Copper Coin's Travel Compilation: Huangshan - Thousand Island Lake Route (7-Day Trip)
August 1996
Just before summer break, I was very excited. Finally, the long-planned trip to Huangshan and Thousand Island Lake was about to officially start.
This was my dad and my second independent trip. Unfortunately, we got off to a bad start: we forgot to bring clothes, so we had to buy two random pieces at the Huanlong Plaza near the train station.
We took an evening train to She County, with tickets costing only 45.5 yuan. After a good sleep, we got off at She County Railway Station, took a bus for 1 yuan per person to the new bus station, and then a minibus for 15 yuan to see the famous memorial archway cluster there. Admission was very cheap, about 20 yuan, I think.
At that time, Auntie Qiong Yao's TV drama "Smoke Locking the Heavy Tower" was all the rage, and this place was an important filming location. It was very impressive: seven chastity memorial archways lined up one after another, all the way to the edge of the fields. Behind each archway was a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching story. In ancient times, women were forced to cling to this hollow "good name" until they grew old. If they wanted happiness, they could only, as portrayed in "Smoke Locking the Heavy Tower," endure the villagers' scolding and curses while walking through these seven archways. If they survived, they still had to leave their hometown to live elsewhere. Today, when I walked this path, I found it surprisingly long; it was hard to imagine what that feeling must have been like back then.
Because of the drama's popularity, the villagers started to get business-minded. They kept coming to offer explanations and peddle all kinds of souvenirs that were the same everywhere in the country. I found it really annoying.
The archways had many yellow stains. It was said that during the Cultural Revolution, they were covered with yellow mud to protect them. Now cleaned up, they had a special charm. Moreover, on some archway pillars, you could even see the popular slogans and couplets from that era—very unique.
After seeing the archways, we also visited the men's ancestral hall and the women's ancestral hall (the latter being the only one of its kind left in the country). It made me feel even more how low women's status was in ancient times: the two halls were incomparable in scale. Living in the present is truly a blessing.
We ate some local specialties, then bought some ink and inkstones. She County's ink and inkstones are renowned as top-notch treasures among the Four Treasures of the Study!
Next, we took a bus to Huangshan, specifically Tangkou, for 10 yuan. As soon as we got off, a warm private hotel owner invited us to his inn. It was quite clean and not expensive—about 20 yuan per person. It was right next to the Huangshan entrance (the memorial archway with the words "Huangshan" inscribed by our Marshal Chen Yi). Apparently, all buses going up the mountain would pass by here—a prime location! Since we still had time, we took a minibus to Nine-Dragon Waterfall for 10 yuan. I don't remember much about the visit, except that we climbed very high and saw a nine-section waterfall, one section of which had a high drop, very imposing. The admission was only 10 yuan.
Then we went to Jade Valley, which was still called Lovers' Valley at that time, admission 15 yuan. There was a big stone near the ticket gate engraved with the saying: "A mountain can be famous with immortals; water can be renowned with dragons." The scenic area was still under development, so we could only walk partway and had to turn back at Lovers' Valley.
We walked along with streams and waterfalls beside us. The stones on the sides were colorful—conglomerates, sedimentary rocks. We wandered for about an hour and came out. Having such a delicate, pretty place near Huangshan really added to its charm.
Finally, we returned to the inn and enjoyed a good hot bath. We went to bed early.
The next day, early in the morning, we left some things we didn't need for the mountain climb with the inn owner. He even gave my dad and me each a walking stick—how hospitable!
We took a special minibus for 10 yuan to the starting point of the Cloud Valley Temple cable car and began hiking up the mountain. Admission was only 60 yuan, very cheap. The owner and locals all said that at any rate, we would reach the top in two and a half hours. So with firm faith, we started our journey.
Along the way, we met a porter lady who helped carry others' bags. She was very kind and pointed out scenic spots to us—things like "Mother and Daughter Monkeys," "Guanyin," etc., and once she pointed them out, they looked exactly like that. Gradually, the lady couldn't wait for me any longer and left. It was said we were still only halfway. But my legs already felt like they had a mind of their own. My dad, however, was still energetic, encouraging and deceiving me, saying we were almost there. But eventually, no words could move me; my feet felt as heavy as lead. I really couldn't climb anymore. So I started playing a game of "cops and robbers" with my dad: he would climb 100 steps first, then I would climb; gradually it became 50 steps... 30 steps... Finally, we reached the upper cable car station. Ha ha, we took three and a half hours—so embarrassing!
