The Magnificent Huangshan
No matter how good the writing is, it's not as good as seeing it with your own eyes.
We took a self-driving trip and it went very smoothly — no queues. We entered at 7:30 AM and returned to the South Gate by a little after 2:00 PM. At the gate, they just checked our travel itinerary code. We booked tickets online (there's a promotion now, all at half price), and at the gate we scanned our ID cards directly. We queued for the shuttle bus at the transfer center, then got off the bus and started climbing.
The locals suggested leaving early; if you leave late, the tour groups will arrive and it gets crowded. We hiked in reverse — up via the back mountain and down via the front mountain, meaning we took the Cloud Valley Cable Car up and the Jade Screen Cable Car down. So there weren't many people along the way. The first part of the trail was flat, the latter part steep, and we didn't have to share the cable car with others. No matter which direction's cable car you take down, you'll all end up at the South Gate — no backtracking.
The Huangshan cultural creative ice cream costs 25 yuan and tastes good, but it melts quickly in the heat. There are trash cans all along the way — remember to be civilized!
