Food and Restaurants

China's mountainous regions are known for eating strange things and the Hunanese are known for loving spicy food. Zhangjiajie comes through on both counts. The mountain's wide variety of mushrooms often work their way into the cuisine as do other ingredients known for their healing or health boosting properties. As Zhangjiajie is a heavily toured area, many standard Chinese favorites are available as well. Most of the food is quite good but beware of the ubiquitous tourist trap. Enquire about the price before you order and beware of eating any expensive dishes that may contain endangered species.

Tujia flavors predominate with dishes like Tujia hotpot; deep fried bee eggs and tuannianfan are typical dishes. Tujia snacks such as ge fen, rice wine, cold noodles, and baba are tasty diversions. Tuanniancai, which means something like "yearly reunion," is traditionally eaten by the Tujia during the New Year, a time when they would reflect on and pay tribute to their ancestors. Other local specialties include wild rabbit, snake soup and dog meat hotpot. For lovers of spicy food, try the wild mountain pepper beef. Breakfast generally consists of steamed meat buns noodles and wonton.