Huangshan Tour (Continued 1)

Day 4 of the trip, Friday, October 30 – First day ascending Huangshan

Qiyun Mountain Residence → New National Line Zhaixi Transfer Center → Cloud Valley Temple (take cable car at Cloud Valley Lower Station) → East of White Goose Ridge (Cloud Valley Upper Station) → Stone Bamboo Shoot Ridge → Start-to-Believe Peak → Black Tiger Pine → North Sea → Cool Terrace → Monkey Gazing at the Sea → Return to North Sea → West Sea → Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion → West Sea Grand Canyon (enter from North Entrance, pass through Ring 1, Ring 2, to the valley bottom) → West Sea Grand Canyon Sightseeing Cable Car Paiyunxi Station (take sightseeing train) → Tianhai Station → Bright Summit

Accommodation: Huangshan Scenic Area Bright Summit Villa

In the morning, the landlord of the guesthouse drove us to the New National Line Zhaixi Transfer Center, about 3 kilometers away. Originally there were several transfer centers or points around the scenic area, but due to the pandemic, other transfer points were all closed. All tourists gathered at the New National Line Zhaixi Transfer Center to check health codes, have temperatures taken, go through security, then buy tickets to board the scenic area shuttle buses to various cable car lower stations.

The New National Line Zhaixi Transfer Center is located in the central area of Tangkou Town, surrounded by many hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, and eateries. Nightlife is relatively lively. Those who like excitement can stay in the town. It's convenient for meals with many choices, and you can walk to buy tickets and board the bus in the morning – a good option.

Near the transfer center there is a large parking lot for self-driving tourists not staying in Tangkou Town, but there is a fee. The transfer center also offers luggage storage services for tourists spending only one day visiting Huangshan, also for a fee.

From the transfer center to the Cloud Valley Cable Car Lower Station is about 13 kilometers by bus, and most of the latter half is winding uphill mountain roads. The scenic area shuttle bus takes about half an hour.

The Couple Pine is one of the ten famous pines of Huangshan and is listed on the World Heritage List. It is located on the left side of the path from "Black Tiger Pine" to "Start-to-Believe Peak." The tree is over 20 meters tall. At about 2 meters above the ground, the trunk splits into two branches, growing side by side, almost identical in thickness and height. Because people often compare the coupling of branches to married couples, the legend attached to this tree is the love story of Emperor Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei, full of love and heartbreak. According to legend, the two pledged under the stars on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month to come to Huangshan together after a hundred years, cultivate themselves, and be united as a couple. After death, they indeed visited Huangshan together, and, captivated by the beauty, transformed into the Couple Pine. Therefore, couples traveling together often take photos here, letting the ancient tree bear witness to their happy love.

After passing the Brush Peak with a Flower, we arrived at Beihai Hotel. A little further north is the Shilin Hotel. Choosing accommodation here is not ideal, as we had only walked a small part of the way.

There are many forks near Beihai Hotel, and we took a wrong turn here. After the Brush Peak with a Flower, we should have taken the north fork on the right toward Lion Peak in the North Sea scenic area, but we went straight west instead. After passing Beihai Hotel, we went all the way to Xihai Hotel before realizing the mistake.

A little west of Xihai Hotel is Paiyunlou Hotel. Both hotels are relatively well-situated, but they are built in a mountain hollow. To watch the sunrise or sunset, you still need to climb up to nearby Danxia Peak.

After hesitating for a long time, we decided to go back and retrace our steps to Shilin Hotel, then turn north. This detour wasted half an hour and the slope was very steep.

The road to Lion Peak was closed, prohibiting tourists from passing, so we could only look from afar.

Returning to Xihai Hotel again, we continued west.

Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion faces the North Sea on one side and the West Sea on the other. Built in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), it is a long scenic pavilion made of granite strips. The stone lintel is engraved with the characters "排云亭" (Paiyun Ting). This is the best place to view the exquisite rock formations of Huangshan, known as the "Exquisite Rock Museum." Because clouds and mist often rise and roll in the valley, only to dissipate just before reaching the pavilion, it is named "Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion." Standing at Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion and looking out, you see peaks like a forest of arrows; when clouds and mist linger, they appear and disappear like countless islands in the sea. In front of the pavilion is a platform of about 70 square meters, with stone railings and iron chains. Visitors can lean on the railings to enjoy the wonders of the West Sea.

Before the West Sea Grand Canyon hiking route was developed, tourists could only go as far as here, standing on the viewing platform in front of Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion to overlook the West Sea Grand Canyon.

We walked down along the plank road built on the cliffs of the West Sea Grand Canyon, with the steepest sections reaching 70 degrees.

The Bright Summit Weather Station is also the location of Bright Summit Villa. The lone rock to the right front is the famous Flying-Over Rock. From this angle, they seem close, but in reality they are far apart. This is an optical illusion created by telephoto photos.

This one is what we actually saw with the naked eye from halfway up the rock wall of the West Sea Grand Canyon.

Jade Seal Rock is the small stone on the tip of the third peak from the left in the photo – very small and a bit far-fetched. The sightseeing tram at the bottom of the canyon is already visible.

We reached the bottom of the West Sea Grand Canyon and took the sightseeing cable car up. Unlike other cable cars, the West Sea Grand Canyon sightseeing cable car does not hang in midair but runs on rails as a train of cars, only pulled by steel cables.

The upper station is Tianhai Station. Not far from the station is Tianhai Hotel (also called Baiyun Hotel). The hotel is well-situated, but to watch the sunset or sunrise, you still have to climb up to Bright Summit.

Heading to Bright Summit, there is a section of uphill steps. It's not difficult, but it's tiring.

Watching the sunset from Bright Summit, there were many clouds in the western sky, so the effect was not great.

We didn't get to stargaze at night either – there were many clouds, with only a few stars visible.

(To be continued)