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About Wulingyuan and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
The name dates from 1984, when Hu Yaobang, then general secretary of the Communist Party, visited and gave the single title Wulingyuan to the three scenic areas of Zhangjiajie, Suoxiyu and Tianzishan. Wulingyuan District was established as a county-level administrative area by State Council approval in May 1988, the same month the city of Zhangjiajie was created. The district covers 397.58 square kilometres, of which the core scenic area accounts for 217.2 square kilometres, an outer protective belt for 174 square kilometres and a development zone for 6.38 square kilometres; about 59,000 people live there, some 95 per cent of them Tujia, Miao and other minority residents.
Geologically the area is dominated by quartz sandstone peak forest, an uncommon landform, with karst of the western Hunan type as a secondary element and numerous geological relics alongside. The Ministry of Construction submitted the nomination to UNESCO in September 1991 and the World Heritage Committee approved the inscription at its meeting in New York on 14 December 1992. Zhangjiajie as a whole also holds a place in the first global batch of world geoparks, is the type locality for the named Zhangjiajie landform, and contains China's first national forest park.
Wulingyuan is a composite area rather than a single gate: the forest park and the three reserves are distinct units within it, and a visit to one does not cover the others.
What to look for
- The quartz sandstone pillar landscape that defines the area and gives the Zhangjiajie landform its name
- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China's first national forest park and one of the four component units
- The Tianzishan reserve, one of the three areas grouped under the Wulingyuan name in 1984
- The Suoxiyu reserve, the second of those three areas
- The Yangjiajie reserve, the fourth component of the scenic and historic area
- The secondary karst landforms of the western Hunan type that occur alongside the sandstone pillars
Location & getting there
Getting to Wulingyuan and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Check weather, trail access and the last return service. A mountain or forest area is not one entrance, and a map’s central pin may be far from the trailhead.
- Search for 武陵源（张家界国家森林公园等） with 张家界市 and 武陵源区.
Find Wulingyuan and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
武陵源（张家界国家森林公园等） · 武陵源区
No reliable map pin yet: search by the Chinese name.
Sources & visit information
The linked sources support the identity and background described in this introduction. Opening hours, admission, activity availability and exact arrival arrangements have not been comprehensively checked. Confirm current visitor information with the venue; the original catalogue locality and editorial review flag are retained.