The national park's official name is the Wǔlíngyuán Scenic & Historic Interest Area, but almost everyone refers to it simply as Zhāngjiājiè, the name of one section of the park.
The park, covering a vast 264 sq km, is divided into three main areas: the Zhāngjiājiè, Tiānzǐ Shān and Suǒxī Valley scenic areas.
There are access points on all sides of the park, but most enter from the south, passing through Zhāngjiājiè village to the Zhāngjiājiè National Park entrance (张家界公园门票站; Zhāngjiājiè Gōngyuán ménpiàozhàn), more commonly called Forest Park (森林公园; Sēnlín Gōngyuán). Otherwise, many enter from the east through the less spectacular Wǔlíngyuán entrance (武陵源门票站; Wǔlíngyuán ménpiàozhàn).
