A trip to Huangshan (a.k.a Yellow Mountian)

 It is said that Huangshan is one of the most famous and beautiful mountains in China and one of top 10 sites to see in China. Once you have been to Huangshan there is no need to visit other mountains as you have seen the best.   Ummm, what about the Himalayas?  Granted this mountain range stretches through the nations of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and.....wait for it....China.  Helllllo?! Not having visited this mountain range I can only imagine that it's majestic peaks rival the Alps in size and snow capped beauty.  But perhaps the section located in China is not as impressive as the section one calls Mt. Everest located in Nepal.  I really don't know.

Well when in China....... Huangshan it is! So off I went with a friend for a 3 day tour of the famed Yellow Mountain.  That's the English name for Huangshan.  Why is it called yellow you ask? Well I suppose the tan colored stone is close enough to yellow to give it it's moniker. This is China and if that's what they tell me it's called then that's good enough for me!

Huangshan is located 450 kilometers or 280 miles southwest of Shanghai and is about an hour flight or a 6 hour drive. Although now you can do it in 3 hours by crossing the new bridge. 


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My friend Christa and I decided to fly.  I don't know why it is but whenever I fly on a Chinese airline I am always relegated to the back of the plane, row 56 of 57 this time.  I think they like to stick the foreigners in the back of the plane to show we are not worthy.  And it isn't China if there isn't someone nearby having a nap. We haven't even taken off yet and the two next to me got into "position" right away.

Here is my friend Christa! Once we landed I noticed that we were the only plane at the terminal, it looked quite deserted.  There is only one flight to Huangshan from Shanghai daily and one flight, Shanghai to Huangshan. As it turned out we had quite a 'to do' once we landed, all of my making of course.  I was really excited to do this trip without a guide or someone scheduled to pick us up.  This was my opportunity to use my bad Chinese and also my new dictionary.  I have loaded a very cool dictionary on my phone.  It has both the Chinese characters and pin yin for pronunciation and it gives suggestions of additional words.  For example, type in the word green bean (one of my favorite veggies) and you not only get the word for green bean but also some suggestions as how to order them in a Chinese restaurant. Good eh?! Once you have located the word you can try to pronounce it to the waitress or just show her the Chinese characters, that is after she looks at you funny because if you did try to speak the words you have certainly pronounced it wrong.  I just love this new dictionary of mine!

But I digress.....  I was so excited to have this adventure, I had done a ton of reading about Huangshan, how to get there, where to stay, where to eat, what to see, I was TOTALLY prepared!  So we landed and there was not another plane in sight.  Oh well, I wasn't going to worry about where the other 1.3 billion people were, as long as they were not in Huangshan I was happy. Can I have a little elbow room please!

We followed the crowd ... 57 rows x 6 across = 342 people to the taxi stand and waiting buses.  We got in line, got ourselves a taxi and I told the driver in my flawless Chinese we wanted to go to Tunxi.  That's the town where Huangshan Mountain is located.  He looked at me and said 260 RMB.  WHAT??!!?? I read that it cost 60 RMB, well I read that it cost much less.  I recalled later that I couldn't exactly recall and that I had a few pieces of information confused, I mean I had read so much about this place it was kind of blurring together.  We had already settled in the taxi so I said to Christa "get out!" we are not paying 260 RMB!!! She was such a good sport she just jumped out and waited.  Now 260 RMB = $41.25 USD.  At the very most, now that I reflect upon it, it should have cost 180 RMB = $28.60 USD.  You see that is the cost to get to the airport in the very expensive city of Shanghai and is about the same distance.  The taxi driver offered me 20 RMB discount, for a total price of 240 RMB, or $3.00 discount.  No way.  I had read you can take a bus for 8 RMB to Huangshan Mountain = $1.30, thank you very much!

