Thursday, April 22, 2010

Tunxi, aka Huangshan Shi

The train ride was not too bad. It was a little small for me, but I’m a bit taller than the average Chinese person. Still, even with my backpack, I managed to get comfortable enough to get a pretty good sleep. Did I mention it was a fifteen hour train ride?

I got to my destination, Tunxi, but my plans didn't exactly pan out. Tunxi, also known as Huangshan Shi is place most stop at before going on to hike Yellow Mountain (Huang Shan). I had hoped to hop on a bus, hike up the mountain and stay overnight at one of the summit hotels. However, when I tried calling, none of them had available rooms. Ah well, I figured I could spend a day in Tunxi then get an early start on the mountain tomorrow and do it all in one go.

Walking around Tunxi, I made an interesting observation. Back home if I were to walk through a dark alley or under a bridge, I would most likely see some shady people; drug users perhaps. In China instead of shady people, you see Mahjong players. As I walked around Tunxi, I got a little nervous when I passed by a gathering of people in a secluded area under a bridge, but as I got closer, I realized they were all playing Mahjong, Xianqi and cards.

Walking around Tunxi: