Huangshan UNESCO Global Geopark, Anhui, China

5LG_Kay 5:00 PM Sep 29, 2018

Complete 2 full days hiking itinerary for independent travellers
This is my second time I visited Huangshan. Allow me to share my experiences with you. Accomodation: There are 3 areas for accomodation: 1. Tunxi 屯溪 - This is downtown Huangshan city, a regional transport hub with airport, train & bus. Most happenings here, with lots of accommodations and amenities. However, Tunix is 65 km or 1.5 hours to Huangshan Scenic Area. 2. Stay at Mountain Summit - This is highly recommended for those who wishes to view sunrise and sunset. As expected, there are limited hotels on the summit and they are much pricier. 3. Tangkou 汤口 - A little town right at the southern base of the mountain. There are decent hotels, restaurants and convenience shops here. Main advantage is you are 1.5 hours ahead of those tour groups starting from Tunxi. This is my option. Transportation: Depending on where you come from, my recommendation is to take the high speed train to Huangshan North Station 黄山北站. If you come from Shanghai like me, high speed train has only 2 departures to Huangshan North at 08:42hr & 1807hr. I studied the high speed train map and noted that Shangrao is a great transit point. There are many regular trains if you break the journey into 2, ie from Shanghai Hongqiao to Shangrao, and then from Shangrao to Huangshan North. Ensure you have at least 30 mins to connect the trains at Shangrao. Upon arrival at Huangshan North station, turn left & walk 200m to Huangshan Tourism Passenger Transport Hub 黄山旅游客运枢纽 to take bus to Huangshan Scenic Area South Gate i.e. Tangkou 汤口. I managed to catch the last bus departing at 19:50hr. Bus fare 20rmb, 50 mins ride. If you arrive later, there are many taxis around. Explore Huangshan: Huangshan Scenic Area can be broadly divided into 3 main regions: 1. The Eastern Steps or Back Mountain 后山, served by Yungu Cable Car 云谷索道. One can hike up from the base which requires about 2 hours. 2. Western Steps or Front Mountain 前山, served by Yuping Cable Car 玉屏索道. Hiking up from base requires 3-4 hours. 3. West Sea Grand Canyon 西海大峡谷, served by Taiping Cable Car 太平索道 which is at Huangshan North Gate 西海大峡谷北入口. There is also a monorail that connects West Sea valley 谷底 to Tianhai 天海, which is in Western Steps region. Day 0 This is primarily my transportation from Shanghai to Huangshan as mentioned above. At Tangkou, I stayed in Baichuan Hotel for this trip and Chengjin Hotel for my previous trip. Please see my separate review if interested. Day 1 Exploring The Eastern Steps and Western Steps There were 3 of us. We started early at 07:30 hr to beat the crowd. First, we headed to the bus station & purchased a bus ticket to Yungu Cable Car Station. Bus fare 19rmb, plus 3rmb compulsory insurance. Ensure you take the bus heading to correct cable car station. Bus ride about 20 mins, through winding road. After alighting the bus, just follow the sign to the ticketing office. We purchased the entrance ticket 230rmb and cable car ticket 80rmb. I was glad the queue was short and I was almost walking through to take the cable car. Cable car ride is about 10 mins. We were blessed with great weather in the morning. After exiting the cable car, I could witness the beautiful sea of clouds, against the clear blue sky. We covered the Eastern Steps region for my entire morning, as follows: Beginning to Believe Peak 始信峰 -> Black Tiger 黑虎松 -> Beihai 北海 -> Refreshing Terrace 清凉 -> Monkey Watching the Sea 猴子观海 -> Lion Peak 狮子峰 -> Unity Pine 团结松 -> Xihai 西海 -> Cloud Dispelling Pavilion 排云楼 -> Flying Over Rock飞来石 -> Bright Top Peak 光明顶, which is in the Western Steps region. From Bright Top Peak, we headed to Tianhai 天海. At 1300 hr, we had a quick lunch at a restaurant near Baiyun hotel, which is in Tianhai area. Restaurant food is ok, except much pricer, as expected. We continued hiking the Western Steps region at 1330 hr, as follows: Tianhai 天海 -> Turtle Peak 鳌鱼峰 -> Hundred Steps Ladder 百步云梯 -> Lotus Pavilion 莲花亭 -> Welcoming Guest Pine 迎客松 -> Base 老道口 of Celestial Capital Peak 天都峰. It was already 1530 hr when we were at the base. I checked with the locals and realised the Yuping cable car station 玉屏索道 stops selling ticket by 1630 hr. It was too late to hike up Celestial Capital Peak. As such, we decided to climb the next day. we then headed to Yuping cable car station, bought the ticket, 90rmb, 10 mins ride down. Finally, we took the bus back to bus station, fare 19rmb. Day 2 