Huangshan Things to Do

When hiking alone, the danger is you could slip & fall & no one is there to seek help. On hindsight, it's a stupid decision. Then, I thought it was very courageous of me to do so. So the morale of the story is, when you made it, it's courage. When you didn't, it's stupidity, lol...

On a sunny day, this is supposed to be an awesome sight. Not this time though... I was disappointed naturally. But there's nothing one can do with regards to nature. U just have to bear with it & hope things get better with time. In this case, it didn't. So, I moved on...

Huangshan [translation (not the true meaning) = Yellow mountain] in Anhui province is something I can highly recommend. You have to climb up wat seem like thousands of steps. But the climb is so rewarding! On top op of this mountain you see what poets and painters were inspired by for centuries. Admission is 65yuan. For more information see my travologue on Huangshan.

The Emerald Valley is a beautiful scenic area of bamboo groves not far from Tangkou, at the base of Huangshan. There is also an emerald pool located on the north side of Huanghsan mountain (near Taiping) that is more difficult to get to but also worth seeing. The emerald valley is often overlooked but makes for an excellent hike, especially if the weather keeps you from climbing the mountain.

These three villages are located near Yixian (35 km west of Huangshan City). Xidi is a bit of a tourist trap but Nanping and Hongcun are beautiful. Both have a Y30 admission and require a Y50 alien travel permit from any PSB. The maze-like alleyways can take hours to explore, and you will recognize several of the locations from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Public transportation to these outlying villages is extremely limited so it is necessary to hire a taxi or minibus, and bring a map because some of the taxi drivers don't know the route and will take you to Xidi instead.

Admission to the mountain now costs 100 Yuan/day, and the cable car is another 65 Y each way if you can tolerate the 1-2 hour line-ups. The key sights can be seen in a (rushed) day, but given the amount of hassle to get up and down the mountain it is better to stay a night at the expensive hotels (300-800 Y/night) because that will give enough time to explore everything at a relaxed pace. The paths are well marked so it is easy to get around without a guide. Try to go on a weekday because the crowds are much less. The weather is highly variable and on any given day the mountain could be completely fogged in, so allow some flexibility in you schedule.

The Chinese named every single peak & many of the pine trees. One such is pictured here. There are a few more but the translation into English sucks! I mean in Chinese they all sound poetic. In other languages, forget it... better not to know ;-)

If there's anything to say about this trip of mine, it's one hell of an experience. Other than that, nothing looks good with that awful weather, including me! But that's life, I suppose, it's not sunshine every day in life either :-)

Now, we finally get to see some people. Well, that's because I reached my 2nd base, that night I'm supposed to spend at this hotel somewhere in the middle of the mountains. It's a complicated system of navigation. One would never get the direction even by looking at the map. Trust me, you'll have to be there to know what I'm talking about. Mei emailed me the map b4 my arrival & everything looked close; boy, if that means climbing innumerable steps for hours, you still have to do it because there's no way out but ahead!

Those who are not fit, kindly do not hike here!