Huangshan

[johnsonheng]

haha,
if dun walk, later have to sleep on the mountain out in the cold.

 

[alexljy]

Just came back from my trip to Huangshan, so I ll add to whatever touchme and the others have said before:

My itinerary:
Day-1:
Hangzhou - Huangshan via bus (Straight to Tangkou) 3hrs. Always take the bus from inside the terminal, else will be like us, the bus keep picking and dropping people halfway, waste too much time, not worth the 10-15RMB discount.

Huangshan -
Up via Chi Guang Ge (Yuping Cableway). The Yungu cableway is closed till further notice, so 2 cableways up or u climb

When I went up, mid-decemember, the first day was super foggy. I couldnt see a thing on the cable car. Even up on the mountain, the 2hr hike to Baiyun Hotel, visibility < 5m. The hike up is really quite xiong, tonnes of stairs to go up and down. Mid-December, super cold when I was there, at -3, so it makes the climb tougher, but the mountains are empty as compared to summer

Baiyun Hotel:
Hotel was ok, if you read reviews on tripadvisor etc, you know cant expect much. Dinner was decent but very very expensive. As a benchmark, 2 person I paid $60 dollars for a normal meal, at Lou Wai Lou in Hangzhou, I paid only $50

Day - 2:
Sunrise @ Bright's Summit (Couldnt see cause of clouds and fogs)
Hike to Feilai Peak
(Ideally after this you should continue to Xihai etc, but my gf wasnt very comfortable with the cold, it was snowing by this time, so we went down)
Downhill, see Lotus Peak, Guest Greeting Tree, take cable car again

From Huangshan, we took a 100RMB taxi to Hongcun (Damn shag, so decided to cab instead of bus) 1hr

Stayed the night in Hongcun, very nice place especially in winter when there isnt much people at all. I didnt pre-book, so just stayed in a random mingsu. They have tonnes if you walk around, cost about 100RMB per nite for 2 person. Walked around Hongcun (quite small about size of orchard to somerset mrt), and have dinner in the town itself.

Day-3:
Woke up abit earlier cause too cold, the mingshu got no good heater. Took the free provided tour of Hongcun by the guides there. Just go entrance wait, it's free one. After that, took a cab to Tunxi (150 RMB + 20 tips cause he was nice and brought us to the Tunxi Old Street since we had spare time before the next scheduled bus leaves). Took a bus back to Hangzhou at about 1. Reached hangzhou about 4pm

Some photos of the trip for your viewing
Huangshan - a set on Flickr

If anyone has queries, can drop me a PM, I ll try to help as best as I can. It's really a beautiful place, definitely worth visiting.

 

[touchme]

Alex, good thatyou had a glimpseof huangshan, lucky you took the same way up and down yuping side, else would have missed the best scenic partofthe park.
But seems like you explore little if the park.
I presume xihai route was closed for winter?

 

[alexljy]

Yeap,

Xihai's Grand Canyon is closed for winter, so is the Lotus Peak. Wanted to explore more, but had gf with me, she couldnt take the weather very well, so decided to head down 1 day earlier. We initially wanted to stay 2 nights up on the mountain.

For those going in Winter, hotels are quite readily avaliable, can afford not to book. Summer I think usually full

 

[UchihaSasuke]

Hi, i am going to HS in early may, will it be cold n crowded? n the hotel at baiyun, it seem like they want me to book it when i am there n the staff that we called over say there will be room for us, will it happen that there is not enough room? need some advise. thanks!!

 

[johnsonheng]

pay more and u will have room,
please travel light,
u will be doing a lot of walking.

 

[UchihaSasuke]

what do u mean by pay more n u will have a room? i intend to put my luggage down at tunxi then use another bag to take only necessary stuff up like energy bars, water, noodles, cup noodles etc.

is walking stick recommend to use or can do without it?

