Backpacker

Stayed in the men’s dorm room, just for one night, and really wouldn’t recommend it. Firstly, the shower-toilet was very poorly-designed. You had to really stoop down each time to get in and out. Sure you would remember when you first go in but in the middle of the night when you need to pee and are half-awake, it’s hard to remember to do so. And you end up banging your head. I’m not even that tall - 1.78 m. Secondly, the place is run like a family business. It’s owned or managed by the grandson and the grandma cleans the place and helps out. Which sounds quaint, except that when I went out in the morning at 8 am to look at the old town and came back at 10 am to rest and use the toilet, I got a dirty look from the grandma. All because she had cleaned the room and toilet, but the check-out time was 1 pm. Basically, I got a dirty look for using the room and attached toilet before check-out. And the grandson was hardly there, so when I needed directions, the grumpy grandma was barely any help. When asked for recommendations on what to eat, her reply was “it’s all good here”. Overall, if you’re reading this, don’t bother with Fengjuang, unless you like Chinese tackiness. Neon lights spoiling the waterfront; hordes of Chinese tourists busy with cultural appropriation (dressing up in ethnic costumes and jostling for photo ops), dime a dozen bars with low-rent performers, circa 90s techno discos blasting cheesy mando-techno, seeing the same costume rental-cultural-appropriation-photo shops every few metres and just generally experiencing over-commercialism. Fenghuang has maybe a couple of worthy sights - the houses on stilts and the Hong bridge, but other than that, it’s yet another Chinese ancient town destroyed by over-commercialism, and isn’t worth the day trip. Spend your time at Zhangjiajie national park instead; that is seriously where it’s are

Great hostel for your visit to Fenghuang. Very well located, in an alley just next to the main street. The hostel facilities are simple and the hostel is clean. I spent quite a lot of time in the lounge sharing good times, and the people running the hostel were very helpful and charming

Really nice place to stay. The rooms are clean and spacious.

Great hostel right in the heart of the ancient town. Note that that means a taxi won’t be able to arrive close, but it’s a very short walk. Lovely staff!