Huangshan 黄山 Travel Guide

If you can be on Huangshan mountain in the right weather conditions you will come away like many an ancient Chinese poet and painter feeling you have seen one of China’s top sites. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Huangshan offers you the scenery seen in so many traditional Chinese paintings with the tops of peaks seemingly floating above cloud seas. Much of the mountain area is accessible thanks to up to 60,000 stone steps although some of the paths are not for those who have issues with heights! Huangshan is a great destination to add in to China tours.

The Yellow Mountain or “Huangshan” as it translates into Chinese is a mountain range found in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui. It is an area that has traditionally inspired many Chinese scholars, writers and artists for centuries with it’s spectacular sunrises and sunsets and it’s views down onto the clouds from above, as if you were in the heavens looking down.

It is also a favourite place to visit for budding photographers. As such you are likely to be visiting here for the stunning views created by strange looking granite peaks that pierce through the clouds. It is possible to stay up on the mountain overnight, although the choice of hotels aren’t outstanding and they are generally well overpriced due to their monopoly on the mountaintop.

With over 140 sections open to tourism it continues to be one of China’s most popular tourist destinations and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The sunrise itself is probably the biggest attraction that Huangshan has making at least one night’s stay and preferably two a must. Sunrises can be quite different from day to day so it’s well worth making sure you get out of bed very early not to miss them.

If you are very lucky you may get to witness “Buddha’s light” or “Glory” as it is known in the West which is a light effect that causes the viewers shadow to be surrounded by a rainbow like aura.

Huangshan also has many miles of pathways and has ample opportunity to keep even the keenest of hikers busy for several days.

Huangshan is also one of the countries top tea growing regions and some of the best tea in the country comes from this area so make sure you give the local brew a chance while you are here.

On the way back to the airport or station after a couple of nights on the mountain make sure, if you’ve got time, to take in the villages of Hongcun and Xidi. Themselves UNESCO World Heritage sites, fans of Chinese movies are likely to recognise them from the modern Chinese classic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The approximately 150 residences here date back hundreds of years to the Ming dynasty and are some of the best examples of their kind in China.

Try visiting Huangshan if you’ve been in Hangzhou, it’s only a fairly cheap 3 hour bus ride away. If you don’t fancy that then you can also organise a private car to take you there direct from Hangzhou.

There really isn’t a huge amount of choice when you are staying up in the clouds on the mountain. It tends to be best to pick the hotel you stay at by its location on the mountain.

The Behai Hotel is placed just a short distance from one of the best points to catch the sunrise and believe us when we say at 5 in the morning, the last thing you want to have to be doing is trekking miles to get to that point! The Xihai Hotel is a newer option.

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By Phil Stanley & Headseast – TCTC Destination Expert.