1Highlights
Yuelu Mountain rises on the west bank of the Xiang, 300 metres of forest inside a provincial capital, and at its foot sits Yuelu Academy — founded in 976, one of the four great academies of imperial China, and still part of Hunan University today. The hill is free. The academy is not, and the two run on entirely separate booking systems, which is the single most common way visitors lose an afternoon here: a confirmed mountain slot gets you nowhere at the academy gate. Beyond that, three pieces of practical information in wide circulation are now wrong — the cable car price, the claim that it is frequently under maintenance, and the sightseeing car running gate to gate. One more is worse than wrong: the downhill slide has not operated since April 2025, and people are still being sent to queue for it.
- Yuelu Mountain
- Free, ID booking required
- Yuelu Academy
- ¥40 / ¥20 concession
- Two bookings
- Separate systems — one does not cover the other
- Mountain hours
- 06:00–22:00
- Cable car
- ¥50 up / ¥40 down / ¥80 return
- Sightseeing car
- ¥20 one way / ¥30 both ways
- Downhill slide
- Closed since April 2025
- Suggested time
- 3–4 hours
2Tickets
Two bookings, then a menu of ways to get up the hill. Yuelu Mountain is free but admits visitors by ID reservation through the official 'Yuelu Mountain–Orange Isle' WeChat account, releasing up to three days ahead with the day's allocation refreshing at midnight; the daily cap is large (reported around 80,000) and same-day slots often remain, but holidays are a different matter. Yuelu Academy is a separate ¥40 ticket with its own named reservation on the 'Yuelu Academy' account, also about three days ahead and up to ten people per order; academy tickets routinely sell out on public holidays. Getting up the hill: the cable car is ¥50 up, ¥40 down, ¥80 return, and the sightseeing car is ¥20 one way or ¥30 both ways. The slide is closed. Official live prices and notices govern.
| Yuelu Mountain entry | Free | ID booking on the 'Yuelu Mountain–Orange Isle' account, up to 3 days ahead, refreshed at midnight. |
|---|---|---|
| Yuelu Academy | ¥40 / ¥20 | A second, separate booking on the 'Yuelu Academy' account. Sells out on holidays. |
| Cable car, return | ¥80 | ¥50 up, ¥40 down if bought singly. Enclosed cabins; lower station at the East Gate. |
| Sightseeing car | ¥20 / ¥30 | One way / both ways. East and south lines run separately — not gate to gate. |
| Downhill slide | Not operating | Suspended for reconstruction since 26 April 2025, with no reopening announced. |
The mountain booking does not cover the academy：These are two different institutions sharing a hillside. The scenic area handles the mountain; Hunan University handles the academy. You need a free ID reservation for the first and a paid ¥40 reservation for the second, made on two different WeChat accounts, and holding one tells you nothing about the other. Book both the same evening, three days out. On public holidays the academy is the one that runs out — arriving with a mountain slot and no academy ticket means walking up to a gate you cannot pass, which is the most common way a Yuelu morning goes wrong.
The slide is closed, and the cable car costs more than you have read：Two separate corrections that often get merged. The downhill slide has been suspended for reconstruction since 26 April 2025, with no reopening date announced as of late 2026 — any itinerary offering 'cable car up, slide down' sends you to a closed attraction. The cable car, meanwhile, is running normally in enclosed cabins, but at ¥50 up, ¥40 down and ¥80 return; the ¥30/¥25/¥50 figures still in circulation are an older price list. If you have read that the cable car is 'frequently under maintenance', that is the slide's closure attached to the wrong facility.
The sightseeing car no longer crosses the hill in one ride：Since 29 April 2026 the sightseeing car has run as two lines with two stations — an east line and a south line — rather than one route across the hill. Boarding at the South Gate no longer takes you through to the East Gate: the two summit stations are about 600 metres apart and you walk between them, on a reasonably gentle path. The fare is unchanged at ¥20 one way and ¥30 both ways. Guides promising a through ride gate to gate are describing the old arrangement.
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3Getting There
Which gate you pick decides what kind of day you get, and the two are on different metro lines. The South Gate is the cultural side — academy, Aiwan Pavilion, the university; the East Gate is the transport side, with the cable car's lower station right there.
Hunan University station, Exit 2, about 600m walk. The academy side.
Yingwanzhen station, Exit 3, about 700m walk. The cable car side.
East Gate ↔ near the summit, enclosed cabins
Wuyi Square → Yuelu, about 20 minutes
South in, east out — and ride the cable car downhill：The academy, Aiwan Pavilion and the old temple are all clustered near the South Gate, so starting there means you see the cultural half while your legs are fresh, then climb steadily to the summit and take the cable car down to the East Gate. It also exploits a queueing quirk: almost everyone queues to ride up from the East Gate, so the downhill cabins usually move quickly. Reversing it — east in, cable car up, walk down — is the right call with children or older relatives, since it hands the climb to the machine.
4Route & Photos
A good day: South Gate → Yuelu Academy (about an hour) → Aiwan Pavilion → Gu Lushan Temple → Yunlu Palace → the summit viewpoint over the Xiang and Orange Isle → cable car down to the East Gate. About three and a half to four hours, and nothing is retraced.
