Travel #2 - "The Snow Season In China, It's Like The Tale"
Winter can be the right choice for an adventurous traveler to China, because in some areas snow-covered. Like Huangshan Mountain whose charms are like the land above the clouds.
Surely snow is an unusual sight because it does not happen in our country. This is also the reason why I go to China in winter and also low season aliases are not crowded with local tourists and hotel prices and entrance tickets to go down or it could be free.
Travel to Huangshan I travel from Nanjing city on a regular train with a hard seat costing 53 Yuan in 6 hours duration. Should have arrived at Huangshan Station at 3.30 am. But I fell asleep and realized at 3:45 am. Luckily the train boss treated me with special.
I can get off at the next station and take the train back to Huangshan without a new ticket. I was placed in the VIP station waiting room for an hour waiting for the train to arrive. 6In the train I was taken to the bed area instead of a chair. How fun. After 2 hours of stretching, the officer asked me to get ready, the train will soon arrive at Huangshan Station.
Around 7 am I was outside the station that looked cloudy and drizzling. Rushing for bus to Tangkou. The bus fare is 20 Yuan. Not to forget I bought a plastic coat for 5 yuan in the bus area. It takes an hour to arrive at the Tangkou Bus Station which is the southern gate of Huangshan Mountain. I left the terminal looking for lodging.
20 minutes passed but still not met, at the same time met another traveler who also seemed to be looking for an address. Unexpectedly we searched for the same address.
Proaching us together looking for, suddenly a man approached and offered us to stay at his hotel. The rate was 40 Yuan per person the same night as the inn we were looking for.
After we checked in, the room was nice, spacious with big double bed like a star hotel instead of the dormitory inn we ordered. Without much thought we agreed to stay at Mr. Hu Hotel.
To fully climb from the foot of the mountain to one of its peak takes 6-8 hours. While Huangshan has several peaks that must be visited. The highest peak was at 1864m not too high.
But to reach other peak needs a lot of climbing about 3-5 hours. And our time is not enough to climb full because we live at the foot of the mountain. The right idea is to take a bus and cable car.
Mr Hu voluntarily drove us back to Tangkou Bus Station with his car. There are many shuttle buses that go to 2 different entrances. Armed with the map we bought from Mr. Hu for 5 Yuan, we decided to enter through the eastern entrance where Yungu cable car is located. The ticket price is 19 Yuan buses per person.
In the bus we remember Mr. Hu. Apparently we've read in some Trip Advisor forums where people talk about it positively. But we remain vigilant.
In 25 minutes the bus has arrived. Entering the entrance we provide a passport to check. Winter this time (1 Nov-28 Feb 2018) there is no entrance fee to Huangshan alias free for foreign tourists.
Typically ticket prices are in winter 150 Yuan and in peak season (Mar-Nov) 230 Yuan. Not bad for a traveler. We walked to Yungu cable car. The ticket price is 65 Yuan per person for one trip. Cable car slowly rises upward, the more visible the more invisible sight of the fog.
In Chinese, Huangshan means Yellow Mountain. In recognition of the legendary Yellow Emperor Huang Di. According to Huangshan legend is the location where the Yellow Emperor ascended to Heaven.
Huangshan was formed about 100 million years ago by the unique rock formations of the glacial event. With an area of about 15400 hectares, has often become the subject of poetry, painting, literature and other traditional Chinese artwork along with modern photography. Because of its beauty UNESCO has set Huangshan as a world heritage site in 1990. In just a few minutes we were in the upper Yungu station. Out of the station looks people wearing coats and umbrellas. Not rain water but snow. We wore our coats because we wanted to enjoy the snow.
We climbed up and down the steps of the stairs. It is estimated there are more than 60 thousand rungs across the mountain area. Who is said to have been more than 1500 years old.
Several times we crossed several hotels and restaurants in some peaks that were barely visible by the fog. My admiration for China in addition to transportation is the availability of buildings on the top of the mountain such as temples, hotels and stairs so as to facilitate the Climbers.
We do not rest just eat the corn on the cob we bought at the shop for 5 yuan per seed. We continue to explore the beauty of the mountain fear of time runs out because the cable car closes at 4 pm.
Beautiful and famous spots we singgahi.The flying rock (rock float), west sea valley that charm like a mountain Pandora in the movie Avatar. The more snow falls on the trees, branches and leaves. Everything is white in shades of gray. Very beautiful.
Huangshan is famous for its odd-shaped granite boulders, but unfortunately it is unseen. Another beautiful spot is the sea of clouds is also not visible because of the fog. While peak pine trees look magical with snow covering it. In summer it must look more charming. But in winter the charm that Huangshan presented was equally beautiful, even more different, like the story in the fairy tale of the country on the clouds.
The long steps of the stairs become slippery because they are covered with ice. We must also be extra careful. Several times almost slipped. We forgot to buy crampons at the foot of the mountain. Lucky we found a pair of crampons wasted in the bushes. Each of us wore one-sided. We also have time to hunt for cable car. That may not be overtaken.
The corn shop owner says the cable car is closed at 3 o'clock in winter. We were getting worried that meant we had to climb down in the dark because we did not have a flashlight. Accidentally we bumped into 4 other local traveler who also going down the mountain. Instantly we were relieved. In haste we hiked up and down to Yuping Cable car. Nearly an hour's climb to the Yuping station.
The cable car is closed but there are still guards who are willing to help the cable car to operate. Ticket price equal 65 Yuan. We were taken into the station to wait for the cable car. Apparently there are already 6 people waiting. We're getting excited. Because climbing in the dark with ice-covered stairs is not an easy matter.
On arrival at the lower yuping sasi which is the west Huangshan entrance we ran for a bus to take us to the foot of the mountain precisely Tangkou Bus Station. Similar to cable car, bus operation hours are also closed. But because there were 12 people, one of the buses was willing to take us.
A valuable experience can climb Huangshan in the winter, there are a thousand challenges behind its million beauty. If a traveler wants to climb Huangshan in the winter, bring a crampon and flashlight. And should start at least from 7 am when not staying at the top of the mountain.
