3-Day Trip to Mount Huangshan and Hongcun

The four years of university were the happiest. I promised a few good friends that we would go to many places together and do many joyful things before turning 30.

Now it's the seventh year since graduation, and we still hadn't set off.

Last year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this year's May Day holiday had five days off. So I made plans with Brother Rong to finally set off.

The pandemic broke out, and overseas trips were cancelled one after another.

We set foot on the number one peak under heaven: Mount Huangshan!

Small tips to share:

Both the airport and high-speed rail station are far from these two scenic spots. It's recommended to take a taxi or arrange airport/train station transfer in advance. The fare is over 100 yuan.

There are shuttle buses between Mount Huangshan and Hongcun, which are very convenient.

Cable cars. Mount Huangshan Scenic Area has four cable cars: Yuping Cable Car on the front mountain, Yungu Cable Car on the back mountain, Taiping Cable Car, and the West Sea Grand Canyon Sightseeing Cable Car.

① Yuping Cable Car (front mountain): From Ciguang Pavilion to Yuping Tower. Its lower station has extended near the Mount Huangshan Hot Springs. Whether you go up from the front or back mountain, this is a must-pass route without backtracking.

Peak season operating hours for Yuping Cable Car: Monday to Thursday 7:00-16:30, Friday to Sunday 06:30-16:30; off-peak season operating hours: 07:30-16:00.

② Yungu Cable Car (back mountain): From Yungu Temple to White Goose Ridge. It starts at Yungu Temple and ends at White Goose Ridge. Taking the cable car from Yungu Temple up the mountain, you can visit attractions such as Small Dreamland, Shixin Peak, Guanyin Peak, Dream Pen Producing Flowers, Monkey Gazing at the Sea, and Cool Terrace.

Peak season operating hours for Yungu Cable Car: Monday to Thursday 7:00-17:00, Friday to Sunday 06:30-17:00; off-peak season operating hours: 07:30-16:00.

③ Taiping Cable Car (north gate): From Pine Valley Nunnery to Pine Forest Peak. The upper station is located at Pine Forest Peak to the right of Paiyun Pavilion in the West Sea Scenic Area, and the lower station is at Pine Valley Nunnery in the Pine Valley Scenic Area. Taking this cable car, you can see attractions such as the Sphinx, Jiulong Peaks, and Eighteen Arhats Worshipping the South Sea.

Peak season operating hours for Taiping Cable Car: Monday to Thursday 7:00-16:30, Friday to Sunday 06:30-17:00; off-peak season operating hours: 07:30-16:00.

④ West Sea Grand Canyon Funicular: The upper station is at Shichuang Peak, and the lower station is at the bottom of West Sea Grand Canyon. The cable car is 892 meters long with a height difference of 497 meters.

There are many guesthouses inside and outside Hongcun Scenic Area. It is recommended to stay inside the scenic area. Although staying inside still requires an admission ticket, you can take a walk in the scenic area at night, which is very comfortable.

For a one-day trip to Mount Huangshan, staying in Tangkou Town is sufficient.

For a two-day trip, you need to stay on the mountain. There are only 5 or 6 hotels on the mountain; just compare them.

There are two 5A scenic spots in Huangshan City, Anhui Province: Mount Huangshan Scenic Area and Hongcun. The drive between them takes 90 minutes.

One day is enough for Hongcun, mainly strolling through ancient architecture and taking it easy.

Mount Huangshan generally takes two days, mainly for hiking, which is physically demanding.

You can arrange the order according to your preference. We went to Hongcun first, then Mount Huangshan.

4. Suggested one-day Mount Huangshan itinerary:

Scenic area opening hours: summer 6:30, winter 7:00. The scenic area transport and cable cars operate synchronously.

There are many scenic spots on Mount Huangshan, and you must take the cable car at least once.

