Train website including Transfer points?
 

Is there a website which can show me the best route with transfer if there is no direct train between two stations?
I'm interesting in the most convenient connection between Nanjing and Zhangjiajie. Personally I would say Nanjing to Changsha by G train, then Changsha to Changde by K train and then a bus to Zhangjiajie.

The China Rail site at www.12306.cn does this, but it's in Chinese. In any event, it's rather like connections produced by airline sites: sometimes OK, but sometimes not the best. All in, I think you're better off trying to construct your own itinerary.

No such thing. Just ask an agent for their recommendation.

I put a lot more stock in chornedsnorkack for advice of this nature than any "agent", but would personally end up piecing the train segments together on 12306 (very simple, if you can read Chinese) and calling the bus company (identify details via Baidu) in order to pull off the final leg.

From Changsha you have 2 overnight trains going direct to Zhangjiajie (02:18 and 03:36/ K536; T8316)
If you leave Nanjing South 15:28 you arrive at Changsha South 21:36 (G 1483).

Or you take the 1st train (G579) from Nanjing at 08:02 in the morning, be in Changsha at 12:52 and take the long distance bus to Zhangjiajie.

Another way is a flight from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie.

Possibly chornedsnorkack is an agent as well. Agent sell thousands of tickets and know all the trick. A lot quicker than playing around 12306 even if you read Chinese.
12306 used to have this function but not sure that it is there anymore as I can't find it.

Connections are there. 出行向导 >> 中转查询.

This is what I used to do but it doesn't work now. Actually, it only works if you already know where to transfer. Kind of defeats the purpose.

There's a button there for automatic connection search, but as you said the service isn't working at the moment. I'm going to guess they've disabled some CPU-intensive features during the CNY rush.

Sitting around 5 hours in the night isn't so comfortable. Is there really a bus from Changsha to Zhangjiajie? I was a couple of years ago in Zhangjiajie and traveled to Nanchang from there. It was necessary to get to Changde by bus, then by train to Changsha. But is there is a bus to Changsha we will take that, thank you!

Here's someone asking the same question in April, 2014, on a Chinese message board. Two people answered the same: buses every hour 7am to 7pm from 长沙汽车南站 Changsha South Bus Station. One person said West Bus Station also has departures.

http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/157...638125980.html (in Chinese)

Maybe winter departures are less frequent.

Thank you!