 

[Hisashiburi]

Yes, best to leave bags at tunxi and bring a daypack with change of clothes and some food.
Tunxi also an an old street which is worth going to.
Tea is also much cheaper in tunxi than in the big cities.
U can buy tea at the tea alley in tunxi.
Recommended the local green tea "mao feng" and black tea.

Dont really need a walking stick.
There are tons of steps though.
Be prepared!

It is also extremely crowded there.
Like mrt at peak hour. Seriously.

Book your hotel before u go to huangshan!
If you dont have a room when u get to the top of the mountain, u are screwed.
Just stay for one night.
The cable car closes at 5pm and the day crowd leave by then.

The evening and early morning views are fantastic!
No crowds then except for people staying at the hotels.

No regrets about going there.

 

[touchme]

what do u mean by pay more n u will have a room? i intend to put my luggage down at tunxi then use another bag to take only necessary stuff up like energy bars, water, noodles, cup noodles etc.

is walking stick recommend to use or can do without it?

j
no need bring so many noodles up, there are still several grocery stores up there, just at a 1.5-2x premium price. so not worth towing the bulk up.

i find walking sticks more cumbersome.
At Tunxi and foothills, there will be tonnes of walking sticks left by restaurant patrons.
Pick one up for free, if really needed, if u r lunching in one.

 

[johnsonheng]

u can leave ur buggage with the hotel below the hill
the food there sucks, and it expensive, so if possible carry a bit of ration esp water, as u need to walk a lot.

please remember to bring along one set of clothes and soap/towel as the hotel at guangmingding does not provide it

 

[touchme]

Don't be distracted by foothills and tunxi villagers that keep discouraging you to stay up there, citing 'super expensive food/lodging, hotels fully booked'...(still acceptable by our standards).You can still get a sumptuous chaipng on tray for S$7.
The villagers just want your business or their commissions from the foothills restaurants/cabbies & hotels.

It is just super inconvenient, to head up and down Huangshan every early morning/mid-afternoon, just for a 2-3 days expense saving. The time and cable car costs, and those missed sunsets, evens it out.

 

[UchihaSasuke]

wow..thanks for all the feedback i nv though of staying down there, i will be staying at HS for 3D2N/4D3N depending on my schedule. is poncho a must or gd to have? does the hotel at baiyun allow boiling water?

 

[Hisashiburi]

Every chinese hotel room has a water boiling device.

If u are staying at the top of huangshan, stay at each hotel for only one night so u wont have to backtrack.

Not sure about poncho, check the weather precipitation reports for the time u are going.
Summer time is monsoon season i think but not sure how that affects Huangshan.

 

[johnsonheng]

Very tough walking

 

[touchme]

wow..thanks for all the feedback i nv though of staying down there, i will be staying at HS for 3D2N/4D3N depending on my schedule. is poncho a must or gd to have? does the hotel at baiyun allow boiling water?

Good for you, but many intending to, were scared away by the villagers beneath, only eyeing you for their biz or referral commissions.

Very tough walking

you always tough wan, just because you were lost without a room up there, leaving you a traumatic experience.

HS made me go there twice..one of the nicer mountain getaways/views/hikes ever.

 

[johnsonheng]

I took the shortest but toughest route, from beihai to GuangMingDing, that part very tough

 

[UchihaSasuke]

thanks for all the useful information btw is it safe to do those wee/late hours hiking? (hike to see sunrise n back from sunset)

any more tips for me?

 

[johnsonheng]

sleep at the hotel at guangmingding.
it has the best views ....
for both sunset and sun rise.

 

[UchihaSasuke]

Anyone know where to get a phone card or like those our hi card in china for making overseas call? Like the hk ba dai tong ka

 

[Hisashiburi]

U dont want to be hiking in the dark before sunrise and after sunset as it is all steep steps on a mountain.
the hotels provide a great view just outside the hotel.

Protip: plan your trip on a full moon night. So u can photograph the full moon as well.

also bring a mini torchlight.