Aiwan Pavilion before eight, or after five：It is one of the four famous pavilions of China and the most photographed object on the hill, which means that at midday on a weekend you will not photograph the pavilion — you will photograph a crowd standing in front of it. Early morning and late afternoon both empty out. The red maples peak roughly late November into early December, though the turn shifts with the year's temperatures. The name comes from a line in a Du Mu poem about stopping the carriage to admire maples at dusk; it is an allusion, not a record of the poet writing here.
Recommended Route
- 1
South Gate
Metro Line 4, Hunan University station. The cultural entrance, and where a first visit should start.
- 2
Yuelu Academy
Founded 976. The lecture hall, the imperial library and the temple complex — allow a full hour. Electronic guides and free timed talks at the entrance.
- 3
Aiwan Pavilion
Twenty minutes, and the busiest twenty minutes on the hill. Toilets and vending machines beside it.
- 4
Gu Lushan Temple
Hidden in trees on the slope and routinely skipped. Walk in and the noise outside drops away; best in late autumn when the ginkgos turn.
- 5
Yunlu Palace
A Taoist hall near the top — red walls, stone steps, old trees. A completely different register from Aiwan.
- 6
Summit viewpoint
On a clear day the Xiang, Orange Isle and the whole city. The payoff for the climb. Shop and toilets up here, at a mark-up.
- 7
Cable car down to the East Gate
¥40 one way, and the queue is far shorter than the uphill side. Metro Line 2 at the bottom.
Best Photo Spots
The academy's gate couplet and lecture-hall colonnade
The famous couplet at the entrance, then the garden window frames inside. Plain colours and traditional dress both photograph well here.
Summit, with the river as the subject
Stand where the view opens and keep the figure small — the Xiang and Orange Isle are what the frame is for. Best in the hour before sunset.
5Food & Stay
| Lushan South Road student stripHunan dishes, rice noodles, grilled flatbread | ¥15–60 pp | Right outside the South Gate, priced for students and genuinely good. The obvious place to eat after coming down. |
|---|---|---|
| Denggao RoadSnacks and late-night stalls | ¥20–50 pp | Beside the university district. Stinky tofu and sugar-oil cakes without the Taiping Street queues. |
6Tips & Pitfalls
- Make two bookings, not one. The free mountain slot and the ¥40 academy ticket are separate systems on separate WeChat accounts. The academy is the one that sells out.
- Do not plan for the slide. It has been shut for reconstruction since April 2025 with no reopening announced; itineraries offering 'cable car up, slide down' are describing something that is not there.
- Budget ¥80 for the cable car, not ¥50. The ¥30 up / ¥25 down / ¥50 return figures still circulating are an old price list.
- The sightseeing car will not carry you gate to gate. East and south lines run separately since April 2026, with about 600m of walking between the two summit stations.
- Go up by 09:30 or after 15:00. The two busiest windows are roughly 09:30–12:00 and 15:00–16:30; before eight or toward evening the hill is a different place.
- Wear shoes with grip. The hill is only 300m high but it is stone steps and continuous slope, and the stone is slick in rain.
7Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yuelu Mountain free?
The mountain is free, but it admits visitors by ID reservation through the official 'Yuelu Mountain–Orange Isle' WeChat account, up to three days ahead. Yuelu Academy inside the scenic area is a separate ¥40 ticket (¥20 concession) with its own separate booking — a mountain slot does not get you into the academy.
How much is the Yuelu Mountain cable car?
¥50 up, ¥40 down, ¥80 return, with concessions for children 1.2–1.4m and for over-65s on production of ID; under 1.2m is free. Cabins are enclosed, and the lower station is by the East Gate. The ¥30/¥25/¥50 prices you may have read are an older list.
Can I take the slide down the mountain?
No. The slide has been suspended for a full reconstruction since 26 April 2025 and no reopening date has been announced. Plan the cable car or the sightseeing car for the descent instead.
Which gate should I use?
South Gate for a first visit — Metro Line 4 to Hunan University station, Exit 2 — because the academy, Aiwan Pavilion and the temples are all on that side. East Gate, Metro Line 2 to Yingwanzhen, Exit 3, if you want to ride the cable car straight up and skip the climb.
How long does Yuelu need?
Three to four hours for the standard south-in, east-out route, and closer to four if you give the academy the hour it deserves and stop to photograph. A two-hour express version exists: South Gate, Aiwan Pavilion, sightseeing car up, summit, cable car down.
When do the maples turn red?
Usually late November into early December around Aiwan Pavilion, though the turn moves with the year's temperatures. Spring and autumn both beat Changsha's hot, humid summer for walking the hill.
Combine With
Other Changsha sights that genuinely pair well with this one
Orange Isle (Juzizhou)
Straight across the water and on the same booking platform — island in the morning, hill in the afternoon is the standard Changsha day.
Taiping Street & Pozi Street
Come down the South Gate and the student food street is right there; the serious eating is two metro stops further east.
Before You Go
The practical guides you will actually need here
All Changsha attractions
GoChinaTravel Editorial Team
Our team of China travel researchers combines on-the-ground contributor insights, official government sources, and traveler community feedback to create the most detailed English-language China guides available. Every guide is fact-checked against primary sources (NIA, 12367, official attraction websites, Railway 12306) before publication.