Yuntaishan Geopark, Henan, China

5yiiim2 5:00 PM Mar 9, 2016

Red Stone Gorge and Zhuyu Peak (Phoenix Mountain Glass Skywalk)
Yuntai Mountain or Yuntaishan Geopark is about 3 hours by bus/car from Zhengzhou. As I planned to use public buses to get to the area from Zhengzhou and very little English is spoken in the area I decided to use the services of an Zhengzhou based English speaking guide who I found doing a search on the internet. The trip from Zhengzhou started at 0730 and involved getting a bus from the new Northern Bus Terminal in Zhengzhou to Jiaouzo (2 hours - frequent buses) but on arrival at the Jiaouzu bus station there were private car drivers waiting for the bus and they offered to take us to Yuntaishan and wait for us for 200 yuan return so we used their private car for the rest of the trip to Yuntaishan. There are several different scenic areas in the Geopark to visit but as we only had 1 day the car driver suggested that we would only have time to visit 2 of the areas so I chose Red Stone Gorge and Zhuyu Peak (has the Phoenix Mountain Glass Skywalk). The fee for the park on February 29, 2016 was 125 yuan for a 2 day pass and they do give a seniors discount. The pass allows the use of the buses within the park. The first area I visited was Red Stone Gorge - a very spectacular area with a number of bridges and waterfalls viewed from walkways cut into the cliffs. The walk through this area took about 2 1/2 hours. At the end of the Red Stone Gorge walk there was a short walk down the road to the bus waiting area for Zhuyu Peak. The road up Zhuyu Peak is an engineering feat and offers spectacular views - I counted 16 tunnels on the road. From the parking area at the top there are steep stairs up the mountain and part way up the stairs you have the choice of going to a palace at the top of the mountain or branching off to the right to the glass skywalk. We branched off to the right thinking that we had done all the stair climbing but this was not the case and the track continued on with more stairs up and down. The distance from the bus park to the glass skywalk was 2km and took maybe 2 hours (I am 63 so the climb was done with frequent short breaks). Despite the effort involved with the walk it is very scenic so worthwhile. There is a charge of 5 yuan for the glass skywalk to cover the cost of cloth shoe covers. The glass skywalk was spectacular and well worth the long climb and walk to get there. It goes around the side of a cliff in a U-shape and offers spectacular views about 3000 above the ground. They are building a cable car to get to the glass skywalk - this should be completed later in 2016. The trip back from the glass skywalk was via the same 2km route and took about 75 minutes because there was more downhill than uphill. There were toilets at regular intervals and occasionally small shops selling drinks and snacks. After getting the bus back down to the Geopark entrance our car was waiting to take us back to the bus station at Jiaouzo. We arrived at the Jiaouzo bus station at 1840 and were able to buy tickets for a bus to Zhengzhou departing at 1900. We had been told that the last bus from Jiaouzo to Zhengzhou departed at 2000 but we discovered that the 1900 bus was actually the last bus! We eventually arrived back at the Zhengzhou bus station at 2100. A word of warning - beware of the taxis around the bus station - they all charge inflated prices and refuse to use their meters. It is best to get a taxi away from the bus station or flag one down on the main road. A visit to Yuntaishan Geopark is not to be missed - you won't be disappointed but you probably need to allow 2 to 3 days to see everything and do the visit at a more leisurely pace than I did.

5Ercole_Sh 5:00 PM Sep 6, 2013

Awesome. Beautiful and clean
First at all, congratulations to the Management of the YunTai Mountain National park. Everything is well organized and clean (heavy work done by hundreds of staff all around). After five years in China I can say this is one of the best places I have been. There is water for purchase everywhere, also food but very local taste so I recommend that you bring your own food with you. The ticket allow you to get into all the areas during two days but you cannot repeat the same place. Transportation is all arranged with tens of coaches going in all directions so you almost don't need to wait. If you don't speak Chinese point out in the map where you want to be and the guide available in each of the buses will tell you which to take and where to step down. About the park, I used two full days, I hope that my done schedule help you if you go there. DAY1 Hongshi valley (beautiful narrow canyon, around 2 kilometers walk). It can be very crowded so you can only slowly move. Zifang Lake. Easy to reach just after Hongshi valley. For 20 rmb you can ride a speedboat to enjoy the nice scenery around. It is just a minute or so but worth the money. Taking the bus again, you arrive to a wide open area where the three next valleys can be visited walking among them. Quanpu valley. Nice hike in a gorge of about 2.5 km back to the main area. Absolutely worth the waterfall, tallest in China but not carrying lots of water. A little bit like the one you can find in Yosemite park in California. Tanpu valley. Again around 2.5 km being back to the main area. Gorgous small waaterfalls through the narrow gorge. At the end, also an impressive mouth of a former glaciar. Worth the visit. Macaque valley. Same scenary with some monkeys and stuff. Can be skipped if you don't have time. DAY2 Zhuyu peak. Enjoy the ride in the bus through the Diecai Cave, bus drivers are faster than they should in the narrow mountain road and they would make your pants get wet !. The bus stop is around 1km below the temple at the peak. There is an option for a beautiful hike if you choose a path named Phoenix ridge of approx 4km till the starting point. The way is very easy and plain and the views from that place are absolutely breathtaking. From there you can also start the hike of the peak. Very nice path and views. To reach the Zhuyu peak requires very good shape and health. Very worth the views. The only con is that locals use to go to that place to yell to the mountains (yes, instead of saying Echo! they yell as much as they can and it can be very disgusting when you are there to enjoy peace and silence. In top of Zhuyu peak here is a buddish temple. Worth the physical effort to climb up. Wanshan temple. Before reaching the Phoenix ridge mentioned before, there is a path of 3km to reach Wanshan temple all the way down. I highly recommended, it was the best of all. Absolutely terrific. Take into account that you would need 2 to 3 hours for this 3km because most of the way is just a stair carved into the mountain (perfectly maintained and with handrail). Bring water before you start this path, and be prepaired to suffer pain in the muscles of your legs in the following says but as I said, don't miss it ! The temple per se is nice, specially surrounded by such beautiful mountains ( you will not believe yourself that you went down step by step from one of those peaks) I hope this helps you to enjoy Yuntaishan as much as I did.