Family Self-driving Trip to Wuyi Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, and Huangshan: How to Conquer Three Great Mountains with a Child

D1 (Friday) Guangzhou - Ruijin (depart after work, stop overnight in Ruijin).

D2 (Saturday) Visit Hongjing Well in Ruijin, Jiangxi; depart for Wuyi Mountain in Fujian in the afternoon.

D3 (Sunday) Stay one night at Wuyi Mountain. Take the popular bamboo raft – Tiger Roaring Rock – One Line Sky – Wuyi Palace – Water Curtain Cave; watch Impression Wuyi Mountain in the evening.

D4 (Monday) Climb Tianyou Peak, the main peak of Wuyi Mountain; depart for Sanqing Mountain in the afternoon; enjoy a special clear stewed chicken soup for dinner.

D5 (Tuesday) Full-day tour of Sanqing Mountain: Yuhuang Peak – Sunshine Coast – West Coast Scenic Area. Spent 7 hours on the mountain; fortunately, the plank paths were quite comfortable, no difficulty even for children. Depart for Huangshan city in the evening.

D6 (Wednesday) Depart from Huangshan city to Huangshan; take Yuping Cable Car up; climb Lotus Peak; stay overnight at Yupinglou Hotel next to the Welcoming Guest Pine.

D7 (Thursday) Watch sunrise; after breakfast, visit Welcoming Guest Pine – Bright Summit – Flying Stone – Magic Brush Pen Peak; descend in the evening.

D8 (Friday) Depart Huangshan for Ganzhou; drive about 7-8 hours; stay overnight in Ganzhou (stop en route).

D9 (Saturday) Simple sightseeing in Ganzhou in the morning; drive Ganzhou – Meiling Ancient Path in Shaoguan; stay overnight in Shaoguan.

D10 (Sunday) Wake up naturally; drive Shaoguan – Guangzhou.

Originally, due to the pandemic this year, I didn't really want to go out. But colleagues in the office started asking each other where they were going during summer vacation. It seemed that as soon as summer break began, adults would take annual leave and take their kids somewhere. After being cooped up for most of the year, we had to do a self-driving trip. Last year we traveled all over Fujian, but missed Wuyi Mountain. This year we decided to visit Wuyi Mountain.

Opening the map, I saw that Wuyi Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, and Huangshan are at the border of three provinces, each only 2-3 hours apart by car. I thought we could climb all three. One week plus the weekends made a solid 9 days – plenty of time, but we weren't sure if our legs would hold up, especially with a 7-year-old child. We worried she might give up halfway. With many uncertainties, we decided to book hotels on the go and change routes if needed.

August 14, Friday. We packed our luggage early and drove off right after work, heading north. The two of us sat in front, and our child could lie down or sit in the back.

Using Amap to navigate to Wuyi Mountain, there were two routes: either through Ganzhou or Ruijin. I suggested stopping in Ruijin on the way there and returning through Ganzhou to avoid repetition. My husband originally wanted to stay in Huichang for one night – it also has many red revolutionary sites, and smaller, less-known places have cheap food and accommodation. Looking at the navigation, driving one more hour would reach Ruijin. My first-grader had a textbook article about Shazhouba’s Hongjing Well, titled "Never Forget the Well-Digger." I had told our child we would visit Shazhouba, and she was so excited she even wore her red scarf. So we finally decided to stop in Ruijin city. It took about 6-7 hours; we booked a Vienna Hotel on the way, ate some snacks we brought, and settled in around 11 PM.

Vienna Hotel was only about 10 minutes from Hongjing Well. The driver was tired from the long drive, and our family likes to wake up naturally, so we slept enough before going out. The parking lot was large, but of course, the scenic spot made us pay for an electric cart. We arrived after 10 AM; to save time, we paid the 10 yuan fare. Actually, walking would have taken about 15 minutes each way, half an hour round trip.

Since Ruijin was just a transit point and it's another 4+ hours to Wuyi Mountain, we did some simple sightseeing and then set off for Wuyi. In the afternoon, our child slept in the back, while I quickly booked hotels, read travel guides, planned the itinerary, and half-heartedly chatted with my husband, the driver.

