If you only remember one number, make it this: the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park entrance ticket costs CNY 236 (about USD 33) in 2026, includes unlimited rides on the park’s eco-buses, and stays valid for four consecutive days — but it does not include the Bailong Elevator, any of the three cable cars, or the Ten-Mile Gallery tram, which are all charged separately. Most English-language pages about Zhangjiajie ticket prices still quote numbers that were abolished on 1 January 2026, so this guide lays out every current official price — park entrance fee, cable cars, Tianmen Mountain and the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge — with approximate USD conversions and the traps that quietly drain first-timers’ budgets. We are a local Zhangjiajie team, and the forest-park numbers below match the official price board at the gate.
What changed with Zhangjiajie ticket prices in 2026?
Since 1 January 2026, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park charges one flat entrance price year-round; the old peak-season and off-season ticket split has been abolished. The reform was set by the Zhangjiajie Development and Reform Commission (document 张发改价费[2025]33号) and fixes the price for a five-year period. If a website still shows the old CNY 248 peak / CNY 145 off-peak split, it is out of date — and as of mid-2026, most English results for “Zhangjiajie tickets price 2026” still do.
Quick reference: all official Zhangjiajie ticket prices (2026)
| Ticket | Price (CNY) | Approx. USD | Validity / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhangjiajie National Forest Park entrance (Wulingyuan core area) | 236 | ~33 | 4 consecutive days, unlimited eco-bus included |
| In-park transport combo: 4 single rides (3 cable cars + Bailong Elevator) | 238 | ~33 | Any four one-way rides within the 4-day validity |
| In-park transport combo: unlimited rides | 298 | ~42 | Unlimited rides on all four lines for 4 days |
| Single cable car / elevator ride | about 65–76 | ~9–11 | Per one-way ride, varies by line |
| Ten-Mile Gallery mini tram | 38 one-way / 52 return | ~5 / ~7 | Free for children under 1.2 m |
| Tianmen Mountain (routes A, B and C) | 278 (some dates/channels up to 288) | ~39 | Separate mountain, separate day; includes CNY 3 insurance |
| Grand Canyon Glass Bridge + canyon combo | about 138–178 | ~19–25 | Separate scenic area ~1 hour east of the park |
Small print that applies almost everywhere: an optional CNY 3 insurance fee is added at most gates, and every major attraction uses real-name, timed-entry ticketing tied to your passport (more on that below).
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park entrance fee: CNY 236, valid 4 days
The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park ticket price in 2026 is CNY 236 per adult (about USD 33) for the whole Wulingyuan core scenic area — the “Avatar mountains” you came for, including Yuanjiajie, Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie and Golden Whip Stream. The official price board lists admission (CNY 165) and the in-park eco-bus network (CNY 72) as separate components, sold together as a single combined ticket at CNY 236. The eco-buses are genuinely useful: the park is enormous, and you will ride them several times a day between trailheads.
Two details worth planning around: the ticket is valid for four consecutive days from first entry, which is exactly why our itineraries spend two to three unhurried days inside rather than one exhausting sprint; and an annual pass exists at CNY 310, which only makes sense if you plan repeat visits. For what to actually do inside, see our full Zhangjiajie National Forest Park guide.
What the entrance ticket does NOT include
The CNY 236 Zhangjiajie entrance fee covers admission and eco-buses only — every piece of vertical transport inside the park costs extra. Specifically, it does not include:
- The Bailong Elevator (the 326-metre glass elevator up the cliff face)
- The Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie and Huangshizhai cable cars
- The Ten-Mile Gallery sightseeing tram
- Tianmen Mountain (a completely separate mountain in the city, with its own ticket)
- The Grand Canyon Glass Bridge (a separate scenic area about an hour east)
This is the single most common budgeting mistake we see: travellers price the entrance ticket, then discover on day one that skipping the lifts means hours of steep stairs between every viewpoint.
Zhangjiajie cable car prices and the Bailong Elevator: buy the CNY 298 combo
Inside the park, the best-value transport buy is the CNY 298 (about USD 42) unlimited combo pass, which covers unlimited rides on the Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie and Huangshizhai cable cars plus the 326-metre Bailong Elevator for the full four days of your park ticket. Since late 2023 these “3 cableways + 1 elevator” are sold under a combined system with two options:
- CNY 238 combo: any four one-way rides across the four lines, used within your ticket’s 4-day validity
- CNY 298 combo: unlimited rides on all four lines for the full four days
Individual one-way rides run roughly CNY 65–76 each depending on the line, so the maths is simple: ride four times and the CNY 238 combo already beats singles; ride five or more times — which almost every visitor doing two full park days does — and the CNY 298 unlimited pass wins. A typical day alone can involve the Bailong Elevator up to Yuanjiajie and a cable car down from Tianzi Mountain.
