Advertisement
Published: June 14th 2006
Edit Blog Post
The 15p per hour internet cafe is providing much welcome relief and relaxation after the exertion of the past 36 hours. At 10am yesterday morning we boarded a minibus outside Xian train station bound for Hua Shan (mount Hua, a famous taoist mountain with 5 peaks, 120km east of Xian). We left at 11:30...
We arrived 1 and a half hours later, and the sky was grey and heavy with light rain, even at the foot of the mountain. Looking skyward the peaks were hidden in the mist, which was probably just as well - what you don't know can't hurt you. Aye, right! There are three options that can lead you to the North peak: the first is an Austrian built cable car which takes you up in about 10 minutes; the second, a sweaty two hour ascent under the cable car, which includes two 50m vertical climbs with nothing but a steel chain and chinks cut into the rock to assist you; the third, and the option we went for (probably foolishly) is a 6 km trek starting in the village of Hua Shan.
The trail starts at a Bhuddist temple and winds up through steep sided valleys for
4 km of ever-steepening granite track, and then it gets nasty. At this point we started to hit the steps. At first they came in threes, then by the dozen, and before we knew it we were clinging on for dear life to (wait for it...) chains and chinks! Okay, so maybe it wasn't as bad as the film set from Cliffhanger on the other side of the mountain, but I think the pictures speak for themselves. This we endured for 2km. Alison loved it...
Tired, sweaty, but mostly relieved, we hit the North peak two and a half hours later, and the scene that unfolded before us was simply incredible. Snaking out from the North peak along a razor sharp ridge was another collection of granite steps and tracks leading to the four other peaks (East, West, Central and South). We gritted our teeth, zipped up our fleeces and waterproofs (yes, it was that cold!) and started out towards the West peak which was our intended overnight stop. This section of the trek passed in a flash compared to the nightmare of the natural Stairmaster, and in good time Alison was bagged up and snoaring away at a little
over 7000ft. Alasdair went to grab some photos from the back of the hostel, and returned looking somewhat ashen after peering quizically over the edge of a nearby guard rail a little more then 20 metres from where we were sleeping, not realising it was all that stood between him and a several thousand foot sheer drop!
The alarm went off at 4:30am, and Alison was coaxed from her cocoon to head to the South peak to take in the sunrise. At 2160m (or 7086ft) it is the highest peak, and served up an unquestionably beautiful start to the day. From here we bounced round the remaining peaks in under an hour, and found ourselves once again contemplating the 2km steps of certain-possible-better be careful-thank goodness we made it-death. We were back down the mountain by 10am, and aboard a very comfortable bus bound for Xian by 10:30. An unforgettable 24 hours!
Leaving Xian in the rain, on a retarded minibus, we had our doubts and the anxiety levels were sky high. However the rain turned out to be a blessing as it took all the heat out of the atmosphere, and provided constant refreshment. The route was fairly physically
demanding, but this said we met the most bizarre cross-section of people making the same ascent. At one end of the scale there were the hyper school children (who were probably in their thirties!) who bounded up and down the mountain in their sneakers/pumps/slippers? Next were the ordinary joes who looked like they had just stepped out for the evening in their slacks, polo shirts and patent leather shoes, and said to their mates, "hey, do fancy climbing Hua Shan? Nothing better on." Close to the other end of the spectrum were the Chinese grannies dutifully making their way to the top accompanied by the odd spectating family member. At the extreme of this end of the spectrum, were the local hauliers - middle aged men with the occassional women, shouldering 30-60 kilos suspended on either end of a 6ft beam of bamboo. One even did this no-handed whilst he piped a merry tune on his flute. Remarkable!
On the top of the mountain, stepping off the cable car, were the Hua Shan fashionistas tottering about in high heeled sandals, posing glamourously for photos on the edge of precipises, and still having annoyingly straight hair (according to Alison).
The weather
turned in our favour and was fantastic on the second day. The whole experience was beyond our expectations, and we would highly recommend it as an overnight trip from Xian. Although a day trip is possible, and equally worthwhile.
Getting There and Back:
The Tourist Line 1 bus only leaves at 8am - NOT throughout the day as stated in the Lonely Planet. We ended up getting an unmarked minibus from outside the station, which was 26Y each (one-way) and took 1 and a half hours. However, we did have to wait until it was full to bursting, which in our case took about 1 and a half hours, before leaving. So allow up to 3 hours! We were dropped of at Hua Shan village, 100 yards from the foot of the main entrance to the 6km trail. Getting back we took a bus from the main street running west through Hua Shan village. Don't worry, someone will make sure you get on a bus to Xian. If like us you end up being dumped at a coach park on the outskirts of Xian, take the 203 bus which runs through the East gate round the Bell Tower
and out the South Gate.
We paid 40Y per person for a dorm bed in the hostel at the West Peak. Incredibly, we were able to haggle the price down, even though we clearly had nowhere else to go! Ironically this is probably our first real bargaining success - long may it continue!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0289s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jingxing
non-member comment
'At 10am we boarded a minibus, We left at 11:30...' You are incredibly patient! Sorry for the terrible service. Mount Hua is so amazing, and you two are amazing as well, travelled to 3 peaks at least, and saw the sunrise, so energetic! Take some rest, maybe save some energy for the next month ^_^.