When I first started thinking about what to see and where to visit while in China, my number one must-see destination was definitely Huangshan. Huangshan is famous from Chinese art and is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. We would have had a chance to visit Huangshan already during the May Day holiday, but opted to skip the trip kindly arranged by some American teachers from our school, and decided to try our luck later in May during some weekdays when the amount of tourists would be smaller.
We decided upon three days in May and headed out on Sunday the 12th. The bus ride from Shanghai to Tangkou near Huangshan takes 6-7 hours and a roundtrip costs around 300 yuan. We stayed the first night in Tangkou at
the Huangshan Tangkou International Youth Hostel (35 yuan per person in an 8-person dorm) - the staff was very helpful and they gave us instructions and estimates on how long a trek we should expect on each day and what kind of route plan would suit us best. They also had maps for sale. Since we were planning on staying on the mountains for the night in a tent, we asked them to help us in finding out the cost and whether the tent rent would include sleeping bags - the prices people have been paying for tents wary from 100 to 300 yuan, so we wanted to be sure. The staff called one of the hotels and arranged for us to secure a tent accommodation for a very reasonable 60 yuan per person (120 yuan per tent)!
The hostel served breakfast at 7 AM, so the wake-up the next day was pretty early. The Chinese breakfast (10 yuan) was nutritious, but interesting - jian bing (a crepe), a fried egg, spicy cabbage, salted peanuts and rice porridge. The food on the mountain costs a lot, so we packed a lot of stuff to keep going for two days - for evening we all got some instant noodles, and for snacks there was an assortment of fruits, nuts, protein bars, chocolate, tuna, rye bread and rye crackers. We all had around 2 liters of water with us, too, but you need to be prepared to buy a lot more fluids on top.
We began our ascent from the East Gate and headed first towards the Beginning-to-believe Peak (1680 m). On the first day, our route took us next through White Goose Ridge, Black Tiger Pine (1640 m), Stone Monkey Watching The Sea, Lion Peak, Cloud Dispelling Pavilion (1500 m), The First Ring and The Second Ring
(1380-1550 m). We finished our day off watching the sunset around 6:30 PM on the Purple Cloud Peak
(1700 m)- us and dozens of others! I don't think a dinner of plain old instant noodles has ever tasted so good or the simple quilt as tent bedding as comfortable as it did that night after an estimated 20,5K on the mountains and its ubiquitous steps.
The next day we woke up at 3:40 to head out to watch the sunrise beyond a 3K trek on the Bright Peak (1860 m). When I popped my head through the tent door I could see the stars for the first time in almost three months - the sky was simply amazing! And don't get me started on the fresh air...So, off we went leaving the hotel tent behind us at 4 AM. There were some lanterns along the way, but it was still so dark that luckily my classmates had brought some flashlights. You do not want to stumble around in the dark in these mountains - you could easily end up over the edge.
From the Bright Peak we trekked on the Turtle Peak and Turtle Cave, One Hundred Ladders,
the highest point called the Lotus Peak (1864 m), and then on to the Half-Way Temple (1310 m), the Standing Horse Bridge, and finally the Mercy Light Pavilion (South Gate). The second day was markedly easier with 6 hours and roughly 16,5K (estimate based on the maps).
Huangshan was amazing and absolutely beautiful. The routes are demanding, but if you pace yourself, you get to enjoy the scenery while trying to steady your racing heart and wobbly legs. And if the weather favors you as it did us (+30C), bring a lot of water-resistant sunblock!
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| Going higher... |
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| More views from the beginning of our ascent. |
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| The mountains come in all kinds of shapes and vegetation. |
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| Stone steps in the beginning. At this section, there were a lot of men carrying stuff up the traditional way: a staff across their shoulders with heavy loads on both ends. |
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| Huangshan is famous for its pines. |
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| There were a lot of beautiful pink flowers that we were unable to identify. You could also see some purple flowers on some ridges on occasion. |
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| Taking a snack break. Most seating was placed on edges, so you had to be careful not to throw your things down a cliff... |
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| Couples attach locks of love on safety railings and bridges. |
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| A sweaty tourist takes a breather. |
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| Well. When we planned on sleeping in a tent, we had this vision of maybe sleeping under some trees on a hill with sounds of nature...but the tents you rent are set up on the hotel terrace - with the main entrance of the hotel to the left and the dining hall right across. So, maybe not as outdoorsy as we had in mind, but cheap, comfortable and hey, a tent is a tent! |
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| Hey - it's that sweaty tourist again! |
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| Them steps... |
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| ...they are steep... |
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| ...and when you think they cannot steepeth no more, they steepeth! |
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| Some people thought they were going to ride their bikes. They did not look too happy when we saw them later, carrying their poor bikes up yet another flight of steps...I seriously hope they found some trails! |
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| There are some caves and canyons that leave you feeling engulfed by the mountains. |
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| Sunset at Purple Cloud Peak. |
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| Sunset. |
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| Waiting for the sunrise at the Bright Peak. Us and yet about a million others. While we were waiting for the sun to rise, some monkeys appeared on a peak in the middle! I totally missed them, being too short to see over head tops, but I was told the monkeys have no tails and they have grey butts. |
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| ...and the sun did rise! |
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| Oh, what do you know! Steps! |
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| The Lotus Peak - conquered! |
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| Classmates and my China roommate taking in the views. |
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| The steps take you through all kinds of scenery (steps can be seen in the middle). |
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| Well, hello there. Again. |
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| I can see Batman! |
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| The Celestial Peak was closed (it will reopen in 2014). I was kind of glad - check out the steps going up... |
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| Did not see no monkeys. Boo. :( |
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| Near the end of our descent. We were all the way up there! Hurrah! |
