I plan to go out for a short trip during the Dragon Boat Festival. Due to limited time, I chose a one-day trip to Fengjie, which is relatively close to home.
Early in the morning, I departed from Chongqing and took the high-speed train, arriving in Fengjie at around 9:30 AM. Then, I went straight to pick up the rental car. The Shenzhou Car Rental outlet in Fengjie is not at the high-speed rail station, so I took a taxi to get there, which was about a 10-minute ride.
After picking up the car, I navigated to Kuizhou Ancient City. The plan was to see the city gate, which was built in the Ming Dynasty, and have breakfast to refuel.
After visiting Kuizhou Ancient City, I continued the journey by car and headed to Baidi City. On the way, there is a scenic viewpoint where you can capture the landscape featured on the 10 RMB banknote.
Due to limited time and a preference for natural landscapes, we decided not to enter Baidi City (the tickets cost 100 RMB each, totaling 200 RMB for two people, which is enough to rent a car for a day). Instead, we headed straight to the must-visit attraction in Fengjie - the Peak of the Three Gorges. There are several viewpoints along the way, which you can visit selectively. The entrance fee for the Peak of the Three Gorges is 40 RMB, which is worth it.
After visiting the Peak of the Three Gorges, we had a simple meal outside the attraction and then continued driving to the next relatively lesser-known attraction - the Dry Kuimen (though maps may indicate that this attraction is closed, navigating to Dry Kuimen still allows you to witness the magnificent scenery, and it’s free!).
By this time, it was almost 6 PM. Following the principle of "since we're here," we continued driving to another lesser-known attraction - the Fengjie Tiankeng and Difeng (Heavenly Pit and Earthly Fissure).
This attraction is also permanently closed. After searching for a long time and almost giving up, a local guided us along an abandoned path, and we eventually arrived next to the Tiankeng, where we could catch a glimpse of the once-stunning scenery.
Then, we returned to Fengjie County, and by this time, it was almost 8:30 PM. Luckily, we made it in time for the 8:55 PM high-speed train back to Chongqing.
That concludes our one-day trip to Fengjie. The schedule was quite tight, and the most surprising part of the trip was Dry Kuimen. If you have more time, you can actually spend half a day exploring it leisurely.
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