. The most famous dish is Sanxieguo, and it is a dish of pork and pork tripe.

► Where to eat in Zhangjiajie: Zhangjiajie Pedestrian Street, and its surrounding area.

► What to eat in  Guilin: Guilin is a tourists city for decades of years, and it offers many local food and exotic food to meet tourists’ flavor. The most popular Guilin local food: Guilin Rice Noodles, and Yangshuo Beer Fish. In Guilin, you also taste Thai food, Indian food, Japanese food, and western food.

► Where to eat in Guilin: Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, Dongxi xiang(East west street), Yangshuo West Street.


(Above picture/ Yangshuo West Street)
 

Things to Do: Thrilling in Zhangjiajie, Exhilarating in Guilin

► Zhangjiajie nightlife: in Zhangjiajie, most of you would live inside or around an attraction, thus there would be few night activities for you. If you live in downtown, bar and food streets are recommended to you.

► What to do in Zhangjiajie:


 

• Visit Zhangjiajie attractions and see those gorgeous mountains
   
• Experience the breath-taking skywalk and glass bridge
   
• Ride the longest mountain ropeway


• See the most winding mountain road
   
• Have a solid climbing and exhausted but exhilarating hiking

► Guilin nightlife: you would like to taste cuisine in Zhengyang Pedestrian Street and Yangshuo West Street, have cups of coffee or beer, and watch the Show of Impression  Liusanjie.

► What to do in Guilin:


 

• Visit Guilin attractions, see beautiful mountains, and surprising caves
   
• Have a boat cruise on picturesque Li River, or take a bamboo raft on Yulong River
   
• Have a hiking or countryside bike tour in Yangshuo Ten-mile Gallery
   
• Challenge outdoor rock climbing on those upright mountains
   
• Have cups of coffee or beer in Yangshuo West Street
   

Related Readings: Guilin Activities
 

Where to Stay: Zhangjiajie & Guiin Both Have Nice Hotels

► For Guilin Hotels, tourists usually choose hotels in Guilin Downtown, Yangshuo, and villages in Longji Rice Terraces. Hotels in Guilin are huge in number, and Guilin 4-5 star hotels are Guilin Waterfall Hotel,  Guilin Grand Bravo Hotel, Guilin Sheraton Hotel, and Guilin Shangri-La Hotel. In Yangshuo, tourists usually book rooms in Yangshuo county downtown, and distance won’t be a problem, because Yangshuo county is not that big.

► For Zhangjiajie hotels, tourists usually choose hotels in Wu Lingyuan and Zhangjiajie Downtown. If you arrive Zhangjiajie late, hotels in Zhangjiajie Downtown. For convenience of travelling, 4-5 star hotels in Wu Lingyuan are recommended to you, such as Homeward Mountain Hotel, Crowne Plaza Zhangjiajie, and No.5 Valley Inn.

If you have made efforts in finding hotels, you might find that best hotels in Zhangjiajie are more expensive than those in Guilin, because Guilin has more hotels for tourists and visitors.

From the above contrast of Zhangjiajie and Guilin, you may find out that though Zhangjiajie has less choices in diverse attractions, activities, and cuisine, and has higher tour cost, it has great attractions and wonderful experience for tourists. While Guilin is a classic tourist cit in China with diverse attractions, activities and cuisines, and it costs less in expenditure. Zhangjiajie or Guilin, it depends what attractions you want to see, what experience you want to have, and how much you are willing to pay. Now, i think you have made up your mind.

Related Readings:

Shanghai VS Hong Kong, Which Would You Like to Visit

Hangzhou or Suzhou, Which Is the Winner for Vacation

Beijing VS Shanghai,  Which is Your Pick for Visiting

Chengdu VS Chongqing, Which One to Visit


 

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