Zhangjiajie is situated in the northwest of Hunan province, in the juncture of the Yunan-Guizhou Plateau and the subsidence of Donating Lake, stretching over the area from between 109'40 to 110'20 E to between 28'52 to 29'48 N. It is bounded by Shimen county and Taoyuan county on the east, Yuanling county on the south, and Hefeng, Xuan'en of Hubei province on the north. The city stretches 167 km from east to west, and 96 km from north to south at best. Zhangjiajie city covers an area of 9,653 square kilometers, which accounts for 4.5 percent of Hunan province.

　　The landform is complex in Zhangjiajie, including mountains, lava, hills, plains, etc. Mountainous area takes up 76 percent of the total. The most characteristic feature is the quartzes sandstone landform, which is rare in the world. The city is higher on the northwest, and tilts along Li River to the south. Wuling mountains, divided from Yunwu Mountain in Guizhou province, are again divided into some branches across the city . There are mountains over mountains in the city and many abrupt peaks and low lands. The highest point is 1890.4 meters above the sea level, and the lowest 75 meters. Zhangjiajie is a city under the direct administration of provincial government, and has jurisdiction over Yongding, Wuling districts, and Cili, Sangzhi counties. Up to the end of 1999, it has a population of 1.55 million, of which 1.13 million are minorities which accounts for 73.1 percent of the total population.

Zhangjiajie is located in the middle latitude in the north hemisphere, and falls into the category of subtropical humid monsoon climate. It has enough sunshine, rich rainwater, long frost-free period, short cold period and quite different four seasons. The annual average sunshine hours, temperature, the amount of rainfall is 1440 hours, 16 degree C and 1400 mm respectively. The average frost-free period over the past years is about 216 to 269 days a year. The climate of this kind benefits the total development of agriculture, forestry, husbandry, subsidiary and fishery. However, influenced by the special landforms and groundfeature, the climate is complex and changeable in the city. Droughts, floods, storms, hails and other disasters occasionally happen.

Natural Ecological Environment
   Zhangjiajie is known for its unique tourist resources. Wulingyuan Scenic Area, made up of the First National Forest Park--Zhangjiajie and two nature reserves-Suoxi Gully and Emperor Mountain, possesses 369 square kilometers. The main land feature is quartzes sandstone that is rare in the world. It is a perfect combination of the beauty of Guilin, the queerness of Huang Mountain, the peril of Hua Mountain and the magnificence of Tai Mountain. Pavilions, bridges, caves, lakes and waterfalls are everywhere. Consequently, it enjoys the name of "an enlarged potted landscape", "a miniature fairyland".

Zhangjiajie is a treasure house for natural resources. There are woody plants of 106 families, 320 genera and 850 species, backboned animals of 146 species. Among them 56 species of plants and 40 species of animals are under national protection. Precious plants include gingko, Chinese dovetrees, Chinese yew, cherry and so on. Valuable medicinal herbs include glossy ganoderma, the tuber of elevated gastrodia, the tuber of multiflower knotweed, the bark of eucommia and so on; while rare animals, the giant salamander, unicorn, Sumen antelope, south China tiger, leopard, macaque, zibet and so on.
　　Zhangjiajie enjoys its rich forest resources. It has 1012 acres for forest, which covers 64.61 percent of the entire city and ranks NO.1 in Hunan province. The project of "Beautifying, Purifying and Illuminating" is being carried out. There are 1.55 square meters green land per person. Undoubtedly, it is an ideal ecological tourist zone and an international holiday village.

Zhangjiajie is a rising tourist city famous for its unique natural scenery and abundant tourism resources. The landform is complex in Zhangjiajie, including mountains, lava, hills, plains, etc. Mountainous area takes up 76 percent of the total. The most characteristic feature is the quartzes sandstone landform, which is rare in the world.      Zhangjiajie tours

Economy
       Before reform and opening up, the main economy in Zhangjiajie is traditional agriculture and the only industry is limited to the self-sufficient "five small industries". After the year 1978 when the 11th Commission of the Communist Party of China was held, opening-up policy promotes the development of tourism, which in turn boosts the regional economy and people's living standard. Over a decade since the foundation of the city, the municipal government has attached great importance to the tourism as a pillar industry to promote the development of the economy and have made great achievements. Zhangjiajie is becoming world-famous step by step.

Transportation in Zhangjiajie is very convenient. The highways extend in all directions, and it is worthwhile to mention that a superhighway connects Changsha and Zhangjiajie. New roads connect the city center to a number of scenic areas, making travel by car very convenient. Train routes extend to Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhanjiang, Changsha and Wuxi. The newly expanded Zhangjiajie Lotus Airport has accommodated 20 different airlines with routes to such destinations as Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Changsha, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand.