Huangshan

[UP2013]

GuangMingDing? Is it possible to meet Master Zhang?

 

[johnsonheng]

Master Zhang no, Johnson yes, that is you are lucky

 

[Deathskull88]

Hello! Looking up this thread again because may be attempting the climb on Huangshan on third week next month(March).

Hope for some help from the experienced ppl here. Thanks!!

1) I read that some of the paths will be closed until start of April. Will I be missing a lot of great sceneries because of that? If so, should I scale back the time spent on Huangshan from the recommended 3D2N that some of u have recommended?

2) I also heard the villages around are worth a look too. Is that true?

3) I will be arriving in Shanghai. Should I go to Huangshan direct from Shanghai, or should I travel from Hangzhou, which I also intend to visit. My base will be in Shanghai.

4) Will there be phone and 3G reception in the mountains?

5) I see that some of u stay at Baiyun hotel. Will that be the only hotel to stay in for the duration in the mountains? If I were to stay 2 nights. Or do I need to change hotels for each night?

That's all I have for now, thanks for reading! If this hike is successful, my next target will be Huashan in Shaanxi!

 

[johnsonheng]

What........

 

[Hisashiburi]

Some villages might be worth visiting.
One of them is supposed to be quite famous but I cant remember the name.

Traveling from hangzhou is closer I think.
Check the bus or train schedules.
There is a close by town named tunxi.
So be sure where your transport and hotel are located.

If staying 2 nights on top of the mountain, switch hotels.

 

[johnsonheng]

Yes, carry light

 

[Deathskull88]

Hi, thanks for the replies

Did some research myself on the net.

西海大峡谷(West Sea Canyon) closed until Apr
天都峰(Celestial Capital Peak) closed
莲花峰(Lotus Peak) closed until Apr

The others seem to be functional.

With these closures, will I be missing a lot? Especially the West Sea Canyon, where a lot of ppl say that the views are very good.

 

[touchme]

Hi, thanks for the replies

Did some research myself on the net.

西海大峡谷(West Sea Canyon) closed until Apr
天都峰(Celestial Capital Peak) closed
莲花峰(Lotus Peak) closed until Apr

The others seem to be functional.

With these closures, will I be missing a lot? Especially the West Sea Canyon, where a lot of ppl say that the views are very good.

The 2 peaks are narrow spiral stairways round and up the rock pinnacles, dangerous if slipped snow, as stone railings under 3 ft high.

Xihai ,must go, get close up with the pinnacles and the last section is an awesome spiral stairwaysdown the ravine. First time my balls shrink there, having climbed many elsewhere.

They were building another cable car there from beneath the ravine back up to baiyun area 2 years back. Not sure the closure is full or upto the ravine below, else cannot do loop. The last time, we did to-fro, still beautiful walk, and more peaceful than main areas. Don't mind doing a 3rd trip there, nice hikes.

 

[Deathskull88]

Touchme: Thanks for ur reply!

The places u described are likely to be closed during the time I intend to go.

Are the East and South areas worth going to? Since the West area is closed off.

 

[Deathskull88]

After researching somemore and rereading the posts here, it seems still can do the 西海大峡谷(West Sea Canyon), but just cannot do full loop.

I have a question regarding breakfast, lunch and dinner during the hike. Are there a lot of food stores along the hiking routes? And what time do the stores close? I dun really want to pay $50-60 for meals, like wat alexljy mentioned in his experience, haha.

 

[touchme]

Touchme: Thanks for ur reply!
The places u described are likely to be closed during the time I intend to go.

Are the East and South areas worth going to? Since the West area is closed off.

Define closed and source of news.

West likely closed at the ravine bottom. Still the to-fro from central/bright hill, takes u from 10am -4pm slow hike, and still had it's unique views to offer.You can take either of the 2 legs, both nice, which would otherwise have been a loop, means 1 extra day too.

The East (from yuping) and South (前山) is surely have to walk thru, for first timer. Access from yuping, descend thru south, departing in the morning from central.. South is majestic, with its highest rock peaks/climbs and rock features. Cable cars closes at 4-5pm (off peak/peak season)

 

[touchme]

After researching somemore and rereading the posts here, it seems still can do the 西海大峡谷(West Sea Canyon), but just cannot do full loop.

