Zhangjiajie is located in the northwest of Hunan province and has four administrative area under its jurisdiction: Yondding Distrist,Wulingyuan District,Cili County and Sangzhi County. It embraces an area of 9563 square kilometers with a population of 1.57 million, 72% of which are minority people-Tujia, Miao and Bai nationalities primarily, Zhangjiajie belongs to the mid-Asian sub-tropical monsoon continental climate, and has an average annual temperature of 16 degree centigrade, which makes it amenable to tourists all the year round."

Zhangjiajie gained its name from the famous figure Zhang Liang who dwelled there in seclusion,.Zhangjiajie used to be part of the kingdom of Chu in the Dynasties of Shang, Western Zhou and Warring States period; and belonged to Wuling prefecture in the Tang and Song Dynasties; to Lizhou prefecture in the Dynasties of Yuan, Ming and Qing."

"Regarding tourism as the foundation, Zhangjiajie prefecture possesses an abundance of tourism resources. Characterized by a vast area of sandstone peaks, the central scenic zone-Wulingyuan covers 264 square kilometers. This region includes three major attractions:
(1) Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, with tour routes such as Yellow Stone Stronghold (Huangshi Village), Golden Whip Stream, Yuanjiajie, and Yaozi Village;
(2) Suoxi Valley Reserve, with tour routes such as Baofeng Lake and Yellow Dragon Cave and dragon King Cave;
(3) Tianzishan (Emperor Mountain) Reserve, which includes the Emperor Mountain tour route. Within the scenic region, "three thousand unique peaks and eight hundred elegant waters" provide us with a magnificent and fascinating view. Zhangjiajie embodies the features of "mystery, uniqueness, tranquility, naturalness, and elegance" and combines all the outstanding features of other famous mountains and waterways, gaining a reputation as "an enlarged potted landscape and miniature fairyland." Moreover, over 760 species of fauna and more than 3000 of flora inhabit this miraculous region, "a paradise for plants". Adjacent to the central scenic area, three great attractions are available; Maoyan River, which has the first water rafting route for inflatable boats in China;Tianmen Mountain(heavenly gate), "the soul of Zhangjiajie".Even more than its world-class natural scenery, the region also possesses splendid cultural resources for tourism, these two scenic attractions complimenting each other's beauty. In Zhangjiajie,the bold and unrestrained Maogusi Dance, the graceful and delicate Hand-wavering Dance, and the touching and humorous Crying Wedding are able to provide the utmost in excitement. Here too, Xiuhua Mountain Museum is called the first Household Museum of Tujia Folk Customs in China, Puguang Temple has gained a reputation as "the famous temple in south of the Yangtze River", and Tujia Folk custom Park is listed in the well-known Guinness Book of World Records. " "These special dates are prominent in the recent history of Zhangjiajie. In September of 1982, the State Council authorized this region as the first National Forest Park; in August of 1988, Wulingyuan Scenic Zone is formally designated as a Key Scenic Zone in China; in December of 1992, Wulingyuan was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO; and in March of 1995. Wulingyuan consists of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxi Valley and Tianzishan.

At present, Zhangjajie boasts over 60 travel services, with 10 of them providing international travel service. Also, there are 6 four-star hotels-Zhangjiajie International Hotel and Dragon International Hotel, and more than 10 three-star accommodations. Visitors to Zhangjiajie are also provided with 400 other hotels of varying standards, bringing the total number of available tourist beds to 40,000. There are now direct trains which conveniently connect Zhangjiajie with many other large and medium-size cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhenzhou, Wuxi, and Changsha . Zhangjiajie's Lotus Airport, accommodating flights to more than 20 Chinese cities with large and medium-size populations. These include: Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xi'an, Nanjing, Chongqing, Chendu, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Dalian, Shenyang, and Changsha. Direct flights also connect Zhangjiajie with Hong Kong and Macao,Korea. There is a well-paved, high quality expressway linking Zhangjiajie City with the core of the scenic zone. In addition, an expressway between Changsha and Zhangjiajie has been completed.