At the East Gate, you can take the cableway directly up the mountain, about 25 minutes, and then walk for 30 minutes by sightseeing bus to Aiwan Pavilion and go to Yuelu Mountain Academy. But I suggest you do this:
Go to Hunan University first, which is the south gate of Yuelu Mountain. There is a cableway service center outside the south gate (archway) of Yuelu Mountain. You can buy sightseeing bus+cableway package (it takes only 40 minutes to get up and down the mountain at the earliest). This solved the traffic problem on Yuelu Mountain. At the same time, you can consult the tour route of Yuelu Mountain here. Do you want to take a cableway? I suggest you sit on it. Look at the panoramic view of Xingcheng Changsha and feel the scenery of Shanshui Zhoucheng. It is also the longest city sightseeing cableway in China, but it takes a little more than 20 minutes.
After buying the tickets, Yuelu Academy and Aiwan Pavilion pass 100 meters from the entrance to the right. It is estimated that the time for sightseeing and taking photos will be 1-2 hours, and then it will take more than 10 minutes to go up the mountain by car without stopping. Take the cableway down the mountain for 25 minutes to the Shandong Gate of Yuelu Mountain. The traffic here is very developed. Walk to Rongwan Town Subway Station and take the subway to Orange Island. After the play, you can travel.
This is more convenient. If you come by car, it is convenient to park at Huda and come to the East Gate. It is also convenient for you to go back to the lake to get the car after playing orange island, otherwise it will be difficult to stop anywhere.