A Complete Guide to Huangshan – The Yellow Mountains of China

Don’t be disappointed when you arrive at the foot of Huangshan and not seeing a single shade of yellow. Huangshan (the Yellow Mountain) gets its name from Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor. 

Huang Di was a godlike ancestor of the Han Chinese, and according to legend, he ascended to heaven right here from the Yellow Mountains.

Huangshan has inspired artists and poets for centuries and, being such an essential part of Chinese culture, is very popular with local tourists. Like mountains everywhere else, Huangshan keeps inspiring people to come in search of adventure, solitude and fresh air. If you need more reasons to climb a mountain, here are some inspiring mountain quotes to get you excited.

Before Huang Di’s ascend to heaven, Huangshan was pretty much unknown. However, that all changed when the big man himself evaporated from here, and Huangshan has been very popular among Chinese tourists ever since. Today Huangshan is classified as an AAAAA Scenic Area, a title that only the best and most beautiful places in China can get. Huangshan also acquired UNESCO status in 1990.

Huangshan is located in Anhui province and can be reached by either high-speed train or flight. Both Huangshan North station and Huangshan Tunxi International Airport are at least an hour away from Huangshan Mountain scenic area. Remember this when planning your trip to Huangshan.

Huangshan North Railway Station (黄山北) is the train station serving the Yellow Mountains, while the airport is in the city of Tunxi.

Buses run from the train station and airport to Tangkou (where the mountain is). The most convenient way to get to Tangkou is to arrange with your accommodation to send a driver to pick you up or get a DD taxi.

The ensuite room is spacious and clean, and the bed is super comfy. A tea set with Huangshan green tea awaits you in the bay window, where you can have yourself a little tea ceremony while looking at the mountains and trees.

Breakfast is included, and we had some delicious dumplings and warm, sweet soy milk. You can message the owner your dinner order; it will be ready by the time they bring you back from Tangkou. This beats looking for a place to eat after a day on the mountain or visiting the villages around town. The menu features mostly local dishes from Anhui province.

Visiting Huangshan in winter has the advantage of avoiding the huge crowds which the Yellow Mountain is notorious for. It is also a bit cheaper.

Like any other time, the weather in winter can be unpredictable (it is the weather, after all). However, you’re not guaranteed to have better views at any time of year. During our 3 days in Huangshan, we had 2 clear and balmy winter days and one miserable, cold and rainy day …GUESS WHICH DAY WE WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN????

While there is nothing we’d like to show you more than the incredible views of Huangshan, we didn’t see much other than fog and pine trees. What we can show you, though, is how to do Huangshan without taking a tour.

What’s the best time to visit Huangshan? There is no right or wrong answer. Having good views on Huangshan is all down to luck. So come when you can, and hope for the best. Avoid weekends and Chinese holidays if you don’t like the idea of hiking with a billion other people!

Huangshan will award you with good views if you have lived a good life. But that’s not enough.
To ensure good views on the Yellow Mountain, three generations before you must have lived good lives.

Local saying

Regardless of when you come, prepare yourself for not seeing the most beautiful mountains in China. The mountain is notorious for foggy weather.

On the day we went up Huangshan, the whole mountain was covered in thick fog. We walked for hours in rain and sleet. Instead of seeing the Sea of Clouds that the Yellow Mountain is famous for, we walked IN the cloud, not seeing a thing. It truly was a miserable day.

Unless you want to hike up the 60,000 steps to the summit of Huangshan in 3 days, taking the cable car is the best way to go up Yellow Mountain. Taking the cable car saves time and energy, and don’t see this as cheating, as you’ll still have to hike for hours once you reach the top of the mountain.

There are 3 cable cars and 1 funicular going up and down the mountain. They operate between 07:00-17:00 every day, but two are completely closed in winter.

The most popular route for Huangshan is taking the Yungu cable car up and then walking to the Yuping cable car to go down before stopping at the hot springs for an hour or two.

Once off the bus, follow everyone else (do you see a pattern developing here?) until you get to this ticket office. All the Chinese will have tickets already, so they do not stop at the ticket office. Pay for your Huangshan entrance fee( RMB 150 in winter) and your cable car ticket (RMB 65) here. Then proceed to the cable car station.

The Huangshan hot springs are the perfect end to a day of hiking the Yellow Mountain.
You’re sure to be exhausted by the time you come down Mount Huangshan, and, especially in winter, the hot springs are just the place to soothe those sore legs and relax after a day of hiking.

The Huangshan hot springs complex includes several mineral-rich, natural hot water pools. Several pools of various sizes, colours and temperatures are scattered around the garden surrounding a yellow pagoda. The temperatures vary between 40-42 degrees Celcius.

While you might be tempted to stay put and soak until you reach Nirvana, make sure to try all the pools. There are hot springs infused with red wine from Bordeaux, Huangshan green tea, vitamin C, coconut milk, jasmine flowers and another one with tiny fish that will come and nibble on your skin.

It was easy for us to forget how miserable it was on the mountain while soaking in these hot springs while the snow kept falling.

Entrance fee: RMB 198
Includes locker, towel and shower. (Robes are RMB 30 extra.)

Hongcun village (宏村) is exceptionally picturesque and well deserved for its claim to be one of the most beautiful villages in China. Hongcun sports UNESCO status for its well-preserved architecture and unique layout.

This beautiful village was established in 1130 and dates back to the Han dynasty. Hongcun has a very unique layout for an ancient Chinese village: in the shape of an ox. A hill nearby is seen as the head, with two tall trees being the horns. Four bridges cross a waterway to get into Hongcun, which are the legs. The houses inside Hongcun village itself are the body of the ox. The streams running throughout the village are the intestines, while the ponds are the organs of the ox.

For us, the highlight was the incredible reflections of the Hongcun before you walk across the bridge to enter the village. It’s stunning, especially early in the morning. The Moon Pond in the centre of the village is also very beautiful, with the buildings reflected in the pond.

There are several restaurants where you can get something to eat and drink. Local Anhui food such as duck and preserved vegetables or little baskets filled with purple, glutinous rice are also for sale on the street.

Entrance fee: RMB 104

The enormous Mukheng bamboo forest, halfway between Hongcun and Tangkou, is worth a stop for a stroll amongst these giant bamboos. This bamboo forest is gigantic, so much so that it is known locally as the Mukheng Bamboo Sea.

We walked up the path for about 40 minutes and, without end in sight, decided to turn around. Along the way, we saw, well, a metric fuckton of bamboo! The path also passes some green tea fields, and it really is a nice, relaxing stroll surrounded by 50 shades of green.

The most epic scene in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – the dance/sword fight among the bamboos- was shot here.

Entrance fee: RMB 40

THAT’S HOW YOU DO THE YELLOW MOUNTAINS!

We hope you’ll have a great time in the Yellow Mountains (including good weather, breathtaking views, no crowds and strong legs). If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below, and we’ll try our best to help.