The popular bamboo raft at Wuyi Mountain seemed a must-do. But when I booked last minute, there were no preferred time slots, so I had to settle for a 6:30 AM rafting trip. For the rest, we planned to watch Zhang Yimou’s Impression Dahongpao, then do some simple hiking. We stayed at Wangfeng Garden Hotel; we left around noon and arrived around 5 PM, had a nice dinner, wandered around the hotel, and went to bed early. I had hoped there would be a swimming pool, but due to the pandemic it was closed and overgrown. Fortunately, all rooms were connected by corridors, so even though it rained heavily that night, we didn’t get wet without umbrellas.

We left at 5:30 AM, drove 10 minutes to the parking lot, then took a scenic bus to the bamboo raft dock. We rushed all the way and arrived at the dock around 6 AM. There were really a lot of people, even during the pandemic summer vacation, even at 6 AM. Maybe it was Sunday, and the power of online promotion was evident. Most were parents with kids – many little ones woke up so early, not easy, just for the rafting.

Parking at Wuyi Mountain was 10 yuan per 6 hours – a reasonable price. But the roads were winding; first-time visitors might feel dizzy navigating.

Everything has two sides. Although we got up very early and it was quite tiring, luckily there was no sun in the morning, so we didn’t get tanned or hot. Floating on the stream was comfortable and cool. The bamboo raft tickets weren’t cheap, and children were charged the same. The experience was okay, but not as fun as I imagined – not too tiring, though.

One downside was that the boatmen expected tips: 20 yuan per person, collected from the whole boat. Those who didn’t tip got no commentary, only those who tipped got extra explanations. That was a big pitfall. We, like everyone else, paid along with our boatmates. The boatmen on other boats rowed silently, while ours told some stories, like filming locations for "Three Beats of the White-Boned Demon" and Eagle Grief Ravine, and tales about certain rocks – all based on appearances, just for fun.

The iconic photo spot is Jade Maiden Peak. In the evening, Impression Dahongpao also features Great King Peak and Jade Maiden Peak – indispensable sights at Wuyi Mountain.

After about an hour of rafting, we disembarked. The three of us even went back to the hotel for breakfast before returning. Since it was so early, and the ticket was valid for three days with free entry, it was convenient to go back and forth by car. We filled our stomachs to have energy for climbing.

We strolled aimlessly to the Hero Slope at Tiger Roaring Rock. It looked steep, and under the scorching sun, we lacked the courage to climb. But our child decided to go up, so we followed and protected her. Summer at Wuyi Mountain is very hot; climbing such a place was really tough. The main problem was that after breakfast, it was already noon when we got there – hot, sunny, and tiring.

Fortunately, the view from the top was beautiful, worth the effort under the scorching sun. That evening, we looked up travel guides and realized this wasn’t the main peak; many people don’t climb this hill because it’s too steep – you can only go up and down the other side. The distant view resembled Danxia Mountain in Guangdong – a similar Danxia landform.

We spent almost the whole day walking: bamboo raft – Wuyi Palace – One Line Sky – Tiger Roaring Rock – Jade Maiden Peak – Water Curtain Cave. I suggest replacing Water Curtain Cave with Dahongpao (Big Red Robe tea).

Dinner had a very delicious bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork. Then we rushed to watch Impression Dahongpao. The tickets were equally expensive – even group tickets cost 178 yuan per person, same for adults and children. Probably because we booked last minute. Impression Dahongpao was really impressive – the stage could rotate, giving a 360-degree performance. The scenes were grand; I felt it was better than Impression Guilin and Impression West Lake, though I haven’t seen others. I don’t know the order.

If you like culture and art, go watch it. I couldn’t resist – I’ve bought tickets for several Impression shows and watched many times. They are indeed wonderful, and there are indeed many people. That night we watched the second session and encountered a heavy downpour, getting soaked. Luckily, free raincoats were handed out. The annoying thing was that my husband and I each got a child-sized raincoat, while our daughter got an adult-sized one – you can imagine how messy it was!

