72 Strange Buildings, or 72 Qilou is the world’s highest stilted building certified by Guinness. It is amazing that this 109.9-meter-high (120.2 yd) building is constructed mainly from bricks and wood, thus representing the pinnacle of Tujia Ethnical Architecture. At a distance, it is like a suspending Tujia village. Its symbolic cave, 38 meters high (125ft), 28 meters wide (31 yards), and 21 meters deep (23 yards), is in the middle of the whole building and faces the huge Tianmen Cave on Tianmen Mountain miles away. Also, as the cultural landmark of Zhangjiajie, 72 Strange Buildings is the preferred place for colorful nightlife in Zhangjiajie and very popular on social media.

In local Tujia culture, 72 represents “a lot” and “numerous”, so does the “72” of the 72 Strange Buildings. Although it does not really consist of 72 buildings, its magnificent scale would amaze you.

“72 Strange Buildings” is also the synonym for local stilt house – the traditional wooden building used for discussing important events and defense by Tujia ethnic minority groups in Xiangxi, Hunan. For its magnificent structure, the 72 Wonder Tower has the nickname – Tujia’s Potala Palace.

 

If you are too close to the Buildings, it’s hard to take the panoramic picture of it and you can walk for minutes to below 2 sites to take perfect photos:

1. Across the street: Go across the street by walking along the underground passage, which is next to the Buildings.

2. The bridge behind Huangjiajie Bus Stop.

At night, about 30 free performances are held all over the scenic area. During the shows, the performers may have interactions with the audience. Some recommended performances include Qi Lou Lighting, Love of Life (Yi Sheng Suo Ai), Bonfire Party at Bonfire Square, Mysterious Xiangxi at the Ancient Teahouse, and Shi Li Yang Chang at the Republic of China Film Street.

The detailed performance time may be different in summer time and winter time, but, basically, they can be seen after 18:00.

Delicious Food Street

The light show is another core creativeness of the scenic area. You would see 72 kinds of exquisite themed light shows shining from the buildings. You can watch the show roughly from 19:00 to the close time of the scenic area.

In the scenic area, there are hundreds of snack vendors selling specialties both from Zhangjiajie and other places like Xiangxi, Xi’an, Chongqing, and Xinjiang. Their prices range from CNY 10 to CNY 25 per serve.

“Zhuangyuan”, in Chinese, means the scholar ranking first in imperial exams. The Residence was built in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) and has a history over 200 years. Its area is very big and from the entrance to the end, you walk past 3 yards. In addition, it is amazing that the Residence was constructed without using even 1 single nail. Inside the building, you can see delicate sculptures made of wood, stone, and bricks.

It is also a traditional Chinese residence lived by a high-rank official in the past. With a 9.9-meter-high (32.5 ft) hall, the building shows its charm by the well-carved pillars and beams, hollowed wooden windows with various patterns, and wooden sculptures.

In the scenic area’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Streets, there are shops that display traditional Chinese crafts, such as oil-dyeing techniques and making silverware. There is an ICH tea house where you can taste traditional Chinese tea at a low cost, like CNY 18 – 28 per serve.

72 Strange Buildings also has some museums including Chenwanggong Museum, which displays Tujia traditional crafts, folk culture, and historical relics and Unique Stone Museum where the stones of various shapes are exhibited.

1. Day Ticket for 10:00 – 16:30: CNY20

2. Night Ticket for 16:30 – 22:00:

Adults: CNY 88;

Minors aged 14 – 18, including 14: CNY 60

Seniors aged over 70 and minors aged under 14: Free

 

72 Strange Buildings is about 5 km (3 mi) far from the city center Zhangjiajie. You can take city buses No.7/16/17, get off at Zhangjiajie Academy Bus Stop, and then walk for 1 minute to get there.