Fortunately, the mountain trails were not so steep anymore. We first went to the Beginning to Believe Peak, admission 5 yuan. It is said that an ancient celebrity did not believe in the beauty of Huangshan until he arrived here; that's why it's called Beginning to Believe Peak. Indeed, it was beautiful. Along the way, we were accompanied by seven of Huangshan's Ten Famous Pines—Black Tiger Pine, Arhat Pine, Harp Pine—which felt really great. When we reached the edge of the peak, it was about to rain. We saw white mist rising little by little from the mountainside and foot, softly adorning the nearby peaks like a real-life Chinese ink-wash painting. Unfortunately, my camera at that time was not good enough to capture the scene; it was a great pity.
It only sprinkled a few drops, and soon it cleared up. We continued to see Flying-over Stone, Bright Summit, and the Cloud-dispelling Pavilion in the West Sea—all kinds of beauty I had never experienced before. So exciting!
In the evening, we returned to North Sea area and saw the Dream Writing Brush. I heard that the tree on the tip of the brush was artificial! It is said that when Li Bai was young, he dreamed of visiting Huangshan and saw a giant brush in the sea of pines, with a gorgeous red flower blooming on its tip. He picked it and put it in his bosom, but when he woke up, he realized it was just a dream. Since then, Huangshan has had one more scenic spot. I don't believe this legend because the brush was too thick and didn't stand out among the vast green.
Finally, we thought about accommodation. This was the first taste of the hardship of being a backpacker. Without experience, we hadn't booked a room in advance; we just wandered around looking at sights. By the time we returned to North Sea, all beds were taken. We had to rent sleeping bags and military coats for 20 yuan per set (one coat and one bag). To make matters worse, even the dining hall was packed with sleeping bags. So we had no choice but to sleep in a common area outside Beihai Hotel's corridor, with many others. Ha ha. In the evening, we ate a 15-yuan fast food meal (only fatty meat as the meat dish), chatted a bit with my dad, and fell asleep.
Day three! Woken up around 4 a.m. by the commotion. Everyone around was folding up their bedding to return them and go to Dawn Pavilion to watch the sunrise. Our sleeping bags were a bit wet. My dad said it had rained heavily last night, but I hadn't noticed at all. Ha ha, so embarrassing again. After returning the sleeping bags and wearing the military coats, my dad and I shivered as we watched the sunrise. It was my first time watching sunrise on a mountain—so exciting!
The moment the sun came out, the crowd cheered. It was really thrilling.
Back at North Sea, we returned the coats. I felt quite reluctant. I wonder if Huangshan still offers coat rentals now; being able to stay overnight like that was still quite a blessing.
After packing a bit, we started descending the mountain from the front. On the way down, we passed the Three Immortals of Penglai, the Welcoming Pine, the Boy Bowing to Guanyin, the Turtle Back—little by little, we saw and walked. Mountain mist sometimes enveloped us, sometimes rushed far away, floating among the peaks. My dad's knee joint started to act up; the pain was piercing, and he couldn't bend it. We had no choice but to look up at the narrow trail of Celestial Capital Peak and the crowds filing upward. I thought to myself: "Ah, another regret, which gives me an excuse to come back to Huangshan another day." Fortunately, we had two walking sticks; my dad used one on each side for balance. Then we went through One-Line-Sky, the up-seven-down-eight steps, and the Li-Ma Peak with its inscription "Immediately empty the East Sea; ascend high to gaze at peace," all the way down to the cable car station near Ciguang Pavilion. On the way back, the bus passed by the Hot Springs, but we didn't get off. I only heard that it was where the Yellow Emperor bathed, and it is said that after bathing, his white hair turned black—amazing! I'll definitely bring more money next time to try it.
At that moment, my admiration for my dad was like the endless Yangtze River! He managed to descend the mountain with that leg. Even though I laughed at him on the way, saying his descent was as slow as my ascent, ha ha!
When we reached the Huangshan entrance, the inn owner cheerfully welcomed us back in. We applied some medicine to my dad's leg, and he soon fell asleep.