It was a perfect, rich day – from 5 AM to 11 PM we were busy, then we slept contentedly. Our little girl said she had a sweet dream... Kids are always happy when out playing.

We visited most of Wuyi Mountain’s attractions, leaving only the most classic Tianyou Peak. I often confused Tianyou Peak with Huangshan’s Tiandu Peak. Tianyou is the highest peak in Wuyi Mountain, climbed by all visitors – a bare cliff climb under the scorching sun. Others started climbing at 6 or 7 AM, but we slept enough, ate well, and arrived at the foot by 10 AM.

I have to say, Tianyou Peak has a tricky angle. The view of Nine Bend Creek from the top was beautiful, but the weather was too good – we got terribly sunburned. Combined with climbing Tiger Roaring Rock the day before, my legs were trembling. It took immense effort to finally reach the top, swaying all the way. My husband pulled our child ahead, while I lagged far behind. He carried all the water. Climbing mountains is not easy, and climbing Wuyi Mountain in summer is even harder.

Honestly, Wuyi Mountain was a bit less impressive than I expected. Expenses were not low – our family spent about 1500 yuan on tickets, bamboo raft, and shuttle bus. The scenery was similar to Danxia Mountain, mainly hot. The altitude was low, the climb was exhausting, and my hands and feet hurt. I was already mentally prepared to skip Huangshan. Originally we planned 3 days and 2 nights, but after discussion, we felt we had seen enough and decided to leave directly for Sanqing Mountain.

Impression Dahongpao is worth watching. The bamboo raft depends on personal preference – it’s just so-so. There are 1-day, 2-day, and 3-day tickets; we bought 3-day ones. Actually, leisurely spending 3 days there would be nice, and you could also visit some surrounding ancient villages.

On the highway from Wuyi Mountain to Sanqing Mountain, there is a stretch of beautiful mountains, bamboo forests, and lush vegetation. I remember a tunnel with a boundary marker – one side Fujian, the other Jiangxi. Fujian’s roads were noticeably smooth and comfortable. Even though I was dozing, the beautiful highway scenery caught my attention.

It took about 3 hours to reach Sanqing Mountain, instantly moving from Fujian to Jiangxi. Sanqing Mountain is near Shangrao; we drove directly to the foot. Along the way, there were Taoist promotions everywhere, as if Ge Hong’s relics were everywhere – similar to Luofu Mountain in Guangdong.

We didn’t go up the mountain that evening – we were too tired to climb. Fortunately, there was a cable car – a lifesaver. My legs felt like lead, and our little girl also said her legs hurt. Since we were here, we decided to at least take the cable car for a look. The dining and accommodation at Sanqing Mountain were not up to par with a 5-star scenic area. There was a Hilton, but a pedestrian street had no customers – only food and souvenir shops, not worth browsing. The local chicken stew seemed good but pricey – we spent about 300 yuan for three of us. In this mountain area of an old revolutionary base, consumption levels were higher than in first-tier cities like Guangzhou. But it’s a scenic spot, so we had to console ourselves.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we took the cable car up. Tickets + cable car cost 245 yuan per person. Having a cable car was great; otherwise, we wouldn’t have reached halfway by dark. It wasn’t a weekend, so there were few people. Vendors sold wild fruits by the roadside; we bought some and carried many bottles of water. At Wuyi Mountain, we had drunk all our water and bought more at the scenic area, even though we had plenty in the hotel.

As soon as we got off the cable car, the sweat disappeared instantly – it was so cool and comfortable. The altitude was already over 1000 meters. Famous mountains are great – summer temperatures at the foot and on top are completely different.

