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The Town That Hangs Above a Waterfall

FURONG ANCIENT TOWN, CHINA: The Waterfall Town in Hunan

Furong Ancient Town is the only town in China built directly on top of a waterfall, and that sounds like marketing right up until you are standing in it. Sixty metres of water crashing down through the middle of an old Tujia village, wooden stilt houses hanging off the cliff above it, and a two thousand year old stone street running through the whole thing. It’s small, it’s loud, and it completely won me over.

In this Furong Ancient Town travel guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to plan your trip properly, from entrance tickets and the high speed train to where to stay, where to eat, and the practical things you need to know before arriving in China.

Hunan’s Cliffside Waterfall Town

About Furong Ancient Town

Furong Ancient Town sits in the far west of Hunan Province, in Yongshun County, on the bank of the You River. It belongs to the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, the same region as Fenghuang, and the two towns are close enough that most people end up seeing both on the same trip.

What makes it different from every other ancient town in China is the setting. Furong is built into a hillside directly above a waterfall that drops 60 metres straight through the middle of it, roughly 40 metres wide at the top. You do not look at this waterfall from a viewpoint somewhere across a valley. You walk above it, beside it, and along a damp stone passage that runs right behind the falling water.

The architecture is classic Tujia. Wooden stilt houses called diaojiaolou stand on tall thin legs anchored into the cliff, stacked above each other. Behind them runs the Five Li Stone Street, an old slate-paved lane that has been used for around 2,000 years. Did you know? Back then, Furong was known as Wangcun and was an important center for local Tusi chieftains.

The name Furong is actually recent. A film called Hibiscus Town was shot here in 1986, it became a huge hit across China, and the town eventually took the film’s name.

The Tujia are one of China’s largest ethnic minority groups, and Furong sits right in the middle of their heartland in western Hunan. They are the people behind the stilt house architecture, the sour and spicy cooking, and handwoven brocade sold along the old streets.

Furong Ancient Town Overview

Where it is – Yongshun County, western Hunan Province, China

Region – Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Famous for – being the only ancient town in China built on top of a 60 metre waterfall

Nearest station – Furongzhen Railway Station, about 15 minutes from the old town

From Zh a ngjiajie – around 30 minutes by high speed train

Entrance fee – 108 CNY for the scenic area, unlike Fenghuang, which is free to walk around

Payments – Alipay or WeChat Pay everywhere, plus a little cash as backup

One thing worth knowing before you come: Furong is much smaller and more compact than Fenghuang.

What It Costs to Get In

Furong Entrance Ticket

This is the biggest practical difference between Furong and Fenghuang. Fenghuang is free to wander into, but Furong is a ticketed scenic area, so you pay to enter the old town itself. The standard ticket is 108 CNY and it covers pretty much everything you came for.

Standard ticket – 108 CNY (around €14 / USD 16), covering the waterfall, the viewing platforms, the passage behind the falls, Tusi Palace, the Five Li Stone Street and the Xizhou Bronze Pillar

Opening hours – roughly 07:30 until just before midnight, so the night lights are included rather than extra

Validity – the ticket normally allows re-entry across more than one day, which matters if you are staying overnight

Tujia show – the performance is a separate ticket, usually around 60 CNY (around €8 / USD 9) on top

Children and seniors – free entry for under 14s and over 65s, although everyone still pays about 10 CNY (around €1.30 / USD 1.50) for the compulsory scenic area insurance

Where to buy – the ticket office at the main gate, Trip.com in English, or the official WeChat account if you can manage some Chinese

One thing that catches people out: staying at a hotel inside the old town does not get you in for free. If you are staying overnight, message your guesthouse before you arrive, as they can usually also help organize your entrance ticket.

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Buy your entrance ticket online before you reach the gate. It's usually a few yuan cheaper than the window. Screenshot the QR code as well, because the signal down in the gorge is patchy.

What Not to Miss

Best Things to Do in Furong

Furong is small enough that you will see most of it simply by walking, and there is one very obvious main event. But there is more here than the waterfall, and a few things are easy to walk straight past if you only follow the crowd down to the viewing platform.

Attractions Near the Entrance (North Bank)

Baishou Hall – a traditional Tujia-style hall where you can admire the wooden architecture and, in the evening, watch traditional Tujia song and dance performances.

China Stele Bronze Pillar Park – walk through the small cultural park surrounding the pillar, with displays explaining its history and significance.

Tuwang Bridge (also known as Tusi Bridge) – the entire bridge is incredibly majestic, featuring soaring eaves and two massive stone dragons at the entrance.

Attractions on the South Bank (The Waterfall Hub)

Tusi Palace – also called Youyang Palace, this wooden complex sits on the cliff and was once used by Tusi chieftains. Today, you can walk through the old halls and courtyards, admire the traditional architecture.

