Planning for your Hubei tour? The downstream cruise of Yangtze River usually ends at Yichang or Wuhan, the two historical cities in Hubei Province with Wuhan as its capital city. Cut by the mighty Yangtze River and rife with lakes, Hubei is mostly green and fertile. But its western regions are dominated by mountains and forests.
Given its central location in China, Hubei played an important role in Chinese history. Its long history is largely manifested the area around Jingzhaou Ancient City, an over 2000-year old Chu Kingdom.
Looking for top things to do in Hubei? So here is our Top 10 Attractions in Hubei.
1.Wudangshan 武当山
Located about over 450km northwest of Wuhan, Wudang Mountains is a sacred place of Taoism in China, well known for its Wudang martial arts, picturesque views and ancient buildings complex. In December, 1994, Wudang Mountains is listed as World Cultural Site for its ancient building complex, which is dubbed as “China’s successful Ancient Building Museum”.
People would visit Purple Cloud Temple and Taizipo. Then visit South Cliff which is the most beautiful of the 36 cliffs in Wudang Mountains. The South Cliff is one of the scenes selected by the film “Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon”.
Take the local shuttle bus to the platform where you take a cable car up o the top. Beyond the cable car exit is the magnificent Forbidden City, with its 2.5m- thick stone walls. Then move on to the Golden Hall, constructed entirely from bronze dating from 1416, where you can have a magnificent views.
At Wudangshan, you will have a chance to watch the martial arts performance at Xiaoyaogu (Carefree Valley) and then end your trip to Wudang Mountains.
Visiting Time: suggested 2-3 Days
Entrance Fee: RMB 243 ( including admission fees, shuttle bus )
Location: Danjiangkou, Shiyan, Hubei 湖北省西北部的十堰丹江口境内
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 15:00
Best Time to Visit: Spring and Autumn
How to Get There
Go to Wudangshan from Wuhan either by train or bus
2. Jingzhou Ancient City 荆州古城
Located about 220km southwest of Wuhan, Jingzhou was once the ancient capital of Chu Kingdom during the Eastern Zhou. Today Jingzhou still has its ancient city relatively intact, a lovely small ancient town.
The present city wall was rebuilt in 1646 during Qing Dynasty. The wall was built of limestone, bricks and earth. It has a circumference of 11.28 km, east and west 3.75 km long, south and north 1.2 km wide, 8.83 meters high, 4567 battlements and 26 forts, 6 soldier hideouts and 6 towers
Entrance Fee: RMB 50
Location: Jingzhou City
Opening Hours: All day
How to Get There
Go to Wudangshan from Wuhan either by train or bus
3. Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
Yellow Crane Tower is a famous and historic tower, rebuilt many times, which stands on Snake Hill, at the bank of Yangtze River in the Wuchang District, of the city of Wuhan. It is regarded as the symbol of Wuhan city.According to records, the tower was first built in 223 A.D during the Three Kingdoms period.
After completion, the tower served as a gathering place for celebrities and poets to party and compose poetry. The tower, 51.4 meters high, is five-storied with yellow tiles and red pillars, overlapping ridges and interlocking eaves, more magnificent than the old one.
Entrance Fee: CNY 80
Opening Hours: 07:00-18:00
How to get there: take Buses No. 61, 64, 413, 19 or 170 to Yellow Crane Tower
4. Shennongjia 神农架
Located 480 km west of Wuhan, Shennongjia is world famed for its myth of ape-man, its densely forested peaks and medicinal plants.Shennongjia is mainly composed of Shennongjia Nature Reserve, Yantian Scenic Area, Xiangxiyuan Tourism Zone and Yuquanhe Tourism Zone. Shennongjia is the only well preserved large piece of the green land in China.
Shennongjia National Nature Reserve was listed on UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The reserve includes 2,618 square kilometres of forest, and, due to a variety of natural conditions at different elevations, has high plant diversity.
Visiting Time: suggested 1-2 Days
Entrance Fee: RMB 260 ( a through ticket for three sites)
Shuttle Bus in Shennongjia: RMB 90
Location: West of Hubei Province
Opening Hours: 06:30 – 17:30 (summer); 07:00 – 17:30 (winter)
Best Time to Visit: Spring and Autumn
How to Get There
Go to Wudangshan by bus from Wuhan, Yichang and Shiyan
5. Three Gorges Dam Project Yichang 三峡大坝
The dam is located in the areas of Xilingxia gorge, one of the three gorges of the river, which will control a drainage area of 1 million km 2 , with an average annual runoff of 451 billion m3 . The open valley at the dam site, with hard and complete granite as the bedrock, has provided the favorable topographical and geological conditions for dam construction.
It is the world’s largest hydro-electric power station that traverses the Yangtze River aimed both at harnessing the power of the Yangtze to create hydroelectric power and controling the river to prevent flash flooding that historically caused a great deal of damage.
The huge project took 17 years starting from 1994 to 2009 with total investment of 180 billion Yuan RMB and rural-urban migration of one million people.