We walked and chatted along the way. There were many forks; we just strolled casually. To the left was West Coast Scenic Area, to the right was Nanqingyuan Scenic Area. The restaurant owner at the foot said West Coast was fun and easy to walk, and if time was limited, we could just go there. But somehow we ended up on the Nanqingyuan route, stairs all the way up. The views were beautiful, but the path was not easy. We wandered toward the highest peak, consoling ourselves that we could skip the other side. Our little girl started to slack off, asking for breaks now and then. We walked and rested for about 2-3 hours before reaching Yuhuang Peak, around lunchtime. There were few places to buy food on the mountain; a box lunch cost 40 yuan – we settled for it. We carried a lot of water, and it was so cool on the mountain that we didn’t sweat despite climbing for hours.

We walked and enjoyed the scenery along the way. The beautiful landscape earned it the nickname "Little Huangshan."

There were many pine trees and even more squirrels – they weren’t afraid of people and rummaged through trash bins for food.

After Yuhuang Peak, we could head toward West Coast Scenic Area. There was a platform with a view of the mountains below. At the foot, many elderly women sold hats and arm sleeves. Although it wasn’t hot on the mountain, the UV was strong, and we could easily get sunburned.

Looking at the rocks of Sanqing Mountain, they seemed like a gathering of immortals. The feeling was different starting from the cable car station.

Can you tell the difference from Huangshan? They felt very similar – Sanqing Mountain was higher but smaller and more delicate.

West Coast Scenic Area overlooked the valley. The weather had been clear all these days; we could see very far.

People say you come to Sanqing Mountain to see the sea of clouds, but we didn’t see a single wisp of cloud. White clouds floated in the sky, and everything below was visible.

Random shots of Sanqing Mountain.

This was West Coast Scenic Area – all plank paths, flat, no effort needed. We walked for 1-2 hours on such paths, at the top of the mountain, windy and cool, easy and comfortable. Our little girl even started hopping and chasing squirrels and birds. There were really many squirrels, in groups everywhere. At Huangshan, there were also squirrels, but here the birds and squirrels were extremely friendly with people.

We walked along these plank paths around one peak after another – great for distant views. In foggy weather, you would see a sea of clouds, hence the name West Coast. Our route was: first Yuhuang Peak, then Sunshine Coast, circling back to the cable car station via West Coast. If we had more time, we could also visit the Taoist temple. We kept an eye on the time – the last cable car was at 4:30 PM, so we didn’t venture too far. We spent a total of 6-7 hours on the mountain; the child was tired, and the adults had to drive at night. We reached the cable car station at 3:30 PM and descended.

It took about 3 hours from Sanqing Mountain to Huangshan. We first stayed in Huangshan city, which is another hour from the scenic area. In the city, we found a local Anhui restaurant to try the cuisine. The decor was beautiful. Our little girl smelled the stinky mandarin fish and said she couldn’t eat it.

Braised pork belly was delicious – we ordered one portion. Our little girl loved it, but she only ate the lean part, leaving the fat. She finished a big bowl of rice. The pork was fatty but not greasy, better than what we had in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The restaurant’s decoration seemed like a renovated old house – delicious food, nice environment, worth experiencing.

We sat there to eat; the tables and chairs had an antique feel.

The tableware was also delicate – all from Jingdezhen. Probably because it’s close by. Originally, if we couldn’t climb, we planned to visit some nearby places; one of the options was Jingdezhen.

Finally, the Huangshan trip began.

There are three cable cars to go up. Most people take the Yun Valley Temple back mountain route; that’s what I did my first time. This time, we booked Yupinglou Hotel next to the Welcoming Guest Pine, so we took the front mountain Yuping Cable Car. The advantage was that we carried two days’ worth of clothes, food, and water up, and only had to walk 600 meters to the hotel. Once we dropped off our stuff, we could go out empty-handed, which was much easier. If we had gone up the back mountain, mostly young people, carrying supplies for several hours to the hotel, with a child it would drive you crazy. I’ve never taken the Taiping Cable Car, which is near Paiyun Tower, probably in a different direction from the foot of the mountain at the north gate.

This decision proved wise. Moreover, the Yupinglou Hotel was quite impressive.

