Hanzhong Travel Guide

Hanzhong Facts

Chinese Name: 汉中市 (hàn zhōng shì)

Location: Located in the southwest of Shaanxi Province, the city lies to the south of the Qinling Mountains to the north of the Daba Mountains (see below) with the Hanzhong Basin in the center. It is bounded on the southwest by Gansu and Sichuan provinces, and adjacent to Xi’an in the northeast.

Population: 3,740,000

Area: 27,246 square kilometers (10,520 square miles)

Nationalities: Han

Administrative Division: 1 district (Hantai); 10 counties (Nanzheng, Chenggu, Yangxian, Xixiang, Mianxian, Ningqiang, Lueyang, Zhenba, Liuba, Foping)

Useful Telephone Numbers:

Tourist Complaints: 0916-2222504

Weather Forecast: 121

Zip Code Inquiry: 184

Bank of China: 0916-2213580

Hanzhong Attractions - Things to Do

Shimen Plank Road Scenic Area

Shimen Plank Road Scenic Area is a famous attraction in the northeast suburb of the city. It is famous for Shimen Plank Road, Shimen Tunnel which was the first man-made tunnel in the world, and for Shimen Dam from where you can enjoy the gripping panorama of Baohe River and the riverside natural sceneries.

Hanzhong Museum (Ancient Hantai)

Located in the city center, Ancient Hantai was originally the royal residence of Liu Bang - the first emperor of the Han Dynasty. Currently, it is the site of the Hanzhong Museum, housing about 12,000 cultural relics. The Thirteen Moya Carvings of Stone Gate and the Baoxie Plank Road are the most famous exhibitions in the museum.

Wuhou Temple (Memorial Temple of Marquis Wu)

Wuhou TempleLocated in the west of Mianxian County, about 45 km (28 miles) from downtown area, the Wuhou Temple (Temple of Marquis Wu) was built in 236 to memoraliize Zhuge Liang - the most intelligent and successful strategist of the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280). It is said to be the first of its kind in the entire country, even 50 years earlier than the Wu Hou Shrine in Chengdu.

Tomb of Zhang Qian

Located in Raojiaying Village, Chenggu County, the tomb is the final resting place of Zhang Qian (164-114 BC) - an outstanding diplomat and explorer during the Western Han Dynasty (202BC-9 AD), and the pioneer of the world-famous Silk Road. The tomb is 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of central downtown.

Shaanxi Foping National Nature Reserve

About 158 kilometers (100 miles ) northeast of the city, Foping National Nature Reserve is also the home to cute pandas and other rare animals and plants. In addition to the black-white pandas we see, the brown giant panda was also once found here. Because of the complex ecosystem which has cultivated various kinds of animals and plants, this reserve is described as the “Natural Animal and Plant Gene Base.”

Qingmuchuan Ancient Town

About 200 km (124 mi) from city center, Qingmuchan Ancient Town used to be a vital trading and military post in ancient China and now has become a famous attraction site for its well-preserved traditional blocks, old buildings, temples and ancestral halls. Huilongchang Old Street, Qingmuchuan Furen Middle School, and Weifutang’s Residence are the must-see sites here.

Crested Ibis Nature Reserve

Located in northern Yangxian County, this national nature reserve was established to protect a rare bird, crested ibis from extinction. The reserve has the only rescue and care center for the crested ibis in China. The number of birds has increased from the initial seven ones in the wild to five hundred.

Recommended Tours:

Hiking Adventure

Foping Liangfengya-Guangtou Hill-The Old County

01: Watershed-Zhuanbotai-Dasi Village-Gaoguan River

02: Watershed-Zhuanbotai-Dasi Village-Dragon Pool

This route goes through the core of the Foping Giant Panda Protected Zone. According to the experienced hikers, traveling this trek is moderately hard, and requires about three days.

01: Watershed-Zhuanbotai-Dasi Village-Gaoguan River

This is a classic route for hiking in the Qinling Mountains. You can set off from the Watershed, via the Zhuanbotai and get to the 2,800-meter (9,186 feet) high Guangtou Hill. After that you will reach the peaceful and remote village of Dasi, where everybody will find their spiritual garden. There you will see several abandoned houses dotted around the landscape. The downward road along the Gaoguan River is very long. The entire journey will take two days. It is recommended that the best time for hiking here is spring when the Bauhinias scatter over hill and dale.

02: Watershed-Zhuanbotai-Dasi Village-Xingjialing-Huangyang Dam-Dragon Pool

This is another route that goes through Dasi Village. What is different is that you go upwards along the Gaoguan River, and then you traverse the mountain to the south side of the Qinling Mountain. Finally, you reach the Dragon Pool in Tieqiao Town of Ningshan County. This route is little bit longer but it is not that difficult and the natural scenery is quite beautiful.

One Day Natural Tour of Hanzhong

This tour will lead travelers closer to the nature and have a chance to see Nipponia Nippon and Giant Panda when visiting the Crested Ibis Nature Reserve in Yangxian County and the Foping Nature Reserve in Foping County.

