Exploring the World with Brother Guang – First Glimpse of Anhui: A Mid-Autumn Yellow Mountain Trip in 2018

📍 Huangshan · 👁 6647 reads · ❤️ 41 likes

I've longed for Huangshan for a long time. I first appreciated its beauty from textbooks during my school years, and the world-renowned saying, 'After seeing the Five Great Mountains, no other mountains are worth seeing; after returning from Huangshan, no other mountains are worth visiting,' made me yearn to go there. Huangshan is located in Anhui Province, not too far from my hometown, Taizhou, Zhejiang. As the saying goes, 'A waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first' – such a beautiful place is less than 500 kilometers away from me. It would be inexcusable not to uncover its mystery any longer. So, my travel bug started itching again, and I began looking for travel companions just before the Mid-Autumn Festival. After missing out on trips to Singapore and the Northwest with my friend from our last parent-child trip, we finally managed to schedule a Mid-Autumn trip to Huangshan. My friend had been busy with work ever since our last parent-child trip to Guangzhou. I didn’t hold out much hope when I casually asked, but to my surprise, they said yes this time, making the trip much simpler. Since we had a three-day holiday for Mid-Autumn, we happily finalized the itinerary.

Let me start with a few pictures:

Regarding the choice of transportation:

Choosing between high-speed rail and self-driving. Since my hometown, Taizhou, is a small place with no direct high-speed train to Huangshan, we would have to transfer in Hangzhou. Plus, we had a child with us, making transfers inconvenient. With four adults and two children, we could just squeeze into one car, and we had two gentlemen to drive. Checking the navigation, the journey was about 5.5 to 6 hours, not too far. After weighing the options, we decided that self-driving was more suitable. For cities with direct high-speed rail access, such as Hangzhou or Shanghai, I personally think taking the high-speed train is a better choice.

Regarding the itinerary:

Since my travel companion was set on watching the sunrise from the mountaintop, we chose to stay one night on the mountain and one night at the foot. Around Huangshan, there are several famous ancient towns like Hongcun, Xidi, and Chengkan. We chose to visit Hongcun, which is relatively closer to Huangshan.

Day 1: Drive to Hongcun (about 6 hours), check into a guesthouse inside Hongcun ancient town. Explore Hongcun in the afternoon and evening.

Day 2: Hongcun to Huangshan (about 50 minutes). Have lunch at the foot of the mountain before going up. Explore Huangshan in the afternoon and evening.

Day 3: Wake up early to watch the sunrise. Explore Huangshan in the morning. Head back home in the afternoon (about 5.5 hours).

1. Order of visiting Hongcun and Huangshan: I personally think it's better to visit Hongcun first and then Huangshan. On the first day, driving all the way, it’s quite tiring to go directly up the mountain. You can rest overnight in Hongcun to recharge. Hongcun is close to Huangshan, and since you’ll stay on the mountain the second night, there’s no rush to go up early. Sleep in, have lunch, and then go up the mountain. After watching the sunrise the next day, descend, have lunch, and go home. This itinerary is quite relaxed and especially suitable for parent-child trips.

2. Choosing the hiking route on Huangshan: The question of whether to ascend from the front or the back mountain is covered in many online guides, so I won't go into detail. I followed the recommended route of ascending from the back mountain and descending from the front, i.e., taking the Yungu Cable Car up and the Yuping Cable Car down. My experience confirmed that this route is reasonably arranged and not too physically demanding.

Accommodation:

Hongcun: Sanyueli Guesthouse. A very charming guesthouse. Though the rooms are small, it has a great ambiance – white walls, black tiles, blue sky, clear water, reflections of weeping willows paired with big red lanterns – it’s like a dreamland. 400+ RMB per room.

Huangshan: Accommodation on the summit is really expensive. The price for a standard room during Mid-Autumn was generally above 1500 RMB. Considering that we would be up early for sunrise and spend little time in the hotel, we decided to choose a multi-bed dormitory. The facilities of the hotels on the summit are more or less the same; where you stay mainly depends on your hiking route. After checking the approximate locations of several hotels, I chose Baiyun Hotel near Bright Summit. One bed costs 330 RMB per person.

