The Hanging Restaurant Fangweng in Yichang, China

 Fangweng Restaurant is located in China, in Hubei Province, about 12km north of the city of Yichang, near Sanyou Cave, or “The Cave of the Three Travelers”. The restaurant is in the Happy Valley of the Xiling Gorge, an especially scenic stretch of cliffs, caves and park land located around the area where the Chang Jiang River flows into the Yangtze. The entrance to the Fangweng Restaurant is an uninspiring grey brick building, but at the far end of a narrow concrete bridge, the restaurant caves into the cliff, the floor hanging several hundred feet above the ground. From this end, customers can view the flowing water of Yangtze River. For the daredevils, a bungee jumping platform is nearby.
Walking into the restaurant and down the steps, one will come to a natural “cave lobby”. Rightward, a 30-meter-long plank road has been built along the cliffside. It leads to another natural cave, which has been transformed into a dining hall. Warm lighting from the ceiling lends a golden yellow glow throughout. Dimly lit and Chinese-style furnishings blend in with its surroundings. Part of the dining hall hangs out of the cave, where some dining tables are placed. This is a place sitting high in the air, where the flowing waters can be watched from above.
The restaurant gets its name from Lu You, a great poet from Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). It is said that he had brewed tea in a cave on the mountainside.

The establishment’s real name is the Fangweng Restaurant. It’s in China, in Hubei Province, about a 12km, 30 minute drive north of the city of Yichang.
The Sanyou Cave, or “The Cave of the Three Travelers,” is indeed one of the nearby attractions. But more generally, the restaurant is in the Happy Valley of the Xiling Gorge, an especially scenic stretch of cliffs, caves and park land located around area where the Chang Jiang River flows into the Yangtze.
The entrance to the Fangweng Restaurant is an uninspiring grey brick building at the far end of a concrete bridge.
It isn’t until you pass through this building that you appreciate what a precarious walk you have to your table. On your left, there’s the limestone cliff face shooting virtually straight up. On your right, there’s a railing that somehow doesn’t seem to the task of keeping a human from plunging down into the river far below.
As for the restaurant itself, the menu is an amalgamation of local specialties and Hubei cuisine standards. Many entrees feature freshwater fish. Others have duck, pork and even turtle, usually smothered in vegetables and/or a sauce heavily spiced by chili powder and hot peppers.
 A few select tables are located on a deck that extends out from the rock face. But most of the seats are inside a natural cave. There are no views from here; the dinning experience on offer is a surreal combination of being in a generic Chinese restaurant and eating in the Bat Cave.


The Fangweng Restaurant is open for all day long.
At the time of writing, the hours were from 9am to 9:30pm, but these things can change sudenly so if you or some one you know speaks Chinese we’d suggest calling to make sure: 0717-8862179.
We suggest visiting for an early lunch when the restaurant isn’t crowded and the light lends itself to good views. The Xiling Gorge is popular with tourists and there are lots of local activities, including hiking, bungee jumping and boat trip — not to mention the tour of the Sanyou Cave.
You can get to the restaurant by public transportation from Yichang by taking bus #10 from the Yuanjiang Avenue bus station. Print out a photo of the restaurant’s exterior above (it’s name is written in the yellow characters on the right) to show to locals if you can’t find your own way there.