Location
Huanghshan is considered the Number One Mountain Under Heaven by the Chinese people. For anyone who has hiked up the mountains it will be hard to disagree. With intriguing rock formations, trees growing from the rock crevices and stunning waterfalls, all in the midst of a sea of mist and clouds, Mt Huangshan´s is a spectacular natural sight. Its beauty has inspired artists for thousands of years.
Wherever you look, this area has spectacular scenery with wonderful granite outcrops, sea of clouds and pine trees. The scenery is ever-changing making the mountain a different place in the different seasons and an attractive destination year round. The ”thing” at Huanghsan is really to see the sunrise from the mountain when light effect creates a magical scenery.
Huangshan has also multiple hot springs, most of them located at the foot of the Purple Cloud Peak. These are great for relaxing after a day or two’s hiking on the mountain.
The Huangshan mountain range comprises many peaks. The three tallest and best-known peaks are Lotus Peak (Lian Hua Feng, 1,864 m), Bright Summit Peak (Guang Ming Ding, 1,840 m), and Celestial Peak (Tian Du Feng, literally Capital of Heaven Peak, 1,829 m). Huangshan was formed approximately 100 million years ago when an ancient sea disappeared due to uplift and gained its unique rock formations in the Quaternary Glaciation.
Huangshan was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 for its scenery and for its role as a habitat for rare and threatened species.
VIEWING
There are two trails to the top of the mountain, the western and the eastern trail. The western one is generally considered to be more scenic route but it is a bit longer and not as easy as the eastern route. The western steps generally take 5 to 6 hours to complete. The eastern steps take 3 to 4 hours. The whole circle with peak circuit takes around 10 hours to complete.
You can also skip most of the hiking by riding the cable cars from eastern or western side. But even after the cable car ride you should expect pretty long steps to the viewpoints (approx 1h with many stops, eastern route).
IMPORTANT NOTE: It might get awfully crowded in Huangshan especially on the easiest routes (the ones with cable car). 95% of the crowds can be avoided by hiking all the way and even more certainly when taking the harder western route.
First get to Huangshan city. You can get to Huangshan city by plain, train or bus from Shanghai and by bus from Hangzhou. Flight from Shanghai leaves at 15:03 (takes 1 hour) and trains at 12:31 and 18:45 (takes 12 hours). From Shanghai you will also have direct buses to the scenic area at around 6:30, 7:50, 10:10 and 14:15 (5 hours bus trip).
Once in Huangshan City, you need to further take a bus or a taxi to the entrance of The Yellow Mountain Scenic Park, (64 km away from the city) which is called Tangkou. There are plenty of buses leaving for Tangkou at regular time intervals from Huangshan City bus and railway stations (one-way ticket: RMB10). A taxi would get you to Tangkou faster and in a somewhat more flexible manner but at a higher price (between RMB100 and RMB150 but some claim to get it for RMB30…).
Once in Tangkou you have the choice of taking yet another bus (RMB10) to one of the cable car stations which would take you directly to the top of the Mountain or hike footpaths therefrom.
ACCOMMODATION
Throughout the area there are hotels and guest houses that accommodate overnight visitors and you can also spend night at one of the peaks to see the sunset and sunrise.
Bus from Huangshan City to The Yellow Mountain Scenic Park RMB10 one-way.
Taxi from Huangshan City to The Yellow Mountain Scenic Park RMB100-150 one-way. According to some sources RMB30 only.
Admission fee to The Yellow Mountain Scenic Park: High season (Mar. 1-Nov.30) CNY230, low season (Dec.1-Feb.28) CNY150.
Cable car: High season (Mar. 1-Nov.30) CNY80, low season (Dec.1-Feb.28) CNY65. About 50% discount for children (110-130cm tall).
Opening Hours: 8:40 - 16:00