I have a question regarding breakfast, lunch and dinner during the hike. Are there a lot of food stores along the hiking routes? And what time do the stores close? I dun really want to pay $50-60 for meals, like wat alexljy mentioned in his experience, haha.

Yes, that's what I meant, can still do West, only by to-fro, either leg or both. Given a choice if limited time, I suggest the leg via the north sea first, starting with a 800 steps 150m elevation stairwell from Baiyun to Bright Hill, when you are all fired up after breakfast.

If you set off early 8am, can be back leisurely by 2pm, leaving 4 hrs for the other to-fro leg (partial). The 2nd leg starting downhill from Baiyun is kinder physically. Just be sure to be back at baiyun before 645pm, before the $10 cookhouse chaipng (diy-served on alumimium trays) closes. (check again when there, seasonal closure times). Fret not, the hotels' minimarts/provision stalls, with seating/tables, opens 6am, sells maggi, hotdogs, eggs, hotsoups, corn, beer and drinks till 10-11pm for you to chill out alfresco.

Both legs of the more desolated west sea in 2012, only a couple small stalls selling snacks along the way. Take yr breakfast/lunch/dinner at brighthill or baiyun. Pack bread/biscuit/tumbler/apple with you for stoppages' bites.

Be warned, the climbs, mostly stairways, up and down numerous 100-200 m elevations, will really make you kpkb. Take it in good sense/stride, of fitness building, and you'll be back heroes (either totally konged or overly energized by end of evening. (my 5yo did it 1.5 legs single day with us). If bringing a kid there, when discouraged, play some mindgames with them, like challenge racing up every few flights of steps, more likely they win, but be sure/fit to provide some competitive challenge. Buy him/her a Huangshan gold medal, available at stalls, with name engraved at the end of trip.

Do not wear/carry too heavy wear to immobilise/'clumsify' yourselves, your climbs will keep you warm. Don't dress too satki, Northface and gears all over. Within 1 hour on 1st leg, you'll be stripping, sweating and swearing, swearing along with other tourists both going up or down, some with heels and suitcases. Each with a ******* face, will be asking each other going opposite directions, 'how long/far more?' very funny wan. But dun worry, the cool/cold, sunny, clear weather, skies and views and beautiful foliage/rocks formations, makes you feel all energized.

Bring a small pair of binos, and be sure to check out every lookout signage/points along the way. 2 days later your legs will ache like mad, good to nuay when back in Shanghai/Hangzhou.

 

[Deathskull88]

touchme: Thanks for ur time to reply me!

That's a lot of valuable info, haha. I think I got most of the info I need. I am reasonably fit and I hiked a few high places last year, so I shouldn't do too badly. I only afraid I spend too much time enjoying the views or taking photos that I miss the timings for cable cars, dinner etc.

Have u been able to see the sea of clouds?

And raincoats, should I get them in Shanghai or do they sell in Tangkou or Tunxi?

U mentioned the restaurants at Tangkou will provide phone number in case of emergency cab service etc. Any of the restaurants will provide?

 

[touchme]

touchme: Thanks for ur time to reply me!

That's a lot of valuable info, haha. I think I got most of the info I need. I am reasonably fit and I hiked a few high places last year, so I shouldn't do too badly. I only afraid I spend too much time enjoying the views or taking photos that I miss the timings for cable cars, dinner etc.

Have u been able to see the sea of clouds?

And raincoats, should I get them in Shanghai or do they sell in Tangkou or Tunxi?

U mentioned the restaurants at Tangkou will provide phone number in case of emergency cab service etc. Any of the restaurants will provide?

Mental prep others , and those with kids too. I'm old buibui shack, take it in good sense, also very refreshing and enjoyable. Of course, many will get turned off by my descripton of the West climbs/walks, but huangshan's compared with other china & international NPs, staircases are ergonomically designed (each step's width/height/breadth/grip is perfect). The rest of park walks are not so shag.

