Originally Posted by
littlevoices
Hi jiejie - thanks for all the details, maybe I do need to remove Wuhan (I was looking at the Yichang-Zhangjiajie train after your previous post). The original reason for that stop was a few high speed trains (in preference to buses/K trains) and that it has a Marriott branded hotel so I can get a couple of good nights rest/relaxation/pampering after the cruise for relatively little money due to my corporate discount, which tends to make Marriotts the cheapest hotels on my trips (though I realise the cruise won't be that taxing!). Am going to ponder your suggestions for a few days before I book anything more, but thanks a lot for taking the time with such a detailed post.
Method of getting from Yichang to Zhangjiajie might depend on when your cruise ship is scheduled to dock at Yichang. If early enough to be able to catch the afternoon 13:25 train, that's the easiest. The night train scheduling is awful and allows for no real rest. Another option would be that afternoon, get from Yichang to Jingzhou (very historic walled city) by expressway and staying there the night, then continuing on the next morning by road to ZJJ (will take a few hours). Afternoon of that travel day still available for useful sightseeing at ZJJ/Tianmen mountain, with Wulingyuan afterwards. This picks up 2 days.