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Published: September 18th 2007
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Huangshan
Love locks overlook Cloud Dispelling Pavillion Of course, there was too much fog and we didn't see the sunrise, despite getting up insanely early. We had overpriced breakfast buffet with disgusting coffee, and then checked out of the hotel to begin a days' hike. CL decided she needed to try the hotel cafe's coffee to last the hike. Still icky coffee, but better than breakfast's. I'm so glad she's a coffee addict. 😊
We explored more of the summit and finally saw some mountains. Still a little overcast, but at least we could see something other than mist and fog! The mountains are pretty and the entire area is very scenic. I was regretting bringing my big backpack and LP book. By backpack was a bit heavy. The views from the top were great and I was so happy the fog cleared a little. We were on the summit, but there was still a lot of uphill, downhill, uphill.... a lot of steep steps too. I am afraid of heights and the steps were OK. A few times I got scared, but overall was fine. I bought a cane/walking stick which helped a lot. Much of the steps and trails did not have railing! I'm surprised
more people don't die; the steps with no railing, coupled with fatigue and weight on the back...
We continued the trail down the Western steps and went to all the scenic viewing spots. The view was wonderful - the rock formations, trees, and steepness of the mountains all coupled together made the view so pretty. I heard a lot Chinese tourists say, "How it is this beautiful?!!" Ok, I admit, it is beautiful - but not astounding, breathtaking. I seem to compare everything to Bryce Canyon, which I describe to other people as "breathtaking". Anyway, the Chinese tourists loved it more than me.
There are love locks all around Huangshan. I saw this one man who was looking at the locks so forlornly and I wondered if he had lost an old love and hiked back up Huangshan to look for their lock, yearning for a girl he loved.... Nope. Turned out to be the person peddling drinks and trinkets who was away from his cart. Darn. However, I did hear a Chinese tour guide tell his group that there was a story of a couple who was about to get divorced, but then came back to Huangshan
to find their love lock and decided to stay together! 😊 That's more like it!
We anticipated going up the highest peak - Heavenly Peak. We took two looks at it and decided not to. I think that I would have been like a kitten stuck in a tree. It was so so so steep, narrow, and the "railing" was made of rope. It looked scary. We had already been going at steps for 7+ hours too, I was afraid my knee would give out and I'd tumble down, taking out everyone else on the hill. See picture.
So we got nearly to the end of scenic parts the Western steps and there's a cable car that will take you down the last leg of the steps (65 rmb). We decided that it was just a little further and would just take the steps. After the cable car entrance, there are a few nice spots to see, which I really enjoyed. However, the last 2 hours of the way down was miserable. It was just steps, steps, steps down. It was fairly steep and there weren't railing for a lot of it. My calves were aching, knees wobbling.
And it was pretty, but not anything worth seeing. There was a Chinese tour group that was going down as we were and they were all in dress shoes, slacks, carrying purses, one lady was wearing a pearl necklace and black cardigan. One girl had a radio in her purse and played Chinese music the way down. One woman was hurting and started to walk down backwards. So odd. Oh, and towards the end, the steps got a little boring... one guy was playing his cell phone
ring tones as background music while he walked. I thought I was going to tumble down the hill from laughing. It was that bad -- that he had to play as entertainment or encouragement to get down the hill. Haha. It was funny. CL thought I must have been delirious from being tired. Anyway, if I could do it all over again (which I won't), I would take the Western trail, and then hike to the base of Heavenly Peak and hike back UP to the cable car station. Skip the last two hours of steps.
We saw many porters carrying food and drink up the Western steps. It's amazing how much
they can carry while going up and down steep steps. When we were going down, we saw one guy was balancing 175 kilos uphill. That's more than me and CL put together. He could have carried us both up the mountain! He managed to lap us because he passed us on his way down. You can also be carried on a chair up/down the mountain by porters. I forget how much it is, but it looks scary.
Phew. We made it and my calves where in pain. I was practically limping! We caught a cab down the mountain, which was terrible. The cab driver was a maniac who was
accelerating when the road curved. The road was narrow and you can't see oncoming traffic at the curves, so the cab driver used his horn as he turned. He was honking his horn the entire way down, no joke. Not just some "beep, beeps" but laying on it. It was pretty scary. Thankfully, I was sitting in the front seat or I surely would have gotten carsick. We got back to shady hotel where our luggage was stored and the hotel gave us a ride to the hotel we had
Huangshan
Can you see the steps up? This is on the way "down" the Western steps. a reservation at.
The hotels in Tangkou Town are old, run down and they all look ick. I read online that Tangkou Hotel (the one we stayed at) had recently been renovated. The rooms were clean and nice. We finally get to our room and start relaxing. CL likes to unpack all her things shortly after getting to the hotel - toiletries in the bathroom, shampoo placed in the shower, etc. I never do that. But for some reason I followed her lead and I unpacked all my stuff too... took out everything from my suitcase, etc. I go to take a shower, and realize that the toilet doesn't flush! I call the front desk and the hotel person comes up and didn't know how to fix it immediately, so they asked us to switch rooms. Darn. I had to pack everything up again! The one time I ever unpack! At least I didn't go #2 and the realized it didn't flush.
Overall I liked Huangshan. The pictures don't do justice. You have to go yourself and check it out. The mountains are just really unique, beautiful, and picturesque. It’s worth the two days of hobbling and limping!
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Patricia Graves
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Love Locks
Was this site featured on an Amazing Race show? I seem to remember it. I am enjoying reading about your travels.