Take it at your own pace, missed dinner just eat maggi, hotsoup and sausages from minimarts, quite tasty too. Bring a torch for 2nd leg jic.

Sea of Clouds... view from Bright Hill Peak, big crowd there from 5-7pm (check sunset time). $1 Poncho buy at foothill's stalls or peddlers, before taking cablecar. $2-5 walking sticks no need buy, cablecar stns, many going downhill, throw away. (but not necessary, hinders movement). Minimarts sells everything only 2x foothill/city price.

If late for cable car down, about 1 hr walk downhill. Emergency transport after 8pm to tangkou, get contact number and quote, about rmb150-200 to tangkou or rmb300 (whole car) to Huanghan city railway station, from any private cab drivers at tangkou. Ask the ecobus drivers about afterhours bus service., I hear they run them, based on consolidated demand, dunno officially or privately in their own pockets.

If reasonable, support Tangkou village community, eg. breaksfast/lunch/cheap stay before or after park. While the govt takes away every tourist money opportunity from them (eco-bus), they leave little gaps for them to make a small living, eg. no official 3D maps released (lobang for freelance tourguides, happens whole of china). The community, inc eco-bus drivers, always help each other or themselves, rcmd tangkou contacts for tourist needs. Quite a unified spirit to sense.

I believe i mentioned this, upon cable ascent, you can pay the porters RMB20 to carry a pack to your planned hotel, while you tour the east side first. Can trust, without valuables.

 

[Deathskull88]

Hi!

Am back from my Huangshan trip. Shall contribute back by doing a short trip report.

Was stationed in Shanghai for a few days before going to Huangshan. Duration in the mountains was from 16th to 18th March.

Getting there:

Went to Shanghai railway station 2 days ahead to get overnight train tickets. There are 2 types of ticket sales. One is automated, like how u buy tickets from the machines in our MRT stations. But this is reserved for China nationals, so not for tourists like us. The 2nd type is the traditional manned booths, with bored and rude staff communicating with u thru a glass window via speakers. It is said there is supposed to be at least a booth with English speaking staff but I did not see any signage and the place is usually quite crowded with impatient locals forming long queues in front of the booths. So if u do not speak Chinese, I suggest u book thru ur hotel or thru third party agencies like Ctrip.

There are usually gigiantic electronic schedules hang above the booths, detailing the trains' timings, seat types, price and availiability, in Chinese text and numbers. One crucial thing to note is u can only buy tickets for trains up to THREE days in advance. And u need to produce ur passports to complete the purchase.

Best to buy ur tickets 1-2 days in advance. As it was still low season and I was travelling on a Sunday night, I guess I could have bought the tickets on the day itself.

Oh yes, the manned booths are in a separate building on the far LEFT side of the Shanghai railway station, across a road. So if u are facing the station, it will be on ur far RIGHT side.

The overnight train is K8418/K8419, soft sleeper(lower beds) is priced at about 260rmb.


The train ride:

As the Shanghai railway station is very busy throughout the day, its best that u arrive at least 30mins before ur train departs. And they tend to depart on time, unless there is mechanical problems. Why I say 30mins? Because u have to go thru security checks and bag scans. And depending on the time of ur train ride, there may be a lot of people queueing to do the security check, and not enough staff on duty.

The softsleeper cabin is very small, about 1 metre in between beds. There are 4 beds in one cabin, two below, two on top. Very basic cabin, no TV, with a small table but with pretty ok beds. There is also a hot water flask which I would prefer not to use. There seems to be no safe or compartments to lock ur luggage, though there's space underneath the lower beds. The carriage itself has no showers but has washbasins and toliets.

There will be a train staff who will come to ur cabin and exchange ur ticket for a plastic card and will exchange it back before reaching Huangshan.

As with the rest of China, ur neighbours tend to be loud and smoke. So u probably have to endure the early part of the night listening to chatter, radio and inhale 2nd hand smoke. The train stops at quite many stops throughout the night so there may be other passengers coming on to share ur cabin if u happen to start the ride with only 1-2 beds occupied.

About 1-2 hours before reaching Huangshan, u will be approached by touts trying to sell u tours or bus tickets to Tangkou. Just say no if u are not interested in buying.

