Zhangjiajie is situated in the northwest of Hunan province, in the juncture of the Yunan-Guizhou Plateau and the subsidence of Dongting Lake. The city covers an area of 9,653 square kilometers, which accounts for 4.5 percent of Hunan province.

    The landform is complex in Zhangjiajie, including mountains, lava, hills, plains, etc. Mountainous area takes up 76 percent of the total. The most characteristic feature is the quartzes sandstone landform, which is rare in the world. The world-famous natural heritage site 'Wulingyuan Scenic Area' is located on the base of these great mountains. Areas worth visiting include Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (known as China's first national forest park), Suoxiyu Natural Resource Reserve, and Tianzi Mountain Natural Resource Reserve

    The city is higher on the northwest, and tilts along Li River to the south. Wuling mountains, divided from Yunwu Mountain in Guizhou province, are again divided into some branches across the city. There are mountains over mountains in the city and many abrupt peaks and low lands. The highest point is 1890.4 meters above the sea level. Up to the end of 1999, it has a population of 1.55 million, of which 1.13 million are minorities which accounts for 73.1 percent of the total population. There are three main ethnic minority groups Tujia, Bai, Miao and other 29 minority groups living harmoniously with the Han Nationality. Many different folk cultures converge here. In 2006, Folk Songs of Sangzhi County, Hands-waving Dance of Tujia Ethnic Group, Maogusi Dance, and The Crafts of Tujia Brocade were all listed in the Protection Catalog of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage.