Zhangjiajie — Mountain Vine Tea,
and Coffee by Xibu Street

The drink that represents Zhangjiajie best — made from the shoots of a wild mountain vine, dried until a white flavonoid frost coats the leaves, then brewed to an amber-gold liquor: faintly bitter at first, sweet on the throat after. It has little caffeine and works hot or iced. Locals drink it to shake off tiredness and cool internal heat. It's the lightest on the wallet and the easiest to find — at tea houses, souvenir shops and Tujia restaurants citywide. Drinking it feels like sipping the mountains of Zhangjiajie.

It reads as strange but it's genuine Tujia heritage — tea leaves fried in oil until fragrant, simmered into a savoury broth with ginger and garlic, then poured over puffed rice, peanuts, walnuts, soybeans and toasted corn. The result is a half-meal drink that's fragrant, crisp and warming. The Tujia of Zhangjiajie and Xiangxi serve it to welcome guests and share it at festivals. The first sip can surprise you, but it grows on you fast. Try a set and you'll understand the mountain people's way of hospitality here.

Kudzu (葛根) is a mountain-vine root the Tujia use as both food and medicine. The root is made into a powder and a tea — plain with a faint sweetness, cooling on the throat. Locals drink it to cool internal heat and slake thirst after a hike, and consider it good for the body. You'll find it at souvenir shops and herb sellers around the park; some sell kudzu powder you can brew at home. It's another taste of the Zhangjiajie mountains that's easy to try and cheap.

Xibu Street (溪布街) in Wulingyuan is where Western coffee meets the mountains of Zhangjiajie — a riverside pedestrian street lined with waterside bars, cafés, food stalls and Tujia and Miao folk shops. At night the coloured lights come on and reflect off the stream, the bars run live music, but there are also quiet coffee spots playing soft tunes. It's the meeting point for hikers from all over who come to rest before or after a full day in the park. Honestly, today it is a full-on tourist district, busy and pricier than in town, but sitting by the water in the evening has a charm all its own.

Beyond the tourist-focused park district, Zhangjiajie city itself has more independent specialty cafés opening all the time. Small, serious-about-beans places pour a steady pour-over and latte, with a quieter mood and more locals than Wulingyuan. Some play with hometown ingredients — dropping vine tea into a signature drink. If you take your coffee seriously and want to escape the bustle of the park district to rest somewhere calm, these in-town cafés are a good call, and cheaper too.

If you want to drink the way locals do, at the lowest price, look for the small tea houses scattered across the city and around the Dayong Fucheng block. They serve vine tea, kudzu-root tea and local teas for a few yuan, with free hot-water refills. The mood isn't fancy but it's the real thing — locals sit and chat all day. This is Zhangjiajie's everyday drink at its cheapest and most genuine. Sit with a hot cup of vine tea after a day on the trails and you'll understand why people here are so attached to their mountain tea.

The drink that sums up Zhangjiajie in a single cup — tea from the shoots of a wild mountain vine, the leaves dusted with white flavonoid frost, brewed to an amber-gold liquor: a little bitter, then sweet on the throat. Low in caffeine, drunk all day, the lightest on the wallet and the easiest to find. It's the best place to start if you want to know the city's mountain flavour. Have a cup, then take a pack home as a souvenir.

A hot drink made from tea leaves fried in oil until fragrant, simmered into a broth with ginger and garlic, then poured over puffed rice, peanuts, walnuts, soybeans and toasted corn. The first sip can surprise you, but it grows on you fast. It's a half-meal drink the Tujia take as a welcome ritual — recognised as cultural heritage and something to try at least once.

Kudzu root, which the Tujia use as both food and medicine, made into a powder and a tea — plain with a faint sweetness, cooling on the throat. Locals drink it to cool internal heat and slake thirst after a hike. You'll find it at souvenir shops and herb sellers around the park, and some sell the powder to brew at home. Another taste of the Zhangjiajie mountains that's easy to try and cheap.

Some new-wave cafés in Zhangjiajie play with the hometown ingredient, dropping vine tea into a latte or an iced drink — the mountain's genuine local thing in a modern cup, lightly sweet-then-mellow, the kind of thing you won't find elsewhere. If you spot a café with this on the menu, give it a go. It's a way to drink the flavour of Zhangjiajie in a café version that's unique to this city.