Travel

Huangshan: the Best Trip I've Taken in China

By Julia Maher

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My trip to Huangshan was perhaps the best trip I have ever taken in China. I went with a group of friends two years ago in the late fall, sometime around early November. We took a small bus from Nanjing to Huangshan in the afternoon, and arrived at the base of the mountain in the early evening. Upon arriving we enjoyed a satisfying meal in a local restaurant and went to bed early at our hotel.

The next day we were up and out by 8am and ready to begin our trek up the mountain. As I come from Maine, a rather rural state in the U.S., I am an avid hiker and camper, so I was more than excited to begin our day's hike. However, I was completely unprepared for the stairs. Almost the entire mountain has been inset with stone staircases! The cases are of varying heights, lengths and steepness. Sometimes after reaching the top of one there is a space of a few meters of plain dirt ground, which is only interrupted again by yet another staircase.

Despite the monotony of climbing a seemingly endless amount of steps (most of which were far too narrow to accommodate my rather large feet), the scenery and the fresh mountain air were both exhilarating. My friends and I paused often along our steep and winding way to catch both our breath and the amazing views of the mountain side and the valley below. The crisp autumn weather was perfect for hiking, as we were neither too hot not too cold. Though, the higher we ascended the thinner the air became and the more frequent our stops!

When we reached the pinnacle of the final staircase and turned around, the view was spectacular. Not just because of the fullness of the foliage that surrounded and fell away from us, but the sheer height upon which we perched was near dizzying. Watching the passengers disembarking here from the gondola I felt an overwhelming sense of pride at having made it up to the top under my own steam. The burning in my calves made me feel that I had not only earned the view, but perhaps made it even more awesome.

After reaching the summit, we leisurely trekked across the top of the mountain towards the hotel where we were spending the night. During this part of our hike our pace was slower and more relaxed, affording us the opportunity to chat with the other hikers and walkers also milling about. Around nearly ever turn there was a small rock ledge on which you could gather to peer out over the mist filled spaces between the rocky peaks.  

After we had arrived and checked into our hotel we had some time to rest and clean up, before going out to yet another summit to enjoy perhaps one of the most vibrate sunsets I have ever seen, and certainly one of the only sunsets I have enjoyed in China.

The evening sky was lit up with hues of bright pink and yellow, which slowly faded into rusty orange and then finally into the deep purple that made way for the navy of the night sky, twinkling with the small, white stars.

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