As mentioned above, Fenghuang is extremely touristy (while, oddly enough, being virtually unknown to most foreign visitors). I was well aware of this before my visit, having read lots of people’s complaints about how crowded and commercialized everything was. Yet I still wanted to visit anyway to see the views of the river and stilt houses for myself.
I arrived to find things more or less how I expected. Fenghuang is crowded and touristy, sure, but the scenery is also amazing. I think that most of the complaints come from people who were expecting a true “hidden gem.”
Even as touristy as Fenghuang is, I still didn’t feel that the commercialism was overdone to the point of ruining the town, in contrast to somewhere like Hoi An, Vietnam.
If you’re looking for similar vibes but with less people, consider visiting Furong Ancient Town instead. You can get there as a day trip from Zhangjiajie City.
But if you do decide to visit Fenghuang, how long should you stay there? I spent 4 or 5 days there in total, which was more than enough to see everything. In fact, you could see all the main highlights within a single full day. There are some interesting day trips you can make from the town, however, such as the Southern Great Wall and the Miao Village of Dehang. Assuming you have good luck with weather, something like 3.5 days to tour the town and make a couple of day trips would be perfect.