Huangshan

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is actually a group of mountains in southern Anhui province. Anhui is just on the other side of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces from Shanghai, but feels much farther - especially on the night train. This is a slow train, stopping almost as frequently as a local subway and taking a circuitous route to Tunxi, also known as Huangshan City. Luckily we had hard sleepers, enabling us to sleep away much of the 15 hour ride.



Arriving in Tunxi, we got off the train and hopped on one of the dozens of minibuses ready to cart us off on the hour ride up to Tongkou, the village at the base of the mountains. Dropped off at some random hotel where most of the others on the minibus (a tour group) were staying, we puzzled over how to begin the actual hiking. The minibus driver interrupted his smoking break to try to help us out with his scattered English and my scattered Chinese. He called his friend Mr. Cheng who took us to his restaurant (Mr. Cheng's Restaurant and English Tourist Information). Deciding we'd be happy to start our hike with a good meal, we tucked in to a great dish of bamboo, mushroom and chicken and some scrambled eggs and tomatoes. Mr. Cheng gave us advice on our hiking route, told us we paid too much for our pre-booked hotel on the top of the mountains, and got us a ride to the trailhead.

We walked through tea plantations (Huangshan is famous for its tea) until we reached a view of a waterfall working its way down the cliffs. From there it was climbing, now through bamboo forests. Snow began to fall, making for a very pleasant hike.

After about an hour and a half, we reached the main trailhead for Huangshan. Skipping the cable cars, we started the hike up more stairs. We climbed for nearly 3 hours, and my city legs only persisted because our efforts were constantly rewarded by spectacular views of the mountain cliffs poking through fog among the snow. We eventually reached the top, where a number of paths crisscross among hotels and shops. Every brick and bedframe making up these hotel complexes and shops had been carted up by hand at one point. In fact, the only people we saw that first day were a steady stream of stick stick men carrying their well-balanced loads of hotel refuse down the mountain on bamboo poles. This certainly made my pack seem simple and my steps light. I generally prefer to enjoy nature on its own terms, but this night I enjoyed a buffet dinner and a hot shower before crashing for a well-earned night's sleep.










The next morning, we spent a few hours putzing around the various peaks in this top section of Huangshan. We clambered across rocks and kept trying to "get to that next peak". We reached some rather precarious looking bridges, decided they were worth testing, and then decided to cross them despite their failing of our various tests (first step crashed through.... well how about the second step?). We survived a few bridges, and eventually reached the last peak in the line. The only thing marring the sense of adventure and accomplishment was the cable car support planted on the edge of this peak. It had ladders going part of the way up to the top of the peak, but we looked over them and chose to scale the short-ish (maybe 30 feet) open face cliff. It had plenty of ridges so seemed doable without equipment. And it was, for Adam; but he had to haul me up a couple sections, bless his Army soul.

It was worth the effort. That was the constant theme: every time, our efforts were rewarded with amazing views. Still, but we opted for the ladder on the way back down. Finding the trail, we came to a gate and realized we had been on a closed section most of the time. No wonder we had it to ourselves!

After a bit more wandering, we found the trail back down via a new route. Today we had a harder time avoiding crowds, and the views were not quite as spectacular. Still, it was pleasant enough, and we eventually made it back to Mr. Cheng's restaurant for another hearty meal. He got us on a minibus heading back to Tunxi, where we wandered their "Old Street" trying the local snacks (don't bother) before heading to the airport for my flight home and Adam's flight to Beijing.

The scenery on Huangshan was some of the best I have seen anywhere in the world, and it really makes those Chinese scroll paintings of mountains in the clouds seem a whole lot less abstract. Every view in every direction on the top section was phenomenal, and ever changing as the clouds and fog rolled through and up and around.