Huangshan - Yellow Mountain

Travel Dates:  April 4-5, 2013

So here I am, still playing catch up on my travel blog six months later...  oh well.

Since C. could only take a few days off for our trip to Kashgar, I decided to continue my China adventure travel with my friend Cristina.  We just wanted a quick overnight trip to Huangshan, the beautiful mountain known for its cascading cliffs, shrouded in mist.

The most amazing feat of the entire trip was really all the planning that took part before we even left.  Cristina has been in China for a number of years, and through her experience has learned never to leave anything to chance.  We took full advantage of every resource available, including her teaching assistant Ms. Li.  After gathering the maps and train and bus schedules and creating our general itinerary, Ms. Li made the phone calls to bus terminals and train stations to find out exact departure times, ticket prices, and even gate numbers when possible.  Then she wrote everything in English and Chinese, for every step of the way.  Our final itinerary ended up looking something like this:

arrive by taxi at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway station by 5:45 am
depart train station at 6:20 am
arrive Hangzhou Railway Station at 7:05 am
take taxi to Hangzhou West Bus Terminal
depart bus terminal at 9:50 am
arrive Huangshan Tangkou Bust Station around 2:00 pm
*Here we found a nice lady that let us buy the next day's return bus ticket
take mountain shuttle bus to Yungu cable car at 3:00 pm
*Here Cristina took the cable car up and I departed up the footpath, starting around 3:30 pm

next day:
wake up at 4:30 am to hike to scenic spot for sunrise
meet at cable car station to buy tickets at 10:30 am
take mountain shuttle back to Tangkou Bust Station at 11:30
catch bus back to Hangzhou at 1:00
arrive at Hangzhou bus terminal around 5:30
take taxi to railway station
take train back to Shanghai at 8:30
catch taxi back home, arrive around 10:00

So, getting to and from the mountain was in and of itself an impressive undertaking, and it was worth every minute.  I won't dwell on the shockingly bad traffic in Hangzhou, the insanely long line to buy tickets for the bus, the horrifyingly smelly toilets at the bus station, or the obnoxious and borderline violent crowd at the cable car station on the mountain - those details just get in the way of the truly awe-inspiring experience of the mountain itself.

Small Village Outside of Shanghai

Perfectly Civilized Bus Station in Hanghzou

Travel Buddies at the Rest Stop

Getting Closer to the Mountains

Yun Gu Cable Car Station

After such a hectic morning spent traveling on nearly every possible kind of road transport, it was a relief to arrive at the base of the mountain well before sunset.  I planned to tough it out and climb all the stairs up to the summit, knowing that I'd enjoy the quick ride down via cable car the next day.  When I checked my watch as I entered the gate I calculated I would have just enough time to find the hotel lobby before dusk, as long as I kept up a decent pace up the "shorter" Eastern Steps.

The entrance is rather understated, but they certainly try to warn unprepared travelers that this journey is not for the feint of heart:  one should at least "think twice" before embarking on the challenging hike.

Entrance to Eastern Steps

Warning

As I climbed I was thankful for the ever-shifting clouds to dampen the heat from the early spring sun.  When I remembered to take a break and look around, I was rewarded with serene views of towering trees nestled into craggy cliffs.  Any time I heard other footsteps approaching I was brought back to the task at hand: climbing up, up, and up some more to reach the summit before dark.

The higher I climbed the more the temperature dropped, but the more my heart rate increased, so I didn't feel the need to bundle up.  Also, the longer I climbed the more nervous I became about reaching my goal.  The clouds were thickening and threatening to rain, which would have made nightfall ever more imminent. 

Although my thighs burned on the never-ending stairs, and my lungs heaved with each press upward, I was constantly rewarded and refreshed by stunning views of bizarre rock formations and elegant trees with poetic Chinese names.  The frequent distance markers and surprisingly helpful maps were another source of encouragement as I mentally marked my progress and calculated my estimated arrival.  I tried to be a good travel buddy and send SMS updates to both Cristina and C. to let them know all was good along the trail.

Finally I arrived at the hotel, realized my phone lost service, and hoped to run into Cristina in the lobby since I didn't know what room we had (and I wasn't going to try and figure it out at the check-in desk). Fortunately I had barely sat down to a hot tea when she found me, and we quickly dropped our things in the room, turned on the heat, and went back to the buffet for an over-priced and under-flavored dinner before crashing into our wonderfully soft and mildew-free beds.

Nothing But Stairs

Unique Rock Formations

Scenic Lookout

"Immortal Pointing the Way" Rock

Misty Mountains

Maps: helpful enough, though sometimes disorienting

Campsite on Concrete at the Summit

The main goal for the following day was to wake up early enough to catch the sunrise and to have a chance at capturing the ethereal view of looking down upon mountain peaks seeming to float among the clouds.  It was a goal.

The reality was a strong urge to stay in the cozy bed, only overcome by the thought that this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to be missed due to sheer laziness.  We through the essentials in small bags, grabbed our cameras, donned our ponchos, and headed up the trail to one of the popular sunrise outlooks.  The lower ones were of course already crowded, and we soon realized that the other few thousand Chinese tourist were also keenly aware of the must-see sunrise opportunity.  We climbed a little higher to the "Refreshing Terrace" outlook, which already had several dedicated tourists, but we were able to squeeze about halfway to the front, along the rail overlooking the valley below.