I marched ourselves back into the airport looking for someone who could speak English as my Chinese reserve was used up and now I was mad that I was being taken advantage of!   As I was walking into the airport I noticed a Chinese tour guide.  I asked her what it cost to get to Tunxi by taxi and she replied 260 RMB but she said,  when she called the hotel they told her is should be 180 RMB! (ah ha!!!) Anyway the tour guide/ a.k.a girl who managed to gather a few tourists to show around Huangshan and decided to call herself a tour guide, was lost and confused as we were.  This may have been her first gig.

I went up to the airport counter and spoke to the woman asking her about the cost of the taxi to Tunxi in English and Chinese as this was really a local airport and unfortunately the English was sparse around here. She told me that the government set the price for the ride from the airport to Tunxi. Well that explained everything.   For once the locals can legally rip you and everyone else off.  So I asked where the bus station was because there was no way I was paying that guy 260 RMB.  Sort of the principle by the time.

The taxi driver had been following me around waiting for me to succumb to the inevitability of it all.  But I perservered!  I negotiated a very expensive ride to the bus station 30 RMB = $4.75 and off we went.  But not before he got another passenger to go with us.  I could not fight this as my Chinese was exhausted.  As I sat listening to the driver and the Filipino guy negotiate the ride to Tunxi I realized he managed to get him to drive there for 100 RMB. WOW!! I confirmed this in English after he was done negotiating.   And I could  not get in on that deal as the driver was not going to back down on his price to us even though we were sharing the car.  I sort of tried but I just couldn't muster enough energy to figure out the right words. 

We got to the bus station and figured out the right bus, which was leaving right away.   So the bus number was number 8 and the cost was 16RMB = $2.50.  I got confused (again) with what I had read.  Oh well, we were now on our way.

 

A wonderfully easy ride of 45 minutes with some interesting countryside views.

And then we arrived.  The bus driver asked which end of the main street did I want to be let off and since I had no idea where our hotel was I just said this end was fine.  Or perhaps I just said "stop here" since I don't know the words for "this end is fine".    As it turned out we got off at the wrong end of the street, figures, but no big deal.  We looked around for a map or sign but none were within sight so I decided to call the hotel. (yes, I was that prepared).  They asked me where we were standing and I told her the name of the hotel we were standing in front of, she replied oh, your Chinese is so good.  (huh?) It became obvious that my Chinese was not very good as the driver could not find us after 15 minutes and I had to call again. 

While we were waiting this guy came along with all his recyclables.

The other interesting thing that happened while we were waiting was that a car stopped and asked what hotel we were going to, and the fellow asked us in perfect English!  Hmmm, my ripoff radar was on high alert!!! I just smiled and said we were all set thanks.  So he asked again, and I realized, oops maybe he is our driver to the hotel.  So I said we were staying at the Tang Kou hotel, are you our driver? He replied, no.   He then parked his car got out and walked over to talk to us. Alert! Alert! Alert! He introduced himself and handed me his business card, which said Mr. Cheng.  Mr. Cheng?  Do you have a restaurant called Mr. Chengs, I asked? He replied, yes.   I told him that we were planning on eating at his restaurant that very evening.  He said ...you know my restaurant?  Are you the Mr. Cheng written up in the Lonely Plant Guide book? Yes, he said and smiled!  So here we are waiting for our driver to the hotel and Mr. Cheng is trolling the streets for business. He has a hostel, restaurant and travel agency business.  He has moved his restaurant, he told us, it was no longer on main street but he would meet us later and take us to his new digs if we would like. We agreed upon a time to meet in town later that evening.  I know you are thinking,  here you are in a strange town and the owner of the restaurant you are thinking about going to for dinner pulls up along side you while you're waiting in the road and introduces himself.  Only in China, a land of 1. 3 billion people. Crazy!

The hotel was only a 5 minute drive from where were let off on the bus and it looked nice and clean. Sort of like a clean Motel 6.   I had booked it on the internet and the cost was 220 RMB = $35.00 USD  for the night, a room with 2 single beds and a bathroom.  



