Hubei Wind-Chasing Journey Day 3 (Part 2): Overnight in Fang County, Mood at Its Lowest

📍 Gold Coast · 👁 5404 reads · ❤️ 14 likes

In the morning, we drove from Danjiangkou City along G241 then onto G316 National Highway all the way to Mount Wudang. The distance isn't far, only about fifty kilometers. But we drove pretty slowly, taking our time along the national highway, stopping occasionally to take photos, and it took us about two hours to reach the entrance gate of Mount Wudang.

Overall, the morning was pretty miserable. Apart from the nice hotel we stayed at last night, the breakfast was terrible. We wanted to visit the Danjiangkou Dam but ended up at the entrance of a military control zone. Under the guidance of a soldier, we had to delete relevant photos. Then we went to the Canglanghai tourist area and left disappointed.

Due to time constraints, we had to skip these attractions and head straight to Mount Wudang. Remember our itinerary for today? Look here.

If you're interested in my previous travelogues, feel free to check them out. Here are the links:

Hubei Wind-Chasing Journey (Day 1): A spontaneous trip, sleeping at a service station on the first night?

Hubei Wind-Chasing Journey Day 2 (Part 1): Exploring Danjiangkou in the rain, there's even a fighter jet here

Hubei Wind-Chasing Journey Day 2 (Part 2): The grand headwork of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, this fish was really delicious, burp~

Hubei Wind-Chasing Journey Day 3 (Part 1): Accidentally wandered into a military control zone while visiting a scenic area...

Without further ado, let's start the travelogue.

The moment we arrived at the Mount Wudang entrance gate, our eyes welled up with excitement. After all, we had driven hundreds of kilometers from home, and Mount Wudang was a very important destination for us.

I have to give credit where it's due: Mount Wudang lives up to its reputation as a mature 5A-level scenic area. The navigation and flow are very simple. After entering the gate, you turn right to the parking lot.

You can still see the huge impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry. The massive parking lot had only a few cars. The area where we parked was completely empty. Classmate Zhang Shaoruan got out of the car and pointed at a chicken in front, saying, 'Wow, a Mount Wudang chicken!' I have no idea what he was thinking at that moment...

Oh, I need to mention the time. It was around noon, and an innkeeper told us that tourism at Mount Wudang has been heavily affected in the last two years. This year, it was only busy for a few days after the first day of the Lunar New Year. Otherwise, it's almost empty. I smiled bitterly. The miserable state of classmate Mao Lala's travel agency seemed to be a microcosm of the entire national travel industry.

After saying goodbye to the innkeeper, we walked from the parking lot to the scenic area entrance. The first thing that caught our eye was this thing.

Not far ahead, we saw a sign and thought it was a Mount Wudang navigation map, so we went closer.

When we got closer, we realized it was an advertisement for 'Mount Wudang Happy Valley Tourist Area.' Probably due to the downturn in the travel industry from last year to this year, it lacked maintenance and looked a bit shabby. Classmate Zhang Shaoruan pointed at the first item on the picture and said, 'Wudang bungee jumping! Looks thrilling!' I replied, 'It is thrilling, but I'm too chicken, I can't do this...'

Then nearby, we saw the real scenic area navigation map. Right here.

I took a photo for reference during the later tour, then headed towards the visitor center. From the parking lot, there was a commercial street called 'Wudang Gold Street.' Those who have been to Mount Wudang probably know it, as it's directly opposite the gate. At the entrance, there is a fountain pool styled as 'Nine Dragons Playing with a Pearl,' with many koi fish swimming freely. Apart from the overly commercial atmosphere being a bit jarring, it was somewhat interesting.

Following the navigation map, we walked to the ticket office. After a simple inquiry, we were shocked: the ticket was 248 yuan, and with the scenic area shuttle and cable car, it would cost over 400 per person. I thought to myself, 'Is it this expensive just to enter a scenic area?'

After coming out, I discussed with classmate Zhang Shaoruan. Our plan was to reach Shennongjia today, so we only had three to four hours at Mount Wudang. However, the weather was rainy and foggy, with visibility less than 100 meters. If we went up the mountain, we probably wouldn't see anything. Spending 1,200 yuan for three hours and possibly seeing nothing didn't seem worthwhile, so we decided to give up on Mount Wudang again (later events proved that it was a wise decision).

Having decided to skip Mount Wudang, we no longer had any desire to stay. We quickly bought some 'local specialty' snacks at the foot of the mountain and prepared to leave.

After shopping, classmate Zhang Shaoruan looked like he still wanted more. He suddenly saw that sign again and turned to me, saying, 'I want to go bungee jumping.'

So we went there.

When we arrived, I was about to persuade my buddy to go first. I had even strapped the action camera on him. Just then, someone jumped off. My buddy saw it and said with a pout, 'Why is it so short? And why is it the kind with a crotch guard? Not thrilling, boring.'

That was that. We didn't do it. So that was the entirety of our Mount Wudang trip. We decided to fly the drone to get a look at this small scenic area and take one last glance at Mount Wudang.

After packing up the drone, we prepared to head to Shennongjia. Once we decided to give up on Mount Wudang, we didn't want to stay a moment longer.

Some friends might ask, 'What about lunch?' Since we ate breakfast late, we weren't hungry. Plus, as native northerners who hadn't eaten noodles in two days, we weren't interested in the nearby food. So we just kept driving. The final destination ahead: Yerengu Town.

I suddenly remembered that our car, 'Pangke,' was still a muddy mess. When we reached Liuliping Town, we saw a car wash by the roadside, so finally we could give Pangke a bath.

After washing the car, even we felt fresher. We passed by Guanshan Reservoir and stopped at a rest area to have lunch. By 'lunch,' I mean instant noodles.

Classmate Zhang Shaoruan was preparing the noodles, while I took out the drone. This scenery deserved a fly-over.

After packing up the drone and eating, we continued along G209. As we were approaching Shennongjia, there were more and more mountain roads.

Classmate Zhang Shaoruan fully demonstrated the qualities of a qualified tourist: sleep in the car, take photos when getting out, and find a toilet to pee when needed. Right then, on the winding mountain road, he was scrolling on his phone and got motion sick.

A little further on, we arrived at a very interesting place called Guanshan. I guessed that there might be a story related to promotion and wealth nearby. I called out to classmate Zhang Shaoruan to take photos, but he was already 'unconscious' with sleep, so I had to get out and take some myself.

Driving alone is very tiring, especially when the passenger is dozing off. We didn't talk much on the road, and before we knew it, we arrived at Fang County.

Back at Guanshan, classmate Zhang Shaoruan said he wasn't feeling well, like he had a cold. I realized he was dressed too lightly for this trip. We had both misjudged the weather. It had been raining and getting colder since the second day out, so he might catch a cold.

If he got a cold and a fever now, it would be serious. Worried about him, I decided to stay in Fang County and give up on going to Yerengu Town. We found a hotel near a hospital, planning to take him to see a doctor in the evening and buy some thermal underwear.

After resting at the hotel, we went out to eat. The rain and wind were so strong that we couldn't even use an umbrella. After eating, we found it was starting to snow on the way back to the hotel.

Everything we had done that day had failed, so our mood hit rock bottom. On the way back to the hotel, we discussed whether we should continue if it snowed tomorrow...

I'll stop writing here for today. Bye bye.

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