Complete Guide to Visiting Wangxian Valley, China

When we were researching where to go during our trip to China, we came across Wangxian Valley—or Wangxian Gu—as a new and very much growing destination. At first glance, we were enamoured by the fairyland façade it was giving off. With its wondrous natural mountainous scenery and the unfathomable rustic stilt houses hanging on vertical cliffs, we knew we had to visit.

But, in all honesty, we also had our reservations. We asked ourselves, is it all fake? Is it just a theme park, or can it offer an authentic experience?

Only recently, did Wangxian Valley go from an abandoned mine to a viral fairyland, attracting visitors—like us—worldwide. The landscape setting made up of majestic peaks, expansive valleys, massive rock formations, cascading waterfalls and clear streams is already naturally formed and stunning in its own right. Architecturally, the phenomenal cliff-hugging buildings are mainly an imitation of an ancient village, constructed out of rammed earth, bluestone tiles and thatched roofs.

Though the village is not truly an ancient one, and the buildings and streets are made by modern hands, we wanted to find out for ourselves if journeying through this living museum would be a journey back in time, where we could witness a harmonious dance of nature, culture and legend.

How to Get to Wangxian Valley

To get to the valley, you’ll first need to get yourself to the city of Shangrao, Jiangxi. We were coming from Huangshan and took a high speed train to the Shangrao Railway Station. If you’re flying, you can fly into the Shangrao Sanqingshan Airport.

Regardless of whether you’re taking a plane or a train, the best (and often only) place to book your flight or train ticket online and in advance as a foreign visitor is through trip.com. Seriously, this website/app made our lives so much easier when planning our trip throughout the country. You can read up on everything you need to know before visiting China here!

Once you get to Shangrao, you can take a taxi, a DiDi ride (China’s affordable rideshare app) or a pre-booked private transfer to any of the nearby towns surrounding the Wangxiangu Scenic Area.

Quick China travel tip: Don’t bother using Google Maps as it’s not accurate, what with the beef between China and Google. You may be able to use Apple Maps, but for the most information and accuracy, download Amap (or Gaode Maps) to see all the accommodation, restaurant and shop options that you might need.

We decided to stay in the Zhangjian Village, which was only a 5-minute drive from the Wangxian Valley entrance. We were also able to coordinate a pickup car transfer directly with our accommodation, and it was a swift 1-hour drive to get to our homestay.

Where to Stay

Whatever you can find in close proximity to the scenic area will do great. There are so many newly constructed and renovated affordable accommodations in the neighbouring villages. We stayed in Zhangjian but you can also look south in YuanShanDing, which is just as close to Wangxian Valley’s entrance.

Have a look on trip.com’s hotel options using the map feature. That’s how we came across our homestay, Gui Yuan Min Su, which was amazing with the sweetest owner.

The building was so nice with all new guest rooms. We had a shared living space on each floor with an outdoor terrace, which we shared with another room, which was vacant at the time of our stay. Our room was spacious and modern, super clean with nice tiles, a large king-size bed, automatic lights under the bed, and a spotless bathroom with an automatic toilet complete with bidet. We also had a mountain view from our room windows and could see into the neighbouring farm fields!

You can have a look at the details of our room and space in our Wangxian Valley video above!

Did I mention it was only $25 a night too? The owner also organized our Wangxian Valley drop-off and pick-up through our son, which was super convenient! He drove us there in the morning and came back to pick us up at night when we called through WeChat. We definitely recommend staying at Gui Yuan.

One thing about staying in the small villages near the valley is that they don’t offer much in terms of restaurants. We made do during our two days here, but just something to note if you care to have a yummy tasting meal every day!

If you’re looking for a more luxurious take on accommodations, and prefer to stay within the Wangxian Valley grounds, there is one option, though with a much higher price tag. The Wangxiangu Cliffside Homestay is the only property situated on the cliff itself, so the advantage is that you get to go to sleep and wakeup inside the park. But the lower rating and the exuberant cost didn’t convince us on pulling the trigger on this one.

There are definitely many better options outside of the valley, and you only need a day to tour it anyway!

When Is the Best Time to Visit

Wangxian Valley is open to visitors year-round. If you’re looking for the most pleasant times to walk the cobblestone streets, up and down the steps and across the canyon, that would be during spring and autumn. We found it to be perfect, with a little humidity heat from the sun, when we visited in mid-October.