I passed the time trying to snap the perfect photo of the perfect dewdrop, and Cristina kept an eye out for the first real glimpse of the sun.  We were finally rewarded with a brightening sky, and the shouts of Chinese onlookers: "The sun! The sun!  There it is!"  Now, I'm certainly one to appreciate the awe and wonder of nature, but come on, we all know the sun is always there.  I think the shouting and carrying on just wrecked the serenity of an otherwise peaceful scene.

Once the sun was indeed breaking through the clouds it was a mad rush to the front of the lookout for the perfect photo op.  This is when I'm glad to be a "tall Texan" so I could get a decent shot by simply reaching over everyone's head and releasing the shutter without bothering with the viewfinder.  I eventually decided that after all that climbing I too deserved a better vantage point, so I shoved my way through the crowd, doing my best to convince them in broken Mandarin "I just want one minute, I'll come right back" - something like Wo yao yi feng jong, ma shan hue lai!  It was not pretty by any means, so I got a photo and got the hell out.

Dewdrops from the pines

Just Before Sunrise at "Refreshing Terrace"

Anxious Crowds

Cristina's Patience Pays Off

Cristina was much more patient and continued waiting at the lookout, and was eventually rewarded with even more amazing views.  I was already onto my next goal:  get to the Grand Canyon to find those stairs jutting straight out from the mountain.  Away I went.

The real beauty of getting up at sunrise is that you beat all the other lazy bums to the hiking trails.  By 6:30 I was on my way past the other hotels, toward the Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion, which was the starting point of the massive loop around the Grand Canyon.  I knew it'd be impossible to get all the way around, so I hope to move quickly enough to get at least halfway.  It was easy going on the trail with so few other hikers, and I could stop as often and as long as I wished to compose the perfect photo of each breath-taking view.  I knew that the floating mountains of Avatar were inspired by these mountains, but I had no idea how truly other-wordly they would be.  I could have easily stayed in one place for half an hour, just gazing at the clouds swarming in and out of the canyon, but I knew that I had to keep moving to eventually find those engineering marvels, those seemingly impossible stairs.

Fuzzy Monkey at Cloud-Dispersing Pavilion

Perched on the Lookout

Peering Down into Grand Canyon

Inspiration for Avatar

As I came upon the first ring trail I debated momentarily about the best route.  Looking each direction it was choice between sheer drops of stairs one way, and sheer drops of stairs the other way.  I went left.  I honestly thought I might sit down and cry, after getting to the bottom and knowing I'd have to climb back out again.  Fortunately, the scenery was enough motivation to keep going; I just had to find those damn crazy stairs.  

Winding Path Down into the Canyon

I can't remember if it was between the two ring trails, or just after the second one, but I finally saw the magically suspended stairs emerge from the mist.   My heart skipped a beat before falling into my stomach, and I couldn't decide whether to scoot on my bottom or just hug the mountain.  After watching a small group of unexpectedly brave Chinese hikers scamper right down I decided I would just face in to the mountain and focus on my feet.  That strategy worked well enough, but it still scared the bejeezus out of me to look back and see what I had just done.  Who on earth decided that humans really needed to walk that path anyway?   And why did they put a rail that only came up to my thigh??Well, I'm glad someone did because it was an absolutely exhilarating experience.

Stairway into the Mist

Feeling relieved that I encountered those ridiculous stairs I had renewed energy to get back up both ring trails, all the while marveling at the path I had just covered.  I also found relief and enjoyment in the fact that now the trails were getting packed with cable car riders and it would be nearly impossible to get a photo without a few dozen other people in it.  

Crowds at Cloud-Dispersing Pavilion

The crowds got worse and worse as I returned to the central summit area.  It seemed I had enough time so I ventured a different direction that would allow me to pass by "Bright Summit," another famous must-see lookout.  By this time in the morning thicker clouds had settled in, and you couldn't even make out the signs for scenic lookouts until you bumped into them.  And then, the scene beyond the sign was just a wall of fog with a few dozen tourists crowded up to the railing to look at it.  My frustration rose with the increasing number of tourists, especially the large groups with matching hats being lead along by loud guides screeching into their crackling megaphones.  

My disgust with this new scene reached a new high as I tried to get back to the cable car meeting point.  I was the one and only person leaving the summit, while a few thousand were eagerly climbing up into the clouds.  I finally decided the only way to keep from getting shoved off the side of the trail was to stick out my elbows and push back.  I also shouted "Right side, right side, go to the right side!" in my broken Mandarin, which was received with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.   I became relentless in my attempt to forge a path, not caring if grandma, baby, or uncle was in the way.  I had a destination and I planned to make it on time.  Too bad that the last few hours of peaceful bliss were quickly becoming undone by this mayhem.

Massive Crowds Looking at the Fog

I was so relieved to reunite with Cristina, and we were able to get onto the return cable car with a few minutes to spare.  The ride down lasted about half and hour, and it was the perfect end to our mountain escapade.  Seeing the path far below and the trees swaying in the breeze created an ideal image for our sendoff back to civilization.  Part of me was trying to rationalize how "close" Huangshan is to Shanghai so I could make another visit, conquering different trails.  Meanwhile, another part of me realized you can never recreate an exceptional experience like this, and the best you can do is just let it become part of you so that you can always carry the memories with you.

I did it!!

More photos on Flickr:  Day 1 & Day 2