Huangshan

We opted to travel by bus instead of train to Huangshan for 1/3 the cost (us budget travelers need to watch every Yuan).  Our bus was on time and uneventful.  We arrived and took a cab to Tunxi, the old town area where our hotel was located.  The cab dropped us off at the edge of the pedestrian area and pointed which way to walk.  We wandered around pulling our bags for approximately 45 minutes looking for the hotel.  Luckily, Missy saw a sign in Chinese that had pictures that resembled the online pictures of the hotel.

Alas we checked in.  The hotel was . . . . rustic:  The wooden slat floorboards and the slat walls were charming, the cinder block bathroom with a 4 foot high ceiling were unique, the squeaky stairs to get to the room brought you back in time.  Unfortunately, going back in time included no heat.  It was 2 degrees Celsius (35F).  You literally could see your breath.  Needless to say, we only lasted one night before checking out and getting a new hotel that was not quite so . . . Retro.

Old town Tunxi is fantastic with shops lining the streets and wonderful restaurants serving traditional food from the region.  Our favorite restaurant was Mei Shi Ren Jia Restaurant, a famous restaurant located at the end of Tunxi Old Street.  At the restaurant you walked a buffet line and wrote down the numbers of the food items you wanted, sat down and the food would be cooked fresh and served for you.  It was excellent – we ate there twice!

The highlight of our trip to Huangshan was our trip to the town’s namesake, Huangshan Mountain also known as Yellow Mountain.  The trip to the mountain was half of the adventure.  It started with a bus ride for a little over an hour from the town of Huangshan to what they refer to as the scenic area.  Then we took another shuttle bus for about 20 to 25 minutes to the base of the mountain.  Finally we took a cable car up to the top.  The trails were cut into  the sides of cliffs and were covered in ice.  Missy bought crampons to attach to her shoes to keep from sliding around.

Of all the notable mountains in China, the Yellow Mountain is probably the most famous. Together with the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Great Wall, it has become one of the great symbols of China.  We enjoyed the walk, the climb, but most of all the views, they were breathtaking.

As a slice of daily life we watched in awe as the locals carried large, heavy packages up from the cable car station to the Luxury Hotels at the top of the mountains.  This was impressive to say the least; the sheer strength and stamina, but also remember – the trail was covered in ice.

After hiking approximately 3-4 miles up and down stairs and walking along the cliffs, we repeated the Cable car / shuttle / bus back to the city to rest and get ready for our long bus ride to Dagangtou for a rural China experience.