West Gate — Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Yangjiajie)

The West Gate is the Yangjiajie gate: the fewest visitors and almost no queues of the five gates — good for in-depth visits and photography. Ride the Yangjiajie Cableway up, convenient for Wulongzhai and the Tianbofu peak walls. There is no direct public transport, so drive or hire a car; about 20–30 minutes from the Zhangjiajie West toll gate. Private cars park outside the gate and switch to the park shuttle.

The West Gate is the Yangjiajie gate, the quietest of the five: the ticket check barely queues, even on public holidays, which suits anyone who wants to look at the mountains in peace and take their time with photographs.\nFrom the Zhangjiajie West toll gate, take Wulingshan Avenue or the Zhangqing Highway; the West Gate is about 20–30 minutes on. No public transport reaches this gate — neither the high-speed rail station nor the city bus station runs a bus — so it is self-driving or a hired car, and agree a pick-up time with the driver for the return trip.\nRide the Yangjiajie Cableway up to see the peak walls around Wulongzhai and Tianbofu. Those rock faces are close to vertical and this is the best place in the park to read the peak-wall landform; photographers usually put this section early in the itinerary, when the light gives the most definition. The Yangjiajie Cableway is auxiliary transport and ticketed separately from park admission.\nHigh-speed rail arrivals should note that although Zhangjiajie West Station has a bus station inside, there is no service towards the West Gate — take a taxi or a hired car and settle the round trip with the driver before setting off. Private cars cannot enter the park — park outside the gate and switch to the park shuttle. With so few people coming and going, the wait for a shuttle back is short too; but if you have a train or a flight to catch the same day, leave plenty of margin rather than cutting it fine.