Entrance Fee: RMB 105
Location: Sandouping Town, Yichang, Hubei 湖北省宜昌市夷陵区三斗坪镇
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 19:30
How to Get There
Take buses from Yichang
6. Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Hubei Provincial Museum, located in the Wuchang District of Wuhan, is one of the best-known museums in China, with a large amount of State-level historic and cultural relics.Hubei Provincial Museum was established in 1953.
The museum is divided into three parts: the Chime Bells Exhibition Hall, the Chu (a state in the Spring and Autumn Period) Culture Exhibition Hall, and the Comprehensive Exhibition Building. Covering a space of 40,000 square meters, the museum has collected over 200,000 cultural relics from the Chu culture and elsewhere, including the Sword of Goujian, an ancient set of bronze bells (Bianzhong) and extensive artifacts from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng.
Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 08:30-12:00, 13:30-17:00
How to get there: take Buses No. 14, 552, 578, 605, 701, 709 or 712 to Hubei Provincial Museum; or take Tourist Buses No. 402 or 411 to get there
7. Xiling Gorge Scenic Area 西陵峡风景区
Located 4 km west of Yichang, Xiling Gorge Scenic Area is an AAAA National Tourist Zone with an area of 142 square km. It starts from Gezhou Dam from the east to the Three Gorge Dam to the west.
Xiling Gorge Scenic Area is rich with tourist resources featuring temples, ancient villages, clear water streams, mythical caves, elegant waterfalls and more. People come here to take part in various activities such as drifting, bungee, rock climbing, and zip-line.
Entrance Fee: RMB 50
Opening Hours: 08:00 -18:00
How to get there:
Take buses
8. Enshi Grand Canyon 恩施大峡谷
About 585 km west of Wuhan, Enshi Grand Canyon is within Banqiao Town and Tunbao Township in Enshi, Hubei. It is part of Qingjiang Canyon, 108 km long.
Enshi Grand Canyon fearures the rich karst topography on the banks of the gorge – the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum in the forms of caves, natural bridges and Tiankeng.
Entrance Fee: RMB 170 (summer); RMB 130 (winter)
Location: nshi Grand Canyon is within Banqiao Town and Tunbao Township in Enshi, Hubei 恩施市屯堡乡和板桥镇境内
Opening Hours: 08:30 – 15:00
How to Get There
Take flights for Enshi from Wuhan, Chongqing and Yichang
9. Chibi Ancient Battlefield 赤壁古战场
Located about 140 km south of Wuhan, the city of Chibi in the past was reputed as “The Southern Gate to Hubei”. It is where the ancient battlefield – Chibi Ancient Battlefield was located.
Chibi, literally Red Stone Cliff, is the remains of the ancient battlefield in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). It is mainly composed of three mountains – Chibi Mountain, Nanping Mountain, and Jinluan Mountain. Chibi used to be a battlefield at the time.
In AD 208, Cao Cao took his 500,000 troops fighting Liu Bei while also wanting to conquer the Kingdom of Wu in the east. He hoped to reunify the whole country.
Liu Bei retreated in defeat until to Xiakou by the Yangtze River. He sent Zhuge Liang to persuade Sun Quan, king of the Wu, to be united to fight against Cao Cao. Sun Quan agreed and the allied force defeated Cao Cao with a big fire which burnt the rocks red, hence, the name Chibi, meaning red cliff in Chinese.
Visiting Time: suggested 1-2 Days
Entrance Fee: RMB 260 ( a through ticket for three sites)
Shuttle Bus in Shennongjia: RMB 90
Location: Chibi Scenic Area, Chibi City
Opening Hours: all day
Best Time to Visit: Spring and Autumn
How to Get There
Take buses to Chibi from Wuhan
10. Mulan Mountain 武汉木兰山
Mulan Mountain is located in Wuhan Huang Pi District, north of 50 kilometers from the downtown Wuhan. It borders Mulan County in the east, Mulan River in the north, Sheshui River in the west and Dabie Mountain in the north.Mulan Mountain is 582.1 meters above sea level.
There are a lot of temples on the mountain. Mulan Mountain has been a famous religious shrine for one thousand years. The whole scenic area is divided into four parts: the Ancient Village Scenic Area, the Stone Scenic Area, the Flower Garden Scenic Area and the Mountain Village Scenic Area.
Entrance Fee: CNY 80 (Pilgrimage Area)
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: take Suburb Tourist Bus No. 1 at Wuhan Passenger Port; or take buses to Huangpo from downtown area, then transfer a minibus to Mulan Mountain
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Hubei Tour
Top 10 Attractions in Wuhan
Any questions, just drop a line.
Hi, I plan to visit Wudangshan for 2 days and will stay in a hotel outside the mountain scenic area. Can I still use the entrance ticket to get to the mountain on the second day?
Dear Laura,
As far as I know, you still can use the entrance ticket to get to the mountain on the second day even though you stay overnight in a hotel outside the mountain scenic area. But you need to be aware of the following tow things:
1) On the first day when you exit from the scenic area, you’d better notify the staff that you are going to visit again next day.
2) On the second day you should pay extra 50 yuan for the shuttle service inside the scenic area though you don’t have to pay the entrance fee.