Day 22: Zhangjiajie, Sunday 12th October 2025

28°, cloudy/drizzly, then fine

NZ$1 = Y4

Y1=NZ$0.25

Just to update the state of health: I now have a cough, and Liz is still feeling sickly with a cold. Today was a day off from walking / touring, and we spent most of the day in the hotel.

Up at 9am, out at 9:30am, and walked to breakfast at McDonalds ( Y42 ) then walked past our hotel up to the next main road, through a mixture of traditional shops, laundries etc and big hotels, then back to the hotel.

Walking down to get breakfast

Our hotel

A more traditionally styled hotel near ours

Headed out at 12pm, caught a Didi to “72 Buildings 72 Qilou”, the place looked quite quiet but we went into the ticket hall and paid for Y48 each for day tickets, and then into the complex only to find it largely closed, with almost no shops and no food outlets open. We decided we would come back in the evening ( when we knew it would be more lively ) and left at 12:45pm. Didi back to the hotel. ( Y70 ) . We got some supplies on the way back to the hotel, Liz bought a power bank ( 10000WH for Y72 ).

72 Buildings Entry... very quiet

72 Buildings Entry very quiet on the inside

Rested.

Out to “72 Buildings 72 Qilou” at 5:30pm by Didi, bought tickets through Trip.com this time ( Y88 each, cheaper than buying them at the gate ) and in at 5:50pm.

This complex is described as the largest traditional stilt building in China, but it appears to be a modern construction designed to look traditional. The large building houses a hotel as well as shops on the ground floor as well and the other smaller buildings are more like an Ancient Town arrangement.

A very busy and a very different place to this afternoon. This complex / hotel has a mixture of little restaurants, craft shops etc but also has live performances happening in various locations. We stopped to watch a dance performance with bamboo poles on the ground which need to be jumped over, then carried on walking around. Liz bought a mini “pingfeng” folding screen ( like a Shoji Screen ) for Y98, then we grabbed some Chinese Hamburgers for tea ( Y35 for 2 )