When it comes to the time of day, honestly throughout the entirety of it is worth visiting. The morning is best to avoid the crowds, bask in the softer lighting of the valley, and enjoy most of the scenery in the quietness of nature.

But you really don’t want to miss seeing the area lit up completely under the night sky, the lively street eateries that open up in the evening and the engaging performances. It makes the valley all the more memorable to see it come to life at night!

Entry Ticket Prices

There’s no need to purchase entry tickets in advance and you can simply get them in person at the entrance. They currently cost 240CNY per person, which grants you access to the scenic area for one day.

Unlike some other parks, your ticket doesn’t allow for re-entry. So if you want to see Wangxian Valley both during the morning when it’s crowd-free, and at night when it’s lit up, you’ll have to stay for the entire duration of the day.

We did just that, staying from 9:30am till about 8:30pm, and had a great time! We enjoyed lunch inside and relaxed at a quiet coffee shop with an upstairs cozy area for some time in the afternoon. 

There was so much to keep us busy, apart from snapping our photos and videos!

Exploring Wangxian Valley

Once you walk through the gates of the valley, the scenery starts to gradually unveil itself. It starts off in a quiet square with simple bridges, the rustic nature of the gift shops at the entrance start to give you a taste of what you’ll see inside.

But it’s only when you start to walk up the stone steps that wrap around a cliff, that the iconic view of the jaw-dropping rock cliff with gravity-defying stilt houses is revealed.

As you come around the bend, you’ll start to come face to face with the valley. The rolling stream at the base of the canyon comes cascading through, and you’ll start to gain some height, with each step getting you more immersed in the postcard picture of Wangxian Valley. No longer seeing it from the outside but being inside of it.

The paths start to diverge and you can take routes leading you up the cliff or across it. We started heading up and took this photogenic staircase that was encapsulated by a stunning wooden housing styled with traditional Jiangxi Chinese architecture.

Going this route diverted us away from some of the small crowds of the morning time.

We climbed up the cliff and along its face, peering out to the other side of the valley and down into the canyon from various balconies and lookouts. The mountain views were only getting more and more impressive as we were getting deeper into scenic area. And the stairways that hugged the cliff were becoming highly photogenic, we couldn’t help stopping every few minutes to snap some photos.

There was a calming yet eery quietness of walking through the concrete halls of the stilt buildings and the paths that connected them. Calming because of the nature scenes right outside the open-air windows and the sense of tranquility, balance and harmony we get from being immersed in traditional Chinese spaces. But eery because of the coldness of the concrete and being present in what feels like a ghost town. 

Not much is open during the morning hours. And because no one actually inhabits the village of Wangxian Valley, it can feel a little lifeless at times. In many ways, it is like wandering the inside of a dollhouse.

We eventually reached the highest point in the entire valley, the White Crane Tower. In this four-level traditional tower, you can find an art exhibit and read about the Legend of the Yunhai Cliff, meaning the legend of the “sea of clouds” cliff. Yunhai is actually the name of the east cliff on which we were roaming this entire morning.

As we started coming down, we passed by the Wangxiangu Cliffside Homestay just adjacent to the White Crane Tower, and truth be told, the homestay did look like the prettiest building around. From what we could tell from the outside, it did look luxurious. Whether the hotel is worth the cost, you might have to find out for yourself!

Once we came back down to be more level with the stream, we came across our first open business, a casual spot where we had lunch. It had a quaint terrace overlooking both the village part of the valley and the hanging stilt buildings on the opposite cliffside. We enjoyed some of our favourite Chinese comfort foods with a bit of a Wangxian twist. It wasn’t anything too special as we wanted to save room for the street eats later on in the evening.

Finally, we came to a central square with a bi-level water feature and a few shops and cafes all around This is where they host daytime performances, one of which includes a full traditional royal wedding ceremony from what we could tell! They come parading through the village streets, ending in this square. There’s even an actual temple courtyard with an altar where they host the performance and it feels like we are dynasty-era villagers witnessing a grand ceremony.

We grabbed a coffee at the shop beside the “temple”, relaxing on the upper floor with a view and a bit of people watching.

As the afternoon progressed into evening, the valley got busier and busier. We decided to check out one final area, which was the other side of the valley. You can cross over the iconic arch stone bridge, which comes out of the small square with the water feature. Or you can go further down and cross the the wider covered bridges, which are beautiful in their own right.

