These are the questions that come up in almost every first message we get. Short answers here, full answers on the pages they belong to.
Booking and timing
How far ahead should you book? For the peak months, a week is comfortable and a day is a gamble. The parks run real-name booking with timed slots, so what runs out is the slot, not the ticket.
Can you just turn up? Not usefully. Every major park here books real-name against your passport, the popular slots go days ahead in season, and with a foreign passport you also need a staffed window rather than a turnstile. Arriving with the booking already done is the whole trick.
Passports and entry
What does a foreign passport have to do at the gate? Bring the physical passport to a staffed window, where it is checked against the booking before you go in. A Chinese ID card scans straight through a turnstile; a passport does not. It is a queue rather than a beep, so allow for it.
Can you enter on a visa? Two routes: a full tourist visa, or the 240-hour visa-free transit if your nationality is on the list and you have an onward ticket to a third country or region. Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport is an approved port for the transit route. Details are on our visa and transit page.
Paying
You can pay us by PayPal or card from home, and the driver on a pickup takes card, WeChat Pay, Alipay or RMB cash. We do not take card numbers by email or WhatsApp, and we never ask for a passport photo in a web form. Setting up Alipay and WeChat before you fly is a separate matter and it is worth doing — how to pay in China covers it.
If plans change
Cancel before we issue the ticket and it costs nothing. After it is issued, if you never entered the park that day we can refund it and the park keeps 5%. If your flight is delayed or cancelled we move the booking for free, and we go by the time your message reaches us rather than by any system timestamp.
Children, students and seniors
Cheap tickets exist and most overseas booking sites cannot sell you one. Height decides the rides and age decides the admission: under 1.2 metres tall goes free on the transport, under 14 pays nothing at the gate, 14 to 17 pays the concession price, 60 to 64 pays about half, 65 and over pays nothing for entry. Whether the discount follows you onto the cable cars depends on the park — in the Forest Park it does not, at Tianmen Mountain and the Grand Canyon it does.
Getting here
Hehua Airport (DYG) is about 40 kilometres from Wulingyuan, where the Forest Park is. A pre-booked car with your name at arrivals is the way most of our guests do it; the taxi rank works but it is a negotiation in a language you may not speak. Zhangjiajie West station is the rail option. Both are on our airport transfer page.
One current thing worth knowing
The Tianmen Mountain cableway has been closed to passengers since 13 October 2026, with no published reopening date. The mountain is still open, on the C line: up the fast cableway to Tianmen Cave, then the seven-stage escalator through the mountain to the top, and back the same way. Book that before you build a day around the old A and B lines.
Still not answered?
Message us on WhatsApp at +86 180 7449 1863. A person answers, in English, usually within a few hours.
Open a WhatsApp chat, or use the contact page if you would rather write it all down first.
Questions people ask
How far in advance should I book Zhangjiajie tickets?
For the peak months, a week is comfortable and a day is a gamble. The parks run real-name booking with timed slots, so what runs out is the slot, not the ticket.
Can I buy tickets at the gate?
Not usefully. Every major park here books real-name against your passport, the popular slots go days ahead in season, and with a foreign passport you also need a staffed window rather than a turnstile.
What does a foreign passport have to do at the gate?
Bring the physical passport to a staffed window, where it is checked against the booking before you go in. A Chinese ID card scans straight through a turnstile; a passport does not.
How can I pay you?
You can pay us by PayPal or card from home, and the driver on a pickup takes card, WeChat Pay, Alipay or RMB cash. We do not take card numbers by email or WhatsApp, and we never ask for a passport photo in a web form.
What if my plans change?
Cancel before we issue the ticket and it costs nothing. After it is issued, if you never entered the park that day we can refund it and the park keeps 5%.
Do children and seniors get cheaper tickets?
Height decides the rides and age decides the admission: under 1.2 metres tall goes free on the transport, under 14 pays nothing at the gate, 14 to 17 pays the concession price, 60 to 64 pays about half, 65 and over pays nothing for entry.
How do I get from the airport to the Forest Park?
Hehua Airport (DYG) is about 40 kilometres from Wulingyuan, where the Forest Park is. A pre-booked car with your name at arrivals is the way most of our guests do it; the taxi rank works but it is a negotiation in a language you may not speak.
Is Tianmen Mountain open right now?
The Tianmen Mountain cableway has been closed to passengers since 13 October 2026, with no published reopening date. The mountain is still open, on the C line: up the fast cableway to Tianmen Cave, then the seven-stage escalator through the mountain to the top, and back the same way.
Still not answered?
Message us on WhatsApp at +86 180 7449 1863. A person answers, in English, usually within a few hours.