Travel Ramblings:

Since it's called ramblings, I’ll write whatever comes to mind, without any particular order.

Hongcun is very small; you can stroll through it in 1.5 to 2 hours. Huizhou-style architecture is common once you enter Anhui Province; Hongcun just has a higher concentration of it. During the day, there are too many tour groups in Hongcun, and the noise doesn’t match the ancient town atmosphere. If you come on a less crowded day, spending an afternoon sitting by South Lake watching painters sketch would be nice. Therefore, I prefer Hongcun at night, when it’s less bustling. After dinner, sitting quietly by Moon Lake and daydreaming is especially pleasant.

A little beauty in our group shows her face.

Hongcun at night – I love the red lanterns series the most.

Showing affection, haha.

We were quite lucky on this trip to Huangshan. When we were in Hongcun, we still felt the holiday crowds. The guesthouse owner warned us that the queue for the cable car up Huangshan might be long the next day. However, when we went up after lunch the next day, there was no queue at all – we just walked right on. It was quite unexpected. Maybe most visitors are day-trippers; many go up in the morning, while few go up around noon like us. On the last day, we descended around lunchtime and again had no queue for the cable car down. People who have been to Huangshan say that every time you go, you see a different scenery – rainy, snowy, cloudy, clear... We were extremely lucky. Over the two days on the mountain, we saw completely different landscapes: the first day was a misty fairyland, and the second day was clear and bright. We were also fortunate to witness the sunrise and a sea of clouds – absolutely worth it. Watching the sunrise, I felt the immense crowd. We arrived late and couldn’t get a good spot; we barely squeezed into a corner to take a few photos. To be honest, without a DSLR, you can’t capture the beauty of the sunrise. What you see in person is far more stunning than any photo. The moment the red sun slowly emerged from the horizon filled with morning glow, I marveled at the magnificent spectacle of nature, and my heart was filled with indescribable joy. Besides the sunrise, unexpectedly we saw a sea of clouds on a clear day. We witnessed the beautiful sea of clouds at Turtle Peak – truly a worthwhile trip.

Series of peculiar peaks and strange rocks.

Artificial moon on the mountain.

The sea of people watching the sunrise.

Huangshan under the glow of dawn.

Huangshan under the clear sky.

Tips:

1. You cannot drive directly to the Huangshan Scenic Area ticket office. Drive to the Huangshan Scenic Area Transfer Center, then take the unified scenic area bus to reach the ticket office at the entrance. The scenic area bus costs 19 RMB per person.

2. It is quite cold on the mountain at night. For a September trip, you need to prepare a windbreaker or light down jacket. If you don’t want to carry too much luggage up the mountain, you can also rent them on the mountain; hotels generally offer rental services at 50 RMB per piece. Tents are also available for rent on the mountain; if you find accommodation expensive, you can choose that option.

3. Food and water are very expensive on the mountain. The cheapest rice set meal is 68 RMB per portion. If you can carry it, you can bring some dry food and water from below.

4. Tickets can be booked online, and you can enter by scanning your ID card. When we went, the ticket for Huangshan was still 230 RMB per person; a few days later, the price dropped. Now it seems to be 190 RMB per person. The Yungu Cable Car up costs 80 RMB per person, and the Yuping Cable Car down costs 90 RMB per person. Hongcun ticket is 94 RMB per person.

5. Personally, I suggest considering climbing Huangshan only for children aged four and above. Although you go up and down by cable car, you still need to walk on the mountain for about three to four hours. If the child is too young, it’s less safe, and if they can’t walk well, the parents will suffer – you know what hiking with extra weight means.

PS: All photos were taken with a mobile phone. Bringing a DSLR up the mountain requires courage; it’s best to minimize the weight. Taking in the beautiful scenery with your eyes and keeping it in your heart is enough.