Every time I travel in China I better
understand Shawn’s quip about Chinese people: individually, most are great
people, but in large numbers, that’s another story. Well that second part might
not have been put so diplomatically, but I’m paraphrasing here.
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| Rocky peaks of Huangshan |
After a month back in Hangzhou I was ready
to hit the road again. This time it would only be a short trip, to Huangshan
Mountain, one of the top natural attractions in China. Huangshan translates
into Yellow Mountain, although there isn’t much yellow to be found. Despite the
misnomer the scenery is beautiful, with jagged peaks and lookout points galore.
Most of my trips have been to cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou,
Nanjing, Xi’an—but I also want to see more of China’s natural beauty.
At the beginning of April this year (the
date changes based on the Lunar Calendar) China celebrated Qingming, or the
Tomb Sweeping Festival. The holiday is traditionally a time when people travel
back to their hometowns to honor their ancestors and clean the graves. Many
people still do travel back home, although others use the long weekend to get
away and sight-see. Whenever there is a major holiday in China touristy spots are
jam-packed, and you run into the problem that I mentioned earlier: hordes of
Chinese people. I don’t think I’d ever be totally comfortable around a mass of
boisterous loogie hocking, line cutting tourists. But at this point I can
tolerate it, so I’ll settle for that.
Saturday, April 1
st was a
working day for us, but then we had Sunday through Tuesday off. Joanna and I,
along with two other teachers—Shawn, from Canada, and Christian, from the US—decided
to visit Huangshan over the holiday. On Saturday evening we took a bus from
Hangzhou to Tunxi, the nearest city to Huangshan, where we spent one night
before heading to the base of the mountain.
Before our bus ride we bought a bottle of
Vodka, ostensibly for drinks at the hotel when we arrived. That plan changed
within 20 minutes of the 3.5 hour journey, and instead we drank on the bus.
Tunxi is a small city, and our cab from the bus station to the hotel took less
than 15 minutes. While the others checked in I bought beers at the convenient
store across the street, and after dropping off our bags we headed out to look
for food and more drinks.
At 10 pm most shops in the old walking
street in central Tunxi were closing down, and it seemed as though we’d have an
early night. During our food search we stumbled upon a small bar. As we entered
two foreigners smiled back at us like long lost buddies. “Hey guys, what the
heck are you doing here?” exclaimed one. We later learned that those two, plus
a third who came later, we basically the only expats in town, and they were
sure happy to see new faces. We were supposed to be out for one or two more drinks;
instead we stumbled back to our hotel at 4 am!
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Chinese BBQ, one of my favorite foods here. I actually prefer the veggies, cause sometimes
the meat looks sketchy (I'd prefer not to eat it if I can't tell what it is). |
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Shawn, Joanna, and Christian posing with locals; wait,
was I taking the picture? I can't even remember! |
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| Chengkan ancient town |
The next morning—well at noon, really—we
checked out of the hotel, ate breakfast/lunch, and hailed a taxi to take us to
Tangkou, the town at the base of Huangshan (1-1.5 hours from Tunxi). Halfway
between Tunxi and Tangkou we stopped at Chengkan, a well-preserved ancient
village. It was refreshing to see truly old structures. Most of Hangzhou’s
buildings are younger than I am; even most historical sites have been rebuilt
over the past few decades.
After a few hours in Chengkan we continued
to Tangkou, which is a tourist town for visitors heading to Huangshan. Accomodation
at the top of the mountain is limited and pricey, so most stay in Tangkou and
head up for the day. Up top we would pay over $100 a night for a room; at the
bottom, less than $20. Sure, our rooms were far from fancy, but we didn’t come
to hang out at the hotel!
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| More from Chengkan |
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Fields of rape flower (yes, that seems to be the real
name) just outside Chengkan |
Sunday night was much quieter than
Saturday, and we got to bed early. Monday morning we were off to Huangshan!
Well, more precisely, we were off to wait in line. First, an hour for the bus.
The bus drove us to the entrance, where we bought tickets and…waited another
hour for the cable car. We could either have walked up 2+ hours or rode the
cable car, and we figured it was better to save our hiking for the top,
especially since time was limited. There was a lot of waiting around, but
considering how many people there were, the line moved quickly. Like I said,
during holidays every major tourist spot in China is crowded.
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| Que to get on the bus... |
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...once we got off the bus, we saw this line for the cable
car (which continued inside) |
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| The view from the cable car was worth the wait |
Once we finally reached the top the masses
thinned out and we were able to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Most pictures
of Huangshan have misty clouds lingering over the peaks, but we visited on a
bright sunny day. I would much rather have blue skies than overcast or rainy
weather obstructing our view, so although we didn’t see an iconic misty
mountain, I was happy.
We never had much time alone up there, but
it wasn’t as bad as I feared. Two paragraphs ago I mentioned the word “hiking;”
let me clarify. One bummer, which I have come to expect, is that there are few
dirt trails in national parks here. The paths at Huangshan were nearly all
paved, and the elevation changes were marked out by stone steps. I prefer
natural paths, but again, it’s to be expected.
Pics from the top:
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| Christian with his walking stick |
After a few hours exploring up top we
debated whether or not to walk down the mountain or take the cable car. It was
3:30 and the last bus left for Tangkou town center at 5:30. The park employee
estimated a 2 hour walk, but we figured that was a conservative estimate—the
hike up supposedly took 2.5 hours—so we decided to risk it. 30 mintues into our
descent Christian, who had rolled his ankle earlier, re-sprained it. The
initial sprain was minor, but this time he had trouble walking.
We gave Christian a few minutes to recover,
and then helped him slowly hobble down the steps. I wanted to be sympathetic,
but in the back I my mind I also thought, “hurry the hell up or we’ll miss the
bus!” At the next rest area Christian bought a walking stick, which we named
Staffanie. He gradually picked up the pace and we reached the bottom by 5:20;
plenty of time to spare! Since it was so crowded for the holidy I guessed they
would run the bus service a bit later than usual, but I was glad not to test
that theory.
That evening we had more standard Chinese
fare at a restaurant in town, relaxed with a few beers, and called it a night.
The town shut down early, so even if we wanted to stay out there were no late
spots in sight. It was probably for the best, since Tuesday was our last day
and we wanted to take advantage of our time there.
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| Tangkou town |
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| Part of the Nine Dragon Water Falls |
On Tuesday morning we hired a car to take
us to the Nine Dragon waterfall, which is a short drive from Tangkou but
technically separate from Huangshan park (and requires a separate entrance
ticket). From the entrance it took us an hour for a leisurely hike to the falls,
where Shawn stripped down to his shorts and went for a dip. Now, he wasn’t
supposed to swim; but hey, the guards saw nothing, so why not? I was content to
sit on the rocks and watch him splash around in the freezing water, as were
Joanna and Christian.
The waterfalls themselves were worth a
peak, but nothing spectacular. The best part about Nine Dragon Falls was the
people—or lack-thereof. There were only a fraction of tourists compared with
Huangshan, and when we took a different path back down, we were actually
walking alone, a rarity in China. When we reached the main road at the bottom
we stopped for a late lunch, and then the driver took us back to Tangkou where
our bus departed for Hangzhou. The 3.5 hour journey out took 5 coming back, and
it felt like the whole city was on the road. By the time we made it back to the
apartment it was after 10pm, and both Joanna and I were ready for some serious
shut eye!
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| View from the quiet path |
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