Last time I stayed at Baiyun Hotel, which had the best location – not too far from anywhere. This time, Yupinglou had a butler service. He suggested we walk around, descend to Penglai Three Islands and Old Monk Pass, then return to the hotel to rest, and climb Lotus Peak in the afternoon. From Yupinglou toward Lotus Peak, the stairs were very steep; the other side was much flatter, descending to Lotus Pavilion to watch the sunset. Then back to the hotel.

Lotus Peak was closed during my first visit, so I hadn’t noticed it. This time, I found many people who came up via Yun Valley Cable Car (back mountain) climbed Lotus Peak in the opposite direction. So descending Lotus Peak became a problem: either return the same way (easy) or brave the steep path we came up – dangerous with a child. The butler also gave us advice, allowing our whole family to happily reach the top of Lotus Peak and appreciate the grandeur of Huangshan; the sequence of ascending and descending was perfectly arranged.

Yupinglou Hotel sits on Yupingfeng, a flat area between Lotus Peak and Tiandu Peak, where a hotel was built. This hotel is often chosen by national leaders and business elites. My understanding is that elderly people take the cable car up, take a short walk, and stay here for one night. It’s about a 10-minute walk to the sunrise viewpoint – not as high as Bright Summit, but the photos with mountains, clouds, and sunrise are more beautiful. The Lotus Pavilion sunset spot is a 20-minute walk – suitable for the lazy, the elderly, and children.

The last time I was at Huangshan, fog obscured everything. This time the weather was clear, but seeing everything so clearly lost some of the ethereal beauty. So one trip to Huangshan is far from enough. We’ll come again when our child is older.

Inside Yupinglou Hotel, there is a corridor leading to another dining area, with walls displaying introductions of historical figures. I saw that every generation of national leaders has stayed here – no wonder it felt much better than the Baiyun Hotel I stayed at last time.

The internet-famous balcony was beautiful; that day I even saw several live streamers broadcasting – one from morning until afternoon, very dedicated.

The viewing platform at night.

Buffet dinner was expensive: 160 yuan for adults, 80 for children. But it had dishes, soup, desserts, drinks, and fruit. On Huangshan, it’s rare to even see boiled shrimp. I heard that the hotel linens are carried up by porters; the food must be similar. Although expensive, it replenished energy. There was also a set meal box for 80 yuan, but the staff said it was smaller portions and not as good value as the buffet. Since Huangshan waived our child’s ticket this time, we decided to treat her to the buffet; she had worked hard climbing these mountains.

Among the leaders, Deng Xiaoping was the only one who climbed all the way on foot – at 75 years old! Admirable! At Yupinglou, you can order a "Xiaoping Set Meal" for 79 yuan. Later I saw that basically all hotels on Huangshan offered lunch boxes for 79 yuan.

There was a simplified map.

As Xu Xiake said, "Having visited the Five Great Mountains, I no longer care for other mountains; after visiting Huangshan, I no longer care for the Five Great Mountains." Indeed, after coming to Huangshan, Wuyi and Sanqing seemed unexciting.

A corner of the hotel lounge and dining area.

Decorated in an antique style – quiet to read a book, sip tea, or play the piano. It seemed most people went to watch movies.

A corner I liked very much.

Sunrise was scheduled around 5:40 AM. I set an alarm, but habitually turned it off and continued sleeping. Then I heard footsteps on the stairs and suddenly realized I had to see the sunrise. However, both my husband and child refused to go and continued sleeping. I had to run alone toward the sunrise viewpoint.

But even though it was only 10 minutes, I was already late. I arrived at the best spot just as the sun fully emerged. I hadn’t seen a sunrise in years. Although a bit annoyed, I managed to capture beautiful photos – not bad. Many people who come to Huangshan never see a sunrise; it’s a rare opportunity. When I returned, the two were still sleeping soundly. I went back to sleep as well.

Huangshan at sunrise – sunlight hit the mountains, casting a soft orange glow.

The Welcoming Guest Pine at sunrise – no crowds, beautiful against the morning light.

This place is always crowded, even at 6 AM. People who watched the sunrise gathered here, but fortunately not too many.

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