See how nice and clean and tidy it is! I highly recommend this place.  The sign near the counter read that if you came in off the street to book a room you would pay 680 RMB a night = $107.93 USD.  Big savings when booking in the internet.

And isn't it nice (and a little weird) that they leave some free milk for you.  Other hotels may leave you a bottle of water but this hotel gives you milk.

After we dumped out backpacks we headed out to explore this town of Tunxi at the base of Huangshan Mountain. 

Why the English name of this company struck me as funny I don't know, and I do love the side of ham just hanging above it. 

To the untrained eye this may look like a pile of trash but in reality here lay a bunch of decorations that were going to be hung soon for National Day.....well that's what we thought.  It may really be just a trash heap!

I suppose she may have been off to the market?

And as we turned the corner,  there she was, Huangshan in all her glory! All 1,864 meters or 6,115 feet of her.  Huangshan is known for its sunrises, pine trees, "strangely jutting granite peaks", and views of clouds touching the mountainsides for more than 200 days out of the year. (as copied from wikipedia).

As we walked along the river which seemed to bisect the town, we saw this great sign on a hostel.

It was great to see the local color with the towns people going about their daily business and  me sneaking peaks down small alley ways with my little camera.

Two girls here clearly discussing the attributes of this glorious mountain....or perhaps just chatting about hair styles.

And who was waiting for us in town....good ole Mr.Cheng! (Like a vulture claiming his prey....just kidding)

Mr. Cheng turned to be one of the good guys! Honestly.  I would look him up again if I ever went back to Huangshan.

We walked around a bit more, took a few more photos and then headed over to Mr. Chengs restaurant.

Adorable twins!  I have tried to explain to some of my friends that most children wear split pants here in China as disposable diapers are very expensive, you have to have disposable income to afford disposable diapers.  Yes, the kids piss and poo right where they are standing. It's disgusting, no other way to describe it.  Nothing cute about a 2 year old using the sidewalk as a toilet and the mom watching on, not embarrassed that they can't find a private spot or a public toilet.   It's an interesting dynamic in my head, you see these cute babies, this nice looking family and then BANG they do something that is just out of my understanding.

 I do like these lovely archways, very poetic.

 Now what could be going on here? Turns out September 1( or it's the 1 - 15th) is the day to remember your ancestors. It's tradition to burn some incense and say a few prayers.

 A nice evening to sit by the river.  Shirt off, socks on!

We finally made it to Mr. Chengs restaurant.  His wife cooked us a lovely meal!  It was the best meal we had all weekend.  There were some other guests at the restaurant as well.

 Mr. Chengs' uncle is an artist and took us inside the restaurant to show us (sell us) some of his paintings.  We thought he was quite good.  Christa bought the red painting in the background here. 

After a good nights sleep we headed back to Mr. Chengs to have breakfast.  He promised us he was the only one is town with good coffee..... and banana pancakes.   His coffee was very good and Christa opted for the pancakes, I had a fried egg with toast.  Next up was another bus ride to the base of the mountain and the cable car to take you three quarters of the way up Huangshan.  That bus ride was 19 RMB = $3.00 and then you had to pay 230 RMB = $36.50  to get into the national park. And another 90RMB = $14.25 for the cable car!! This is not a cheap weekend holiday.  A local Chinese could not afford this kind of expense.  The 230 RMB is the park fee for everyone.  No student discounts but if you are over 60 years of age the entrance fee is waived.  

 I have often wondered when I ask a Chinese about a local or nearby town or site they say oh, I have never traveled there.  It's too expensive for a regular guy to travel.  Think about this, our driver makes 2,500 RMB a month, if he wants to go to Huangshan for the weekend  the cost would be at least 1,000 RMB including flight, hotel, meals and entrance to the park.  That's 40% of  your monthly salary.
 

Up we went in the cable car, it was a stunning ride!

See how the clouds touch the mountain, this must be one of the 200 days that the clouds do that.