Tingtao Road Ancient Street – a high cliffside path wrapping around the palace above the waterfall, this panoramic walkway is known for its stunning overview terraces and cliffside dining spots.

Furong Town Waterfall – there are platforms at several different heights and each one gives you a completely different photo.

Waterfall Cave – a stone passage runs along the cliff behind the falling water. Be prepared to get wet, especially when the waterfall is strong.

Attractions on the West Bank (The Final Loop Highlights)

Furong Town Dock – the old river port where trading boats once stopped, giving you a small glimpse into Furong’s busy trading past.

Xizhou Bronze Pillar – a thousand year old bronze pillar in its own pavilion, marking the end of an old ethnic conflict.

Five Li Stone Slab Street – the old slate paved lane running about 2.5 km through the town, lined with wooden shutter shops and stilt houses.

Stepping Stones – a row of stones across the water where you can hop from one side to the other.

Liu Xiaoqing’s rice tofu shop – the one from the film. The rice tofu is genuinely good and it's a big part of why the town is called Furong at all.

Chastity Archway – a historic archway that serves as one of the last major landmarks before leaving the ancient town.

Two Completely Different Towns

Furong During the Day vs at Night

During the day you get the landscape. You can actually see how the town is put together, the wooden houses stacked up the cliff, the green hills behind them and the waterfall as water rather than as a light show. Mornings are the quietest by a long way, because most day trippers roll in from Zhangjiajie around lunchtime and are gone again by early evening.

Then the lights come on and Furong turns into something else entirely. The waterfall gets lit from below, the stilt houses glow orange right up the cliff, and the whole gorge looks like a film set. It's dramatic in such a beautiful way and it's the reason I would push anyone to stay the night instead of treating this as a stop between two trains.

Stairs, Stones and Steep Bits

Getting Around Furong

You walk, and that really is the whole answer. Furong is a pedestrian old town and it's small, so you will never need transport once you are inside it. What you will need is decent shoes, because the town is built on a slope and almost everything involves stairs. Close to the waterfall the stone stays permanently wet, so grip matters.

Travel light if you can. Furong has lots of hills and stairs, and cars can only drop you near the entrance. For anything outside the old town, the train station, a day trip or an early departure, use DiDi, which is China’s version of Uber and pays through Alipay or WeChat Pay.

How to Get to Furong Ancient Town

Furong used to be a bit of a mission to reach. Since the high speed line through western Hunan opened, it has become one of the easiest stops in the whole region.

From Zhangjiajie to Furong – the route most travellers take, and it's short. High speed trains run from Zhangjiajie West Railway Station to Furongzhen Railway Station in around 30 minutes, with more than ten departures a day from roughly 07:30 to 21:30, and a second class seat costs about 40 CNY (around €5 / USD 6). That makes Furong a very easy addition to a Zhangjiajie itinerary, either as a half day or, much better, as an overnight stop.

From Furongzhen Railway Station to the old town – you are not quite there when you step off the train. The station sits about 6 km from the scenic area, about 15 minutes by road. Take a taxi or DiDi, or a local shuttle if one is waiting. You get dropped at the entrance gate rather than inside, because the old town is pedestrian only from that point on.

From Fenghuang to Furong – the connection a lot of people miss. High speed trains run from Fenghuang Gucheng Railway Station to Furongzhen in roughly 35 to 45 minutes, which means Zhangjiajie, Furong and Fenghuang all sit on the same line. Doing all three on one trip is genuinely easy.

From other Chinese cities – Changsha South is the usual gateway, about two hours away by high speed train, so Furong works well if you are flying into Hunan. The closest airports are Zhangjiajie and Tongren Fenghuang.

Booking your tickets – you can book through Trip.com in English, or through the official 12306 app if you want the lowest price and do not mind the setup. Chinese railway tickets usually go on sale 15 days in advance, and you will need your passport number to book and to collect or scan in at the gate. Bring the actual passport, not a photo of it.

Planning Your Stay

How Many Days in Furong

One night is enough for most people, and I would not plan much more than that. Furong is compact, and you can see the whole town properly in about four to six hours of walking.

You can technically visit as a day trip from Zhangjiajie, and plenty of people do, but you would be leaving right before the best part. Staying one night gets you four completely different versions of the same small town: the waterfall in daylight, sunset from the upper street, the whole gorge lit up after 19:30, and a genuinely quiet old street the next morning before the first tour groups arrive.

Furong’s famous waterfall is seasonal, with its water flow changing significantly throughout the year, though it never completely dries up. (Peak Season: May to August)

Waterfall View or Not

Where to Stay in Furong

There is really only one decision to make here. Stay inside the ancient town, or right on its edge. Furong is small, the whole appeal is being able to walk out at nine in the evening for the lights and at seven in the morning for the empty street, and staying further out means arranging transport for both.

