Huangshan's Beautiful Scenery: A 5-Day Relaxing Dragon Boat Festival Self-Drive Trip

📍 Huangshan · 👁 2 reads · ❤️ 71 likes

Huangshan has been like a dream to me. I wanted to visit Huangshan a long, long time ago. I never imagined that the pandemic would actually prompt my entire trip. Why was I so eager? Because due to the pandemic, there would certainly be fewer people in the scenic area, which would bring some peace and quiet.

Day 1: Arrive in Huangshan

Day 2 & 3: Hiking the mountain

Day 4: Hongcun - Xidi

Day 5: Exploring around Huangshan

We had planned quite a few small attractions, but our time was limited, so we rented a car from Ehi Car Rental in advance. During the pandemic, self-driving was relatively safer, and Ehi's vehicles were all disinfected.

If you have four or five people traveling like us, and someone hasn't used Ehi Car Rental before, you can register a new account using the new user gift package, which offers free rent on the first day, making the per-person cost very reasonable.

Ehi Car Rental's store is right in the parking lot of Huangshan High-Speed Rail Station. You can pick up the car as soon as you get off the train—very convenient. The process was also quite simple. After verifying our identification, the staff took us to inspect the car, and we set off directly.

Buildings we photographed in Huangshan. They are all Hui-style architecture, exceptionally beautiful. White walls, neatly aligned roofs—many of them were not tiled houses. There were many trees on the mountain, and the houses were hidden among them, giving a real sense of a paradise.

Before climbing the mountain, we bought some supplies. We heard that although there are places to buy things on the mountain, the prices are very high. We wanted to save some money, so we prepared a few bottles of water, instant noodles, biscuits, and Snickers bars. We chose items that were light and filling. Even so, while hiking, I often felt that carrying all these things made it more tiring.

The scenery at Huangshan is truly amazing. We have climbed many mountains in recent years, but seeing Huangshan still left us in awe of its beautiful scenery. No wonder Xu Xiake said that after seeing Huangshan, there are no other mountains in the world. I used to see many people saying things like "after enjoying the view, no other waters compare" or "after this mountain, no other peaks matter," and I think only Huangshan can bear such a reputation.

There are many kinds of pine trees on the mountain, shrouded in mist and clouds, making it feel like a fairyland.

This is the Black Tiger Pine on the mountain. Its shape is so beautiful. All plants in nature grow naturally and look beautiful. Nearby, there were plants with small red flowers, tiny and clustered together, especially lovely.

We took so many photos at Huangshan, mainly because the scenery here is too beautiful. As a poor student, I can only describe it as "too beautiful."

Monkey Gazing at the Sea is a very interesting attraction. But, when I saw it, I was actually scared. We climbed up to see the view, but coming down was terrifying. I dared not descend. Now I think back, I admire my courage.

There are many small shops inside the scenic area. The Bright Summit shop also has many things for sale. Look at the shop—it's super retro, with thick tree trunks on the roof. It looks really nice.

The items in the shop are expensive, but completely understandable. Bringing these things up the mountain takes a lot of effort.

There are also several inns on Huangshan where you can stay. I saw many people camping here, which I haven't tried yet. We booked a room and stayed. Staying on the mountain at night has many advantages. You can watch the sunset and sunrise, and on clear nights, see the stars. But the weather on the day we went was quite ordinary.

The third day was still spent playing on Huangshan. In the morning, there were hardly any tourists, and the mountain top was exceptionally quiet. I loved it so much; I could hear the birds singing. I never imagined that on such a high mountain, bird songs could still be heard, very pleasant.

In the early morning, looking at the distant peaks, they indeed had a bluish tint. Waking up in the morning was the moment I felt that staying at the top of Huangshan was the best choice.

The weather on this day was a bit better than the previous day. The shape of the peaks was clearer.

This is the West Sea Grand Canyon, with towering peaks on both sides and a very deep canyon in the middle. Not far away, some pine trees stood tall. One of our goals today was to see the much-anticipated Welcoming Guest Pine.

Hey, look at this little stone monkey. Isn't it adorable? We saw several such stone carvings on the mountain, very artistic. We definitely took photos with it.

Then, we saw the Welcoming Guest Pine. I never imagined that a naturally grown pine tree could look like this. It is especially beautiful. Its branches extend mainly to one side. Unlike other pines, the top is flat.

The path on this day was obviously more difficult than yesterday's, as the steps were relatively high, and some places were tough to climb. Even so, we saw many elderly people and children struggling up the mountain. Everyone occasionally encouraged each other, which was really a wonderful thing.

I thought there were only peaks on the mountain, but unexpectedly, there was also a small lake. The lake water was very clear, the color of fine jade.

After exploring Huangshan, we took the cable car down the mountain. After descending, a few of us drove to Hongcun, beginning our journey of Huizhou impressions.

Anhui is definitely an underrated travel destination. Although people know about Huangshan, the popularity of Hongcun and Xidi doesn't seem very high. Actually, Hongcun is so beautiful, it feels very lively.

Our time in Hongcun was peaceful. Waking up in the morning, there were no crowds, only a small bridge with flowing water and the trees and leaves reflected in the lake. The morning sunlight cast on the lake, calming the heart. We stood by the bridge, watching the lake, probably not thinking about anything, just mesmerized by the water.

The distant peaks blocked the sunrise, and then the sun suddenly appeared from our eager wait, growing larger and hanging in the sky.

These are things dried by the villagers themselves. Many people here live normally; some run small restaurants, and some sell local specialties at reasonable prices.

I don't recognize many southern plants. Seeing an elderly couple sorting something at their doorstep, I took a photo from afar.

The Moon Pond Lake looked different at noon and night. At noon, we went to a restaurant to eat and played around the lake, taking afternoon photos. The night before, we also took photos of the lake at night. The lights here were red, casting a festive reflection on the water.

On the evening of the fourth day, we set off for Xidi. Once there, we randomly found a guesthouse to stay in and started exploring Xidi the next morning. Compared to Hongcun, its original ecology was even more pronounced.

The roads here are very narrow. The houses are not big either. Perhaps it's like this in mountainous areas, so many families build two or three stories; it's the same here.

Xidi was the last stop of our trip. In the evening, we drove back to Huangshan, spent a night in the city, stayed at a hotel, and didn't return to the high-speed rail station until noon the next day to return the car and head back.

For me, Huangshan was like a dream come true, but the dream hasn't woken up; I'm still infatuated with this place.

Travel Diary Index

1. About the itinerary

2. Diary of climbing Huangshan

3. Day 3 continues at Huangshan

4. Day 4 without incident, going down to Huizhou

5. Xidi — a rustic village

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