It took around 6-7 hours to arrive at Huangshan town where we were taken into a local restaurant and given lunch. We had to learn to eat very quickly because people grabbed food so fast we barely had time! Also the restaurants out here tend to not have any heating and the waiters and waitresses all wear coats. The food was pretty good, typical Chinese dishes. There was a small shop attached where we were encouraged to buy supplies and a torch.
We were then split into two smaller buses to be driven up to the mountain which took about 30 minutes from the town. From here we were given our entrance and cable car tickets and went up the mountain. The view was amazing and I was so grateful the weather was clear. When we arrived up the mountain and given walking sticks, rain coats and a map. In total there must have been around 30-40 people, everyone in their own group.
Climbing a mountain in China is very different because there are stairs and it's all paved. There are staff members who can carry you in a special chair or carry your luggage for around 500RMB depending on the distance. Bottles of water then start to cost 10RMB which is incredibly steep compared to the usual 1.2RMB in most stores.
The altitude and the cold air made it a little difficult to breathe and we walked for about 90 minutes quite casually and were actually the end group. We kept stopping to take photos and admire the view. A few times the tour guide called us to find out where we were so we picked up the pace. We walked past a staff member and asked how far it was to the hotel and he told us 30 minutes so we were relieved. When we caught up to the tour guide and asked him he told us we hadn't even started to climb the mountain! I nearly cried! Already I was so tired...
When we asked him how much longer he wouldn't give us a time which wasn't a good sign. So we kept going and around 5pm the sun started to go down. At one point we were faced into going down a dark tunnel stairs and had to start using the torch. It was scary and my stupid mind started thinking Blair Witch whilst I was walking with the torch.
The view was amazing and you didn't notice the cold so much because you were walking a lot. By the last 20 minutes I was so tired I ended up climbing up on my hands and knees. When we finally reached the hotel it was such a relief I just wanted to sleep!
The hotel wasn't too bad but you had to keep in mind it was very old and there are only 5 hotels at Huangshan. The room had two single beds, a shower, toilet, tv, telephone, heater and kettle. The room also had slippers, cups, towels. However, the hot water is only available until 10pm and doesn't turn on until 6am the next day. There is a massage room in the hotel but when we tried to go there they told us we were too late so after dinner we had an early night.
The cupboards also have extra coats but we were a little wary about how "clean" they probably were. Already we had been warned by the travel agent the bedsheets might not be cleaned very often.
We got up by 5.30am and headed out 6am to the most beautiful sight. It looked like something out of a painting. The mist settled over the mountains like snow, it was so thick and the sun started coming up so we followed the crowd of people about 15 minutes from where the hotel was and saw a huge amount of people gathered on the peak. I was in too much pain to climb much higher so we just stayed where we were to take photos.
I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to be there, it feels like a dream. It made that 4 hour climb all worthwhile. I was so happy to experience this in my lifetime.
We stayed out until breakfast which was at 7.30am. Breakfast was porridge, cakes, bread, eggs, a little plain. We then had some free time until 10am so we went out to take photos and explore a bit. We went to the cable car and headed back down the mountain and to the bus where we were taken to another restaurant for some lunch before we headed back to Shanghai.
Padlocks you can get engraved to attach on the bridge
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