Mian Mountain, Shanxi, China

5Igor K 5:00 PM Dec 20, 2014

Extraordinary Experience
November 2014, after a day in Ancient City Pingyao, instead of hiring a guide, and or taxi, we took a train early morning to Jiexiu. It took about half an hour, and saved a lot of money. We paid 50 RMB to the taxi to go to Mian Shan Scenic area. After procedures with tickets and hotel accomodations, in central tourist office, we were transfered into tourist bus, which run every half an hour. Magnificient fews around cannot be described into words, and put into photos and video. High altitude and clear air create feeling of Switzerland, high drop cliffs of Big Canyon in Nevada, and only Taoist Temples remind that you are in the East. Our family of four, with two kids, 7 and 10, consider trip to Mian Shan as a Highlight of all our trip to China. And ,when I asked everyone, which place in China you would like to visit again...Mian Shan was named the First! (Even we visited seven major places on our trip, like Beijing, Mutianyu Great Wall, Pingyao Ancient City, Jiexiu with Mian Shan, Xi'an, Qingdao, Lao Shan, Shanghai, and town on water Zhujiajiao) Views are outstanding in Mian Shan, and if we go next time, we spend at least three-four days there, just hiking and wondering. Rooms in Yunfeng Hotel are very comfortable, restaurant prices are reasonable, and food is excellent. You can view some of my photos on panoramio... http://www.panoramio.com/user/2191248

3Wherrittsat 5:00 PM Aug 21, 2013

Photogenic and really beautiful in parts, but really tacky in parts and an expensive day trip
Transport: a pain. We tried and failed to get there by public transport; got to Jiexiu ok (8 am white bus outside the train station in Pingyao 9 RMB). We were then hounded constantly by taxi drivers who told us there was no bus and no one else would give us a straight answer with a taxi driver stood next to us. The guy at the information booth at the train station was the only helpful person we found. He gave us detailed instructions where to find the bus, unfortunatly they were all in chinese. We managed to decipher there was a bus and it left from somewhere straight ahead from the train station. We ended up giving up and going to the underground castle instead. Next day we book transport through harmony hostel 260 RMB for 2 people. Cost: 110 RBM entrance fee, 50 RMB for bus and 5 RBM for map. The ticket office is at the bottom of a hill so you do need the bus, which is very annoying because the rest of the site is walkable so you pay 50 per person just to get from the ticket office to the actual front gate. We took are own food so not sure of the cost inside the park, the drinks prices were a bit more expensive but not to bad. The temples: Some are really beautiful and really well done and then next to them is a giant concrete snake! not really sure what they were thinking there to be honest. The temples are at their best from a distance close up most of them are in a poor state of repair, peeling paint, leaking roofs and tarpolines spread over parts. The skywalk pathway and temple of completness (a bit out of the way but hardly any tourists up here) were the highlights of this section. Qixian valley: This was fun and a great way to view the narrow valley definitly worth checking out if you are here. The scenic nature walk at the back of the mountain: The worst scenary in the whole park unless you like concrete. This is supposed to be the area you go to enjoy natural scenary. I can forgive a bit of landscaping, positionaing a few rock to create a vista more pleasing to the eye but here they have taken a pleasent stream and concreted the hell out of it, both the banks and the stream itself to create a perfect cascade of small perfectly straight falls with a few concrete aniamls for photo ops along the way the result is very artificial and tacky and as far away from a natural beauty spot as you can get.