Day four: We set off from Huangshan to Dafu, 15 yuan for the bus, then transferred to Shendu, 3 yuan per person. At Shendu, we took a regular ferry for 7.20 yuan—cheap, right?—and sailed along the Xin'an River to Chun'an. The scenery was lush and green; it felt great. We passed by the Yan Ziling Fishing Terrace, where the Eastern Han hermit Yan Guang once fished in seclusion. We got off the boat, found a random place to stay in town, and enjoyed the breeze on the Xin'an River Bridge in the evening. Very pleasant.
Day five: We spent half a day touring Thousand Island Lake by a sightseeing boat. The boat ticket plus insurance came to 68 yuan, with insurance accounting for about 10 yuan. I heard that in 1995, a group of Taiwanese businessmen were robbed while touring the lake. Not only were their belongings taken, but everyone was set on fire and killed. Since then, compulsory insurance has been enforced—a helpless measure.
So we followed the boat to Lock Island, Snake Island, Dragon Hill Island, etc. Every time the boat stopped, we went ashore, and when it was time, we got back on. Snake Island was interesting: it was said to be full of snakes, and I searched hard but couldn't find any. In the end, I had to hold a sluggish python from the staff and paid 5 yuan to take a photo. There were no free-roaming snakes on Snake Island—strange, isn't it? As for Lock Island, I won't even go there: every place you looked, there were locks left by tourists. Some hung on iron chains, some on other people's locks. It is said that many people come back after some time and can still find their locks! Someday I'll bring my brother to lock one too! Ha ha!
At noon, we took a boat to Maozhuyuan, ticket 5.20 yuan, then transferred by bus for 8.50 yuan to Jiande. Along the way, we got off at the Xin'an River Hydropower Station. The hydropower station was a place I had always dreamed of visiting—water generating electricity is so magical. Only my dad and I and an elderly couple got off; apparently, this place didn't attract many people. The driver and conductor, seeing my dad's bad leg, even said they would wait for us for forty minutes and then continue, so we wouldn't have to go out and wait for another bus (the station gate had no buses outside). Good people! At the gate, we deposited our bags—all personal items must be stored, so no photos—very frustrating. Admission 5 yuan! Inside, a dedicated staff guide led us around, showing generator units, tunnels, all with the roar of machinery in our ears—a bit overwhelming. When we went up to the top of the dam and saw the large reservoir, I felt refreshed and my ears cleared. Too bad it wasn't the flood discharge season; I heard that is extremely spectacular. Ha ha, I'll have to imagine it in my dreams. When we walked out, I checked the time: only half an hour! Ha ha! We picked up our bags and continued onto the bus. I guess I was benefiting from my dad's situation.
On the way to Jiande, we also visited Baisha Bridge, which, together with Lugou Bridge, has over 260 stone lions with different expressions. We watched the sunset and enjoyed the breeze on the bridge—very comfortable.
After checking in in Jiande, we discovered a very serious problem: no hot water for bathing. Helpless, I took a cold shower. The water was bone-chilling. It was said to be pumped directly from the bottom of Thousand Island Lake, probably better quality than today's Nongfu Spring water.
Day six: We started our journey home. First, we went to Shouchang County, then transferred to the Lingqi Three Caves. The bus fares totalled about 11 yuan. Admission 20 yuan. These caves were not too different from the Yaolin Wonderland or Taiji Cave I had visited before—all lit up with colored lights on stalactites, very magnificent. The three caves are famous because they are three caves of different styles: Wind Cave, Water Cave, and Cloud Cave. We took a boat, walked, and climbed. In Wind Cave, the wind was so strong—"cool" is not enough to describe it. In Cloud Cave, it was misty and foggy, like a fairyland.
On the way back to Lanxi, we stopped at Zhuge Bagua Village. It was a very ancient village, with houses laid out according to the Taiji Bagua (Eight Trigrams) pattern, and all the villagers were surnamed Zhuge, supposedly descendants of Zhuge Liang! Ha ha. Back on the road, our bus passed by Jiangnan's Suspended Temple—Daci Rock. After reading the introduction, I thought it wasn't that impressive; it lacked the grandeur of the Suspended Temple at Heng Mountain, so we gave up. Now I think I should have just gone for the sake of "I was here." I no longer have the interest to make a special trip for it.
In the evening, we arrived in Lanxi, found a random place to stay, and had a nice, hearty meal.