We went as far as we could before getting away too far, and honestly the mountain views were incredible here. It’s so much quieter with fewer people frequenting these walkways, and it feels like the path leads directly to the mountain.

Take more time than we did to view this area, especially after they finish constructing the stilt buildings on the west cliff side!

Evening Street Market

Strolling through the streets in the afternoon, we came across so many more shops and boutiques. Many selling unique souvenirs that were actually functional and authentic in their craftsmanship. I hate to say it, but this was a unique situation for touristy places in China.

We spotted a number of shops offering more DIY craft experiences where you could create your own souvenirs. Like engraved stamps, beautifully painted fans and weaved baskets. Many crafts that were more traditional and representative of the time Wangxian Valley is reminiscing.

If I were to choose one thing that took me by surprise the most, in a pleasant way, it would have to be Wangxian Valley’s evening street market. I was fully expecting to see many shops selling the exact same thing, much like China’s other big destinations. But not one vendor sold the same item as another. They were all purposely set out to offer something different for visitors, and this was especially true for the food market.

You could find noodle soups here, frozen and tapioca desserts there, grilled corn dishes here, dumplings there… Everything was different, and it was truly so hard to keep within a food and drink budget! I wanted to try EVERYTHING.

That was the other thing. All the eats were so interesting and begged me to give them a try. I was ogling at the jelly tea drinks, the fresh flaky baos, and so many different eats that I had never seen anywhere else.

Jason and I beelined it to a little shop that was making these freshly rolled meat and green onion bun/patty things. They were amazing. Super crispy, flake and savoury, only for 15 CNY.

We then tried a Wangxian specialty, which was taro—or sweet potato—dumplings in a delicious broth. The dumpling skin is made out of taro and the inside was deliciously meaty, all tasting super ? (“xi?ng”) as they say in Mandarin!

We had a few more street eat snacks, a set of 30 mini seafood and meat skewers that were gradually flaming hot, and then a cold yogurt jelly drink to cool us down. Part of me still wishes I had tried more foods and drinks, but the prices were still on the pricier side, though still very reasonable for such a touristy area.

To end the night, we went further down to the main and largest square for the nightly performance. At 7:45pm daily, a bonfire is lit at the centre of the square stage and a dance performance is put on. We witness girls and guys dressed in traditional attire dancing in a circle around the fire pit, as the hanging wooden buildings and paths on the opposite cliffside lights up under the night sky.

At the end of the performance, the dancers encourage and start leading the audience into a group dance and circle, which was fun for us to watch! Nearly every one, whether young kids or elderly, joined in, already knowing the tunes and moves. Us foreigners didn’t really know what was going on but had a good time watching everybody enjoying themselves as a group.

As the mob dancing continued, we took our cue to start making our way back to the entrance and taking in Wangxian Valley at night. We were amazed to see the White Crane Tower using beam lights like a party, circling around the horizon. On the other side of the valley, all the buildings were so lit up and they even had a massive fake moon behind the tree line, which we definitely laughed out loud about. Despite it looking a bit tacky, the sight looked like a painting.

As we walked along the lower walkway beside the stream, we called our ride (i.e. the son of the owner of our homestay) for pickup and made it back to our cozy abode after a long yet fruitful day out.

Conclusion

In all honesty, coming into Wangxian Valley, I was dubious about it. 120 CNY seemed like an excessive amount to pay for a day pass to see something that was, well, kind of fake. But after spending literally almost 11 hours here, I was slowly dragging my feet out of there, not wanting to leave just yet. Not feeling like I really got to make my way around the whole place.

They say it only takes 3 hours to walk the entire way around the valley. Well, you really wouldn’t be taking much in if you did that. Even if you aren’t here for the legends and architecture, for the boutiques or the performances, for the food or for the vibes, at least come here to experience the landscape.

If anything, at least witness the incredible depths of the smooth cliffs, the verdant mountains surrounding the area that are blanketed by moving clouds, and the following milky stream below. The natural setting beckons to be seen, even if the reenactment of history isn’t for you.

Do I now think Wangxian Valley is worth the reputation that precedes it? The virality it garnered online? Yes, I do think Wangxian Valley is worth the hype. I found it to be just as photogenic as it was made out to be, and what surprised me the most, was the experience that the shops and street food market offered.