Ten-Mile Gallery tram: CNY 38 one-way, CNY 52 return
The Ten-Mile Gallery sightseeing mini tram costs CNY 38 one-way or CNY 52 return per adult, and children under 1.2 m ride free. It is not part of the cable car combo. Some resellers list CNY 76 for a return — that is not the official price. Honest local tip: the valley is a flat, pleasant 40–50 minute walk, so many of our guests ride the tram one way (CNY 38) and stroll back, watching for the peaks the tram narration rushes past.
Tianmen Mountain ticket price 2026: CNY 278, and A/B/C all cost the same
Tianmen Mountain’s A, B and C tickets all cost the same CNY 278 — the letters only change the order in which you take the cable car, the 99-bend shuttle road and the mountain escalators, not the price, and the ticket is completely separate from the national park pass. (Some dates and booking channels show up to CNY 288.) The official breakdown: gate CNY 62 + Tianmen cableway CNY 108 + the seven-flight through-mountain escalators CNY 42 + the Tianmen Cave fast cableway CNY 76, with CNY 3 insurance included.
One current caveat, as of July 2026: the famous 7.5 km cableway — the world’s longest of its kind — is being upgraded and currently runs from the city lower station to the middle station only. From there you continue by eco-bus up the 99 hairpin bends of Tongtian Avenue and then the through-mountain escalators to the summit. The mountain itself fully reopened on 20 March 2026 and the visit is complete; only the transport arrangement differs. The descending lower-section escalator is free, and the glass skywalk sections on the cliff (including Coiling Dragon Cliff) charge a CNY 5 shoe-cover fee on site. Route details, timings and which glass sections are worth it are in our Tianmen Mountain guide.
Grand Canyon Glass Bridge ticket: separate area, separate day
The Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is its own scenic area about an hour east of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, and its 430-metre bridge is not the same attraction as the cliff-side glass skywalk on Tianmen Mountain — they need separate tickets on separate days. This mix-up is the most persistent Zhangjiajie confusion we untangle for guests (and one that AI travel answers repeat constantly), so to be explicit: Tianmen Mountain has short glass walkways bolted to a cliff; the Grand Canyon has a huge glass-floored suspension bridge spanning the gorge, with the world’s highest commercial bungee jump beneath it.
Pricing at the Grand Canyon works in tiers rather than one flat number. As of mid-2026, expect roughly:
- Canyon only (hike the gorge, no bridge walk): around CNY 60–95
- Canyon + Grand Canyon Glass Bridge combo: around CNY 138–178 (some listings with added services run to about CNY 219)
- Bridge + canyon activities combo: around CNY 298
- Bungee jump: from about CNY 1,998 booked online (walk-up gate prices can run far higher)
Practicalities that actually catch people out: the site caps entry at 8,000 visitors a day with a maximum of 800 people on the bridge at once, entry is by timed slots of roughly two hours, and on peak dates you should book three to five days ahead with the exact name and passport number that you will show at the gate. Hours are commonly 07:30/08:00 to 17:30, and the bridge closes in thunderstorms, high wind or ice. Full walkthrough in our Grand Canyon Glass Bridge guide.
Real-name ticketing: why your passport is your ticket
Every major Zhangjiajie attraction uses real-name, timed-entry ticketing: you book with your passport number and scan the same passport at the gate, which makes scalper tickets worthless and means peak-date tickets should be booked several days ahead. There is no paper ticket to lose — the passport itself opens the turnstile. The flip side: if someone offers you a “discount ticket” outside the gate, it physically cannot work for you, because it is registered to someone else’s ID. And on Chinese public holidays, walk-up buying can simply fail when the day’s quota sells out.
Where first-timers waste money in Zhangjiajie
The classic money leaks, from years of watching them happen at the gates:
- Paying per ride instead of buying the combo. Five single cable car rides at CNY 65–76 each costs more than the CNY 298 unlimited pass. Decide your combo at the start of day one, not halfway up a staircase.