The most energy-saving one-day itinerary recommendation is as follows:

Transfer station -- 19 yuan -- 25 minutes to Yungu Temple -- Yungu Cable Car -- White Goose Ridge Station -- Third floor of tourist restroom -- Turn right -- Fork -- Turn left -- White Goose Ridge -- Turn right -- White Goose Villa -- Bright Summit -- Go down stairs on the right side of the altitude marker -- Tianhai Food -- Haixin Pavilion -- Fork -- New Aoyu Path -- Yi Ping Mian -- Aoyu Cave [Fork] -- One Line Sky [Fork] -- Hundred Steps Ladder [Lotus Cave] -- Golden Turtle Exploring the Sea [Lotus Peak] -- Happy Avenue -- Phone Stone -- Up stairs on the left -- Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate -- Haohan Slope Bridge -- Yuping Tower -- Welcoming Pine -- Return -- Farewell Pine -- Bottom of Haohan Slope Bridge -- Turn left -- Haohan Slope -- Yuping Cable Car -- Hot Spring Station -- Scenic Area Bus -- Transfer Station

5. Suggested two-day Mount Huangshan itinerary:

Day 1: Wake up, have breakfast at the hotel, check out, then go to the passenger station in Huangshan city center and take a bus to Tangkou Transfer Center at the foot of Mount Huangshan; Arrive at the transfer center and take the scenic area shuttle to the front mountain entrance, Ciguang Pavilion (here you can take the cable car or hike up; hiking takes about 3 hours and is very physically demanding; the cable car takes about 15 minutes, so it's recommended to take the cable car up); After taking the cable car up, start visiting the Yuping Scenic Area: Yuping Tower (Welcoming Pine) -- Heavenly Capital Peak -- Lotus Peak -- Hundred Steps Ladder -- One Line Sky -- Aoyu Peak -- Baiyun Hotel; Have lunch at Baiyun Hotel and rest for a while; In the afternoon, visit the Tianhai Scenic Area and some spots in the West Sea Scenic Area. Route: Baiyun Hotel -- Bright Summit -- Flying-Over Rock -- Echo Wall -- Paiyun Pavilion; Watch the sunset at Paiyun Pavilion and return to the hotel.

Day 2: If you want to watch the sunrise, you need to get up early. If you go later, you won't get a good spot (the exact sunrise time is subject to the notice in the hotel lobby). The sunrise viewing spot is near the hotel (each hotel on the summit has a nearby best sunrise viewing point; the best spots include Cool Terrace, Lion Peak, Danxia Peak, Bright Summit, and Yuping Tower). After watching the sunrise, you can check out of the hotel, then visit the West Sea Grand Canyon -- Second Ring -- First Ring -- Dawn Pavilion -- Cool Terrace -- Lion Peak -- Monkey Gazing at the Sea -- Shixin Peak -- Black Tiger Pine -- White Goose Ridge; Take the cable car or hike down from White Goose Ridge to Yungu Temple, then take the scenic area shuttle from Yungu Temple back to the transfer center.

Our one-day trip to Hongcun:

Less than 100 meters out of the guesthouse, the scenery before us was already refreshing.

There were sketching artists.

There were girls in ancient costumes taking photos.

There were couples cuddled together.

Travel after the pandemic made everyone appear especially vibrant.

We passed a very small teahouse and started snapping photos.

Sitting upstairs in the teahouse for two hours, enjoying the breeze, sipping tea, and chatting—truly happy times.

For lunch, we had the very distinctive stinky mandarin fish and hairy tofu. The boss also gave us ice cream.

After lunch, we found a lakeside spot to rest.

Hongcun is not big; it takes only 2-3 hours to explore completely. We said goodbye to the guesthouse, and the boss sent us to the bus station.

Our one-day trip to Mount Huangshan:

Since the weather forecast predicted rain, we chose a one-day trip and stayed in Tangkou Town. We set off at 7 a.m. and took the cable car up from Yungu Temple.

As soon as we got off the cable car, we felt the magnificence of the oddly-shaped pines and bizarre rocks.

Then we walked for two hours to see Bright Summit. I suggest those who want to save energy skip this attraction, as there are many more scenic spots ahead, and the hike up is too exhausting.

Then we went to One Finger Peak, which was quite impressive.

Next came a section with stunning scenery but also very tiring stairs going up and down, called First Ring and Second Ring.

After finishing First Ring and Second Ring, we reached the valley floor and took the small train back up.

Along the way, there were some beautiful scenic spots whose names I forgot.

Mount Huangshan food section: Stinky mandarin fish—not smelly, very tasty.

Hairy tofu—a bit salty, didn't like it much.

My favorite was bamboo shoot noodles. In three days, I ate them every day, haha.

On the last day, we had hotpot.

Another memorable little happy time, quack~