 

[Deathskull88]

Tunxi(where Huangshan station is located):

After getting off the train and out of the station(about 9am+), locals selling maps and raincoats will approach u. The map costs about 3rmb and the raincoat about 5rmb. Good to get from them, as they are more willing to give u info about the immediate area, like where to buy ur return transportation or where to take the bus to Tangkou.

The train ticket sales office is just beside the main train station entrance.
The long distance bus station is quite far away from the train station, and requires a short local bus ride, of 1-2rmb.

Taxi drivers will also approach u to drive u to Tangkou. We talked to one and took on his offer.
He quoted us 150rmb, which I thought he will drive us right to the cable car station. On the ride, we got talking and we mentioned that we dun mind getting their famous tea. So he brought us to this grand tea shop where we did some tea tasting and bought some. Later we found out Taobao is selling some of the teas at half the price. But fair enough, we did agree to be taken to buy tea. Afterwards, he brought us to a hotel to book our return bus tickets and also to store some of our stuff. 150rmb for the bus ticket and 10rmb to store the stuff for 2 nights. The bus will pick us up direct from the hotel.

As the driver mentioned their famous freshwater fish, we decided to try it at the hotel restaurant. It turned out quite expensive, 88rmb, we viewed it as a ripoff. At the advice of the driver, we bought some 'instant rice' and tea eggs for meals in Huangshan. He parted ways there and we were driven by the hotel owner to the place where u take the shuttle bus to the individual cable car stations. We were surprised that we still needed to take a bus but there we were.

The bus cost 19rmb and took a winding road up to Mercy Light Temple. From there, we bought the cable car tickets and the park entrance ticket. The former is 80rmb, the latter 230rmb. The cable car ride up was ok, the view was good but not great.


Huangshan day 1:

After we reached the stop on Huangshan itself(about 12-1pm), we were assualted by the sight of many China tour groups. I can't imangine the place if it is really peak peak season. We climbed the stone steps together with the tour groups, like troops doing forced marches. The climbs weren't that hard at the southern portion, only remembered one tricky descent. The view was good, not great. Partly because it was a bit foggy.

Lotus peak was unfortunately closed off. We made our way to Baiyun Hotel, reaching there about 4pm+. We then rested a bit before heading up to GuangMingDing to catch the sunset. It was a short but steep hike. But upon reaching the place, it was very foggy so sunset was out of the question. We took whatever photos we could and headed back to the hotel for our makeshift dinner. We wanted to buy cooked food from the stores outside the hotel but it closed pretty early at 5pm+

The room, we booked the 'Japanese style' room, from Ctrip, for 780rmb. The room wasn't bad at all, it has hot shower and a heater cum heatrack to dry ur clothes. They also provide towels. They do not provide shampoo or shower foam/gel. Tv has lots of channels but mainly provincial stations from all over China.
Something to note, they provide an 'eco-friendly' travel pack, with toohbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel inside but it costs 25rmb, which u have to pay at checkout IF u open it to use. So bring ur own.

 

[Deathskull88]

Huangshan day 2:

We woke up at 5am+ to try and catch the sunrise at GuangMingDing. The room provides down jackets for exactly that purpose. When we reached the lobby, we found out it was raining and it was super foggy outside. The rain wasn't very heavy but the wind was howling. We went back to sleep. We checked out at 8am to head to the West Sea Canyon. We had previously asked the staff if the West ravine bottom was open, they say should be open. So we lugged all our gear to head towards Fairy-walking bridge.

It was still foggy so we couldn't see much. By 10-11am, the fog lifted and it became sunny. The view was definitely better than the southern portion but the climbs were also tougher. But when we reached the bridge, we found that the ravine was still closed. Big disappointment. So we lugged our gear all the way back to Baiyun Hotel. We should have left our gear with the hotel since checkout time was 12pm. The climb to and fro was refreshing because few tourists go through the route

By the time we reached Baiyun hotel, the China tour hordes was everywhere. We proceeded to go to GuangMingDing, on our way north to Paiyunlou Hotel. There were monkeys at GuangMingDing, but as long as u dun disturb them, they are not aggressive. The climb north was tough also, but compared to the climb in the opposite direction, its a piece of cake. Flying over Rock was a nice spot.