The back of a hotel, not ours, our hotel was much further up.  A nice 30 minute climb from the cable car to our hotel to be exact!

Off the cable car and on to the mountain.  It looks like I have already hiked a couple of hours, when in reality I was happy to step foot on terra firma, that cable car travels quite a ways up!

 And more clouds touching the mountain!

 A trip in China is never really complete without a good sign to brighten your day. 

 

 The Beihai Hotel!

We were excited to learn that we could dance the night away if we chose, unfortunately we didn't see any karaoke.  This was very surprising as most holiday resorts in China have a good KTV place.  Perhaps you must be a VIP to get into the KTV rooms.

Very strange signage especially since we had gotten off on the 5th floor. I am never going to understand this country!

Pretty room.  Since it was now noon we decided we should go have lunch.  Typical Chinese style restaurant, looks like a banquet hall.

We had a lovely lunch, but it was not as good as Mr.Chengs.

Dress code at the restaurant was quite casual.

If the cost of the hotel was too expensive for you or you were an outdoorsy kind of person you could rent these nice tents.    Also if you were feeling "emperor like" you could have some carry you up and down the craggy mountain side.

We saw many workers hauling stuff to the various hotels.  What a job.

 

For your enjoyment here are some pretty shots of the mountain.  There is more to the story. Much much more but as it has taken me 1 month to get around to organizing these pictures and telling this part of the story I think I will stop here and let you enjoy the beauty of Huangshan.  Should we get together for a coffee or a visit and  you ask, I will share the rest of this memorable trip with you.

 But you can run like hell if a bear is chasing you.  Just kidding, there is no wildlife on this mountain, maybe we are too high up?

 As an aside, it is said that the top 11 attractions (also sited as 'must visit') in China are:
1. Great Wall - Beijing  (seen)
2. Yangtze River - Three Gorges across south China... by the way the mouth of river is in Shanghai (so I can say I have seen the Yangtze.....yes?)
3. Terracotta Warriors - Xian (seen)
4. The Bund - Shanghai (seen)
5. Li River - Guilin  
6. Victoria Harbor - Hong Kong - (really? this is on the list? I don't consider this China.....seen)  
7. Huangshang - East China (seen)
8. West Lake - Hangzhou (seen) Again I struggle with this being a top 10 site.  It's a man made lake, albeit 2000 years old with a drought ridden history.  Only about 800 years ago after many dynasties of dredging, mowing, connecting of waterways it began to appear as a natural lake only to fall victim to lack of government attention and funding 400 years later.  At that time the lake was reclaimed by noblemen and turned into 'cultivated zones', also known as farmland. Then in 1450 the governor of Hangzhou got permission (and funding) to dredge and reclaim the lake.  "It took 152 days, and 6,700,000 manpowers, and cost 23,607 liang of silver, to get rid of all the illegal fields..... 3,481 Chinese acres."  Ok, so a long history - like everything in China has - but top 10???  (forgot to make a note of where I got this off the internet.)
9.Lhasa - Tibet  This is a strange one to put in the top 11 (and here I am assuming this list has been created or at least sanctioned by the CCP of the PRC) as the government has put some strange rules in place that must be adhered to if you want to visit. i.e.  According to new rules and regulations you can only go in groups of 4 and all the individuals in the party must have the same nationality passport.  Huh?  Basically it means it's hard to get into that region to visit.  Maybe that's why it's top 10??
10.Yungang Grottoes - Datong, North China.
11. Chengdu - see the Pandas.  

So this crazy list has popped up a few times when I Google top sites in China.  I disagree with this list as there are wonderful remote places in China, places that have temples hanging from sides of mountains like Jingxia. 
Or what about the Horse Hoof Temple? 
Which you can read about if you click on the link. 
Indeed, there are other spectacular wonders in China and while remote are more deserving ( in my opinion) of being on the top 11 list.   And what the heck is a top 11 list anyway.......only in China.