Mount Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, is around 500Km west of Shanghai. In this report, a 6:30hr high speed train from Beijing South was taken to Huangshan North. A first class ticket cost $139 through https://www.travelchinaguide.com/ . It’s a fascinating train journey with a interesting mixture of city and countryside views. The city of Huangshan is a thirty minute taxi drive from the train station and the journey from the city to the entrance of Mount Huangshan is a 75 minute ride. There are hotels at the top of the mountain, and given enough time, they make sunrise or sunset vistas much easier to accomplish. Book early to avoid disappointment.
At the bottom of the mountain, a bus ticket is needed for the 20 minute journey to the entrance. At the entrance, a further ticket is required for either walking access or to take the cable car to the top. Beyond the entrance, the stairs begin. They continue pretty much the whole way to the top. According to the Apple Health App, 461 flights of stairs over 22,700 steps and 4.5hrs. The height delta from bottom to top is around 3,000 feet, however, upon reaching the top, exploring the various peaks at least doubles the amount of climbing.
Naming the mountain ‘Yellow’ mountain is entirely appropriate, it does have a yellow tinge. Many of the supplies for the hotels are carried up by porters. These porters carry two loads suspended from a wooden beam on their padded shoulders. In many cases, their load appears unfeasibly heavy, however, up they trundle, taking occasional breaks on the steps using another piece of wood as a support for the load and giving their shoulders a welcome break. About half way up to the top, there were a troop of small but aggressive baboons ready to steal any unsecured food items. A couple in front of me were attacked. A brave baboon ran and clawed at their plastic bag, as the contents rolled down the steps, other baboons grabbed the booty. It appeared to be a well rehearsed and practiced drill. Beware.
The Route
The map/route shown below has been reconstructed from photo GPS meta data. This simply draws a straight line from photo location to photo location.
Map data
jollytrails.com 