Reaching Paiyunlou Hotel, we dumped our bags with the hotel and made our way westwards, to the 1st and 2nd Ring. 2nd disappointment, the route is sealed off before we can reach the 1st Ring. We then made our way to the Purple cloud peak to catch the sunset. The highest point of the peak was closed off.

We paid 680rmb for room at Paiyunlou. The room was decent but the heater was weak. Again, they do not provide toiletries. We had makeshift dinners again.


Huangshan Day 3:

We woke up to catch the sunrise at Purple Cloud Peak again. No luck again, the skies were cloudy. We then headed back to the hotel to check out and made our way Eastwards. The climbs were not that tough overall.

Lion Peak was sealed off, tho. The views on the East side were quite beautiful, but we had to jostle with the China tour hordes again. We proceeded to walk down to the bottom cable car station of the Yungu line.

The way down was quite long and there were many tourists climbing up. The climb upwards is really tough, about 3-4 times worse than the climb from Paiyunlou to GuangMingDing. Our walk downwards was already quite tiring, can't imagine climbing up.

We then shared a car with a couple to go to Tangkou, for 20rmb each. We were dropped off at the hotel and subsequently took the long distance bus to Shanghai. It was a miserable long ride. The aircon was weak and only one 15mins break for the entire 6-7hours journey. It stopped at Shanghai South railway station and thus ended my Huangshan adventures.




Overall, the trip was great, the views are really unique and just like in the Chinese mountain paintings.

Too bad I had no luck in catching the sea of clouds. I will definitely go back there again, this time with less gear.

And many many thanks to the forummers who have posted information in this thread and those who have answered my queries, especially touchme.

 

[touchme]

And many many thanks to the forummers who have posted information in this thread and those who have answered my queries, especially touchme.

You're welcome, I hope I din give/misled you any wrong info. Your detailed getting-there narration, is certainly helpful to many readers

How come you didn't buy the bus tickets from tungxi to tangkou, sold on train? Guess I was right about the foothill community roping you into spends. I think I did warn about the 8-10hr long bus trip without breaks to Shanghai, in the earlier posts (or maybe another thread). The last time we hopped onboard coach before noon, without lunch, 6 hr+ 2 hrs jam in Shanghai. Amazing why the other China commuters no ache.

Too bad the weather wasn't favourable, the Southern side is supposedly magnificent. I hope your hikes gave you enough adventures.

If you like hikes, Zhangjiajie is nice, and a new place is Wulong, the site where Transformer4 is shot/modelled, with a permanent temple specially built by Zhang Yimou, for his own wuxia movie. Latter a bit more difficult to get to, 5 hrs' ride from Chongqing. Glad to have done it last year.

Pics leh?
.

 

[johnsonheng]

Yeah, where the photo

 

[Deathskull88]

touchme:
We wanted to settle our return transportation first before we go to Tangkou but the tout says we were to go immediately after we alight from the train, so we declined her offer.

Actually, the taxi driver was an alright guy. We just felt the lunch meal was a rip off, the rest was pretty ok. He gave us insights to the place only a local could and we had a good chat. I am sure he would have brought us directly to the shuttle bus station in Tangkou if we never deviated from our initial destination. 150rmb is a bit steep tho, but if there are 4 people sharing, won't be so bad.

I did read ur experience on the long distance bus, thats why we ate before we went on the bus trip. We were ok with only 1 break, but super weak aircon?! The weather outside was cool yet we were perspiring inside the bus. The locals also not comfortable, and some puked while in the bus. The worst thing was, when the driver took a break at the bus company's pitstop for about 25mins, he switched the engine off! And we were all baking inside. Ridiculous.

The Southern parts were good, but the China crowd and the persistent haze spoilt the views somewhat.

Yeah, heard of them, maybe next time I will go hike them, maybe Huashan. Found out about 三清山 in Jiangxi, looks like a good place to hike.

Photos? Wait till I have time to sort them out first? lol