Exploring Celestial Capital Peak 天都峰 & West Sea Canyon 西海大峡谷 At 7:30 am, we headed to the bus station, purchased ticket (19rmb) to Yuping Cable Car 玉屏索道. Note bus ticket is exactly the same, just ensure you are heading to Ci Guang 慈光 (Merciful Light) instead of Yungu. After cable car ride, we had to repeat the hike first to Welcoming Guest Pine 迎客松 -> Base 老道口 of Celestial Capital Peak 天都峰. Climbing the peak was challenging as the steps were steep. I was glad I brought along gloves, as I needed to hold on to the side ropes and chains for safety as well as pulling myself up. We took about 40 mins to climb to the first peak. Be extra careful at the top, as one is walking along the narrow ridge. We spent about 20 mins resting as well as taking lots of photos. We hiked another 10 mins to the higher peak and spent another 20 mins there. Hiking down is much easier, though tough on the knees. I recommend to walk sideway down for safety and less strain for the knees. 30 mins is sufficient to get down to the base. After Celestial Capital Peak, we headed to Tianhai and took the monorail down to West Sea Grand Canyon. This is the most expensive ride, 100rmb for 4 mins, what day light robbery! Monorail ended at the canyon valley 谷底. From then on was a long, steep and challenging uphill climb, covering the Second Ring 二环, then First Ring 一环 and finally arriving at Pai Yun Pavilion 排云亭. We were the only ones climbing uphill, as other travelers were going downhill. We spent 2 hours to complete this hike. FInally, we took the Taiping cable car 太平索道, ticket 90rmb, down to the base of the mountain. There was no more bus back to town around 1620 hr. As such, we took a tout cab, 120rmb for the 3 of us. Cab took more than an hour to bring us back to Tangkou, really worth it compared to the monorail. This ended our 2 days hike in Huangshan. We enjoyed the views and was thankful for beautiful weather. Some tips and additional comments after my trip: 1. Entrance ticket is valid for 3 days. As such it is recommended to visit 2 full days if time permits. 2. Food and drink are expensive at the mountain top. For the budget conscious, suggest to pack your own picnic lunch, snacks and lots of water. Else travel light but pay more for food and drinks. 3. As mentioned earlier, the cable car stations stop selling ticket after 1630 hr. Hence time yourself and ensure you do not miss the last cable car, unless you plan to walk down. By then, you may have problems taking the bus back to town. 4. Toilet facilities are available in the scenic area but bring along tissue papers. 5. As English is not commonly used, have all your places, hotels, train/bus stations, etc printed in Chinese to facilitate asking for directions. 6. Maps and direction signs, with English translations, are placed at many spots, hence it is quite easy to navigate around. However, there are some split points without direction signs. Always ask around if not sure. 7. The crowded areas are the Tianhai, Beihai and Welcoming Guest Pine. If you walk 100m away, the noise level drops drastically. 8. For West Sea Grand Canyon, I strongly recommend to do the opposite direction as mine, ie take a cab to Taiping cable car station, take cable car up. Then it is all downhill starting from first ring to second ring. Finally take the monorail up to Tianhai, which is in Western Steps region. 9. If you are generally fit, I highly recommend to hike up Celestial Capital Peak. The reward is an awesome view of the surroundings if the weather is good. 10. If you have only 1 day, I suggest that you cover the more popular and beautiful Eastern Steps and Western Steps regions. 11. I took a photo of Huangshan map, with Chinese and English names, altitude and estimated time to cover certain sections. I have posted here, which may be useful for your planning. If you find this post helpful in planning your trip, kindly click "Helpful". Thanks so much.

4Deanosaur89 5:00 PM Dec 21, 2020

Great Visit to Huangshan
The mountain was a highlight and took a full day. Wish we would have spent another full day in the area to explore more at the base as there is quite a few things to do. We would say two days in the area would be perfect! During our trip in December it was quite chilly so remember to bring good boots and a few layers you can quickly change in and out of. Food in the park is a bit overpriced so plan to bring stuff in from town. A stay on the mountain looks nice but we stayed in Tangkou Town and enjoyed our time all the same!