Stay With a Waterfall View

This is where Furong has something almost nowhere else does. A good number of guesthouses are built into the cliff facing the falls, so you get the sound all night and the beautiful waterfall from your window. It costs a bit more but it's worth it. A few names that come up again and again:

Tianquan Inn (Furong Town Waterfall Branch) - book the Romantic Waterfall View Double Bed Room in the deep hall on Level 3.

12C • Waterfall View Prime Location

Furong Town Baihe Wharf Inn – This is the hotel we stayed in. Instead of a waterfall view, it overlooks the river and Tuwang Bridge, which I really loved.

Baihe Wharf Inn

Where to Eat and Drink

Best Cafes and Restaurants

Furong is small, so the food scene is small too, and most of it clusters along the old street and down in the gorge. The good news is that the settings are incredible. You can quite easily eat dinner looking straight at a floodlit waterfall.

The Famous Restaurant Overlooking Furong’s Waterfall

Zai Shui Yi Fang Music Viewing Restaurant (在水一方音乐观景餐厅) – This is the restaurant from my photo that everyone kept asking me about.

Other Restaurants

Liu Xiaoqing Rice Tofu Shop

Eateries in the Babutang (八部堂) Area – an entire strip of restaurants along the main viewing street, where second-floor terraces look straight down over the waterfall.

What to Eat in Furong (traditional)

Xiangxi food is sour, smoky and properly spicy! Hunan does not do mild, so if chilli is not your thing, say bu yao tai la, which means not too spicy.

Rice tofu (mi doufu) – soft rice jelly served in chilli, garlic and pickled vegetables. The signature dish of the town and about as cheap as food gets.

Tujia smoked bacon (larou) – dark red, smoked over a wood fire and usually stir fried with peppers.

Hot and sour rice noodles – the standard local breakfast.

Glutinous rice cakes (ciba) – pounded rice cakes, often grilled at street stalls in the evening.

Good to Know Before You Go

Furong Travel Tips

Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you go – Furong is effectively cashless. Alipay and WeChat Pay work everywhere, including street stalls, and both now accept foreign Visa and Mastercard. Set them up at home while you still have normal internet, because doing it on arrival is a headache.

Carry some cash anyway – 300 to 500 CNY covers the odd small stall or the moment an app decides not to cooperate.

Get an eSIM – an eSIM bought before you travel is the easiest option.

Sort your VPN before you arrive – Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and most western apps are blocked in mainland China. Download and pay for a VPN at home, because the app stores and provider websites are blocked once you are inside.

Google Maps is close to useless – it's inaccurate in China and the directions do not work properly. Use Amap instead.

Tip: Screenshot your accommodation address in Chinese characters before you arrive.

Download a translation app – English is very limited in Furong, and actually throughout most of China. Google Translate does not work without a VPN, so have Baidu Translate ready, with the Chinese pack downloaded for offline use. Camera translation on menus is a lifesaver.

Book trains early, with your passport – high speed tickets go on sale about 15 days out and the Zhangjiajie to Furong route sells out in peak season. You need your passport number to book and the physical passport at the gate.

Bring tissues and hand sanitizer – public toilets are common but rarely stocked, and squat toilets are the norm. Keep a small pack in your day bag at all times.

Buy the entrance ticket online – cheaper than the gate and it saves you queuing, which matters a lot on a public holiday.

Check the hours if you arrive late – the scenic area runs until close to midnight, so an evening arrival still works, but the ticket office is not always staffed at that hour.

Seasons and Crowds

Best Time to Visit Furong

The best time to visit Furong Ancient Town is spring and autumn, so roughly April to June and September into early November. You get comfortable temperatures, green hills, and a waterfall with enough water in it to be impressive without the town being packed.

Summer, from July to August, is hot, very humid and busy because it’s Chinese school holidays (yes, two full months!). It’s also the rainy season, so expect occasional heavy rain and a much more powerful waterfall.

Winter is the quiet season, cold and often misty, which is atmospheric in photos and genuinely chilly in real life. Bring layers, because the old buildings are not heated the way you might hope.

Now the part that matters far more in China than in Europe: public holidays. During these dates, millions of people travel across the country, so places like Furong can become extremely crowded. Trains and hotels also book up quickly, so it’s worth checking the holiday calendar before planning your trip.

Chinese Public Holidays to Avoid

Chinese New Year – always falls between January 21 and February 20, and it is the biggest travel period of the year.

Labour Day – officially begins on May 1 and typically spans about 5 days.

Dragon Boat Festival: falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which usually places it in late May or throughout June on the standard Gregorian calendar.

National Day and Golden Week – October 1 to 7, and one of the busiest week to avoid.

I explored Hunan in May, when the weather was warm and humid, the landscapes were beautifully green, and the crowds were still manageable compared to the peak summer months.