The Crested Ibis Nature Reserve is located in Yangxian County, southern slope of Qinling Mountain. Travelers could take a bus from Hanzhong Coach Station. The bus journey will take around 1 hour and bus ticket costs around CNY10.00 net. Upon arrival in Yangxian, take a taxi to the nature reserve. With an area of 2,000 hectares, the Crested Ibis Nature Reserve is endowed with luxuriant forest. It is the unique nesting site in the world for the Crested Ibis, one of the rarest birds on earth. (Admission fee: CNY10.00 net per person; Contact number for tourist service: 0916-8203069)

After a half day's tour, hire a taxi to the Foping Nature Reserve with around 1 hour by spending about CNY150.00 net for one way. The nature reserve is situated in Foping County and also on the southern slope of Mt. Qinling. Given the priority to protection of the Giant Pandas and its habitat, Foping Nature Reserve was founded in 1979 and covers an area of 35,000 hectares and abundant in both flora and fauna; there around about 300 kinds of animals and 1580 kinds of plants. (Admission fee: CNY60.00 net per person; Contact number for tourist service: 0916-8916002) Transfer back to Hanzhong from the Foping Coach Station.

One Day Culture Tour of Hanzhong

Cast back the splendid Han culture by visiting the Zhangqian Memorial, the Zhiguo Temple and the Graveyard of Cailun, which are on the outskirt of Hanzhong city.

The Zhangqian Memorial is situated on 3 kilometers of the Chenggu County. Travelers could take a bus from Hanzhong Coach Station (Address: Hanzhong Central Square; Contact number: 0916-2255949) to Chenggu. The bus journey takes around 40 minutes and bus ticket costs about CNY7.00 net for one way. Upon arrival in Chenggu, take a taxi to the memorial, which is only 2.3 kilometers west of the county. Zhangqian Memorial was built at the base of the grave of Zhanqian (around 164 B.C.-114 B.C.), a celebrated diplomat, explorer and exploiter of the Silk Road, during the West Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-9 A.D.). The memorial, externally a rectangle, occupies 712 square kilometers, 356 meters long from south to north and 20 meters wide from east to west. (Admission fee: CNY10.00 net per person)

After a half day's tour, transfer back to Chenggu and take a coach to Yangxian County (Coach Ticket: around CNY5.00 net per person) where the Zhiguo Temple and the Graveyard of Cailun are located. Alternatively, travelers could rent a taxi to reach the county with an approximate charge of CNY100.00 net for one way. Upon arrival in Yangxian, take a taxi to visit the Zhiguo Temple (14 kilometers west of the county) and the Graveyard of Cailun (15 kilometers east of the county). The taxi fee will cost around CNY200.00 net to finish the visiting of the two sites. Zhiguo Temple, a famous Buddhist shrine, was originally built in the Han Dyansty but has been repaired many times during the succeeding centuries. It houses around 4113 scriptures, most of which are writings and translated versions of Buddhist masters.

Cailun (around 63 A.D.-121 A.D.) was the originator of Paper-making, which was one of the Four Great Inventions in ancient China in addition to Commercial Printing, Gunpowder and Compass. The present graveyard occupies 1 acre and consist of 13 buildings. On the west side of the grave is the Cailun Paper Culture Museum, from where travelers may see the process of paper-making by using Cailun's method. The Moon Pool at the back of the yard was reportedly the place where Cailun once made papers. For your reference, the Graveyard of Cailun can also be accessed by No.108 bus from the downtown area of Yangxian County. (Admission fee: CNY15.00 net per person)

Hanzhong Culture Appreciation: to visit Ancient Hantai, Baoxie Plank Road, Wuhou Memorial Temple.

How to Get to Hanzhong

Hanzhong Airport is 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) southwest of the city proper, only operating flights to and from Xi’an, taking 40 minutes. A new airport will be built in Mianxian County in the near future. There are also two trains (one from Xi’an Railway Station and the other from Xi’an South Railway Station) to this city, which takes 7-8 hours. Most people go there by bus through Expressway, which is cheap and fast. The express bus can be found both in Xi’an Chengnan (South) Coach Station and Chengxi (West) Coach Station. The journey is 3.5 hours.

Thanks for the completion of Xi-Han Expressway, the distance between the two cities is halved, only about three hours needed. Buses to city proper can be found in Xi’an West Bus Station in No.92, Zaoyuan Road (East). Visitors can get buses to the districts and counties from the Xi’an South Bus Station (Mingdemen Bus Station) in Zhuque Dajie. Terminal in the other end is the Hanzhong Express Bus Station in Xinqiao Shizi (Intersection).

Weather

Situated in the transition area between warm temperate zone and subtropical zone, the area has moderate and humid weather without torrid a summer. The winter wind current coming form North China is blocked by the Qinling Mountains, so winter is relatively warmer. The rainy season of Hanzhong weather usually appears during June and lasts until September. Any season is a good season to visit the city.