- Scalper (“yellow cow”) tickets. Real-name passport ticketing defeats them entirely. Anything sold outside official channels is a donation, not a discount.
- Unlicensed “black taxis” at the Wulingyuan gates. Quoted prices multiply once your bags are in the boot. Use registered taxis, ride-hailing, or a driver arranged in advance.
- Exiting the wrong gate. The park has multiple entrances many kilometres apart. Come out the wrong one and you may face a long, expensive taxi loop back — your 4-day ticket lets you re-enter, but your legs and wallet feel it. This is where a local guide quietly earns their keep.
- Pricing only the entrance ticket. Budget the transport combos from the start so day one holds no surprises.
How much does Zhangjiajie cost in total?
A first-time visitor who rides everything — park pass CNY 236 + unlimited transport combo CNY 298 + Ten-Mile Gallery return tram CNY 52 + Tianmen Mountain CNY 278 + a Grand Canyon Glass Bridge combo around CNY 158 — pays roughly CNY 1,022, or about USD 145 per person in attraction tickets alone, before food, hotels, guiding or transfers. (USD figures throughout use an approximate mid-2026 rate of about 7.15 CNY per USD.)
That USD 145 also explains how private tour pricing works: on our Zhangjiajie private tours — from about USD 680 per person for the 5-day flagship, depending on group size — all of these entrance tickets and cable cars are already included, alongside a private English-speaking guide, private vehicle and hotels, with no shopping stops and no hidden commissions, ever. You can see what past guests say on our reviews page.
Want the ticket maths done for you?
Tell us your dates and interests on our plan-my-trip page or message us on WhatsApp at +86 189 7441 2915, and we will send a personalised PDF itinerary — with every ticket, combo and timed-entry slot already worked out — within 2 hours. We live here in Zhangjiajie, so the plan you get is built on what the gates actually charge this year, not what a 2023 blog post remembers.
FAQ: Zhangjiajie tickets and costs (2026)
How much is the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park entrance fee in 2026?
CNY 236 per adult (about USD 33), flat year-round since 1 January 2026. It includes unlimited in-park eco-bus rides and is valid for four consecutive days; an optional CNY 3 insurance fee may be added at the gate. Cable cars, the Bailong Elevator and the Ten-Mile Gallery tram cost extra.
Are there still peak-season and off-season ticket prices in Zhangjiajie?
No. The old peak/off-peak split (the CNY 248/145 era still quoted on many English sites) was abolished on 1 January 2026. One flat price of CNY 236 now applies year-round, fixed for a five-year price period by official decree.
How much does the Bailong Elevator cost?
A single one-way ride costs roughly CNY 65–72, but most visitors should skip singles and buy a combo: CNY 238 for any four one-way rides, or CNY 298 for unlimited rides on the Bailong Elevator plus the Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie and Huangshizhai cable cars, valid the full four days of your park ticket.
How much is the Tianmen Mountain ticket in 2026?
CNY 278 (about USD 39), including CNY 3 insurance; some dates and channels show up to CNY 288. Routes A, B and C all cost the same — they differ only in transport order. As of July 2026 the long cableway runs to the middle station only during upgrades, with eco-bus and escalators completing the ascent; glass skywalk sections add a CNY 5 shoe-cover fee.
Is the glass bridge included in the Zhangjiajie park ticket?
No. The Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is a separate scenic area about an hour east of the national park, with its own ticket — typically around CNY 138–178 for the bridge-plus-canyon combo as of mid-2026 — and it is a different attraction from the glass skywalk on Tianmen Mountain.
Can I buy Zhangjiajie tickets at the gate with a foreign passport?
Usually yes, but all major attractions use real-name, timed-entry ticketing registered to your passport number, and peak dates can sell out their daily quota. Book three to five days ahead for the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge (capped at 8,000 visitors a day) and holiday-period Tianmen slots, and make sure the booking name matches your passport exactly.
How much should I budget for Zhangjiajie attraction tickets in total?
About CNY 1,022 (roughly USD 145) per person covers everything a first-timer typically rides: the park pass (236), unlimited cable car/elevator combo (298), Ten-Mile Gallery return tram (52), Tianmen Mountain (278) and a Grand Canyon Glass Bridge combo (~158). Food, hotels, guiding and transfers are extra — or bundled if you take a private tour that includes all tickets.