Lushan Guomai Hotel

Cut! Cut! Cut!

by shimingchunjianzhong

Remeber to cut the price anytime if you are a self-aided traveler and not rich enough to be cheated again and again.Of course China is not a country full of cheating and tricks,I can understand well that people need your money to support their family. But the problem is efficient managing in this field still lacks so far. Brocade Valley
Three-step Waterfall
the White Deer Cave Acadmy

My Lushan Travel Experiences

by shimingchunjianzhong

"My route"

I visited Lushan in early July in 2002for two days.This tour was my first time of self-aided travel.
As you can see in the map ( the pixels should be high but I don't know why it is so small and unclear after loading on.) ,there are several kinds of marks on it: the deep blue dot means the place we started travelling after getting down the cursed upward bus , the red line means our on-foot section, the green line shows the section by car ,the deep blue square is approximately the South Gate of Lushan,every orange dot is a scenic spot we visited,and the violet dot is where we were recommodated in the night . Other marks will be explained later.

We arrived at Lushan railway station in the morning. CAUTION : Lushan railway station is even farther from Lushan than Jiujiang railway station! And tour services at Jiujiang city is far more convenient and reliable than those at Lushan railway station and the town beside it! This was the first mistake we made.
We selected an uphill bus at a price, ur~~, too high considered afterwards.The driver let us hand in " the mountain entry fee" to some people at a pavilion beside the road. When my travel companion and I asked him how far was left from the destination and if it was not so far whether we could get down now, he said we could . After we got down ,we knew there was still a long way left. Another big mistake!!Oh,we were cheated!

"How Beautiful It is!"

We were abandoned where the blue dot is ,totally unaware about where to go. After I saw the map thoroughly, we decided to cut a path.This was when our luck began.
We walked northwards (red line) ,to The Three Precious Trees, Black Dragon Pool and Yellow Dragon Pool . We waved a taxi after arriving at the Dam of Power Station,and soon got to Immortal's Cave .Then we experienced the beauty of where the picture shows (photoed by myself): Brocade Valley where the green square marks .I think it was one of the most wonderful scenes I've ever seen. That day was a little rainy,but when it turned fine , the mist floated at the waist of the opposite hills ,and slowly flew up.Green trees,wet and fresh air , cool breeze, now I can still recall my immense comfort and satisfaction at that time.
Then we walked on ,finally got to Guling ,a town in Lushan.We went to Huajing (means flowery path) Rark .And we found a small hostel.Just so so but not too expensive.

"The next day"

Got up at 4:30 in the moring ,we got aboard the booked taxi and arrived at Hanpo Kou(Hanpo Pass) ,where the violet square marks.Unfortunately, the bad weather forbad us from the sunrise. But we visited the Botany Garden ,which was also fascinating.
The booked taxi picked us up at the determined time, and sent us to the entrance of the Three Step Waterfall .But it was still far from the waterfall.You can take the cableway to there but I think you will miss a lot of fun. Walking on paths and stone stages,with running springs and singing birds was the best experience in the two days. The final section to the waterfall is very dangerous , be careful! But the grand waterfall will appare in front of you after the nervous climb-down. The three step waterfall is marked out by the orange square.
We continued to climbed down to avoid climbing up again,saving both time and energy. We got to the south gate ,and then got to the foot of the mountain by bus. We took the local bus several times.It was really safe and cheap. We visited Xiu Feng (the Beauty Peak ) and Bailudong Shuyuan (the White Deer Cave Academy) ,the latter of which is marked out by the red square.We met a professional reseacher of the academy's history ,and learned much.
It was two years since we travelled there,so many things may change. Please don't set your travel plan according to my account .
I hope this introduction will be of some help.