Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain)

China’s natural landscape continues to impress me. I mentioned before that I didn’t think I’d be doing so much hiking in China, but I’m very glad I am. I just got back from hiking Huang Shan and even with the hoards of tourists, it was quite nice.

To get to the top, my guidebook said it would take two and a half hours using the shorter but steeper eastern slope. I was able to do it in one. The mountain, unlike the ones back home, has a giant summit with many sub peaks. Once I was at the top, I started exploring all the different areas. Many have interesting names like “Begin-to-Believe Peak” or “Cloud-Dispelling Pavillion.” The latter was quite interesting as clouds/fog really did disappear after reaching this point. The scenery is just fantastic, with little spruce trees jutting out of the most peculiar places!

The plan after was to head back down a different and longer way, the western steps. However, as I headed in that direction, I got into an unbelievable crowd of people. I have never experienced anything like it. Imagine Johnston Canyon times a hundred, maybe more. I could only move as the crowd moved. I got increasingly frustrated and soon abandoned my plans to see the rest of the mountain and just wanted to get back down.

I took the gondola down, where I had an interesting experience. I shared it with five others, all domestic tourists and they all wanted to get a picture of me. I’m not sure what it was, maybe the shaved head and my beard. In the past, traveling through southeast Asia, people have been fascinated by my beard. Most Asian people are unable to grow one.

On the bus back to Tunxi I had a really pleasant conversation with a guy from Singapore. He helped me find the right bus, then we talked about other places we traveled to. He has been to the Canadian Rockies and even had a drawing on him of Mount Rundle. It made for an enjoyable bus ride.

More Photos from Huang Shan:

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:

Oriental Pearl Tower

Day two in Shanghai was pretty uneventful. I didn't have a whole lot of time, because I had a train to catch in the afternoon. I spent most of the day figuring out my remaining week in China and talking to other travelers in the lobby. I thought it would be nice to have a break from all the walking and didn't think I'd do anything, until one guy suggested going up the Oriental Pearl Tower, the most recognizable feature of the city. The tower is the highest in China and third highest in the world. It had a subway stop right next it, so I didn't have to do much walking!

I got there fairly quickly and took some photos around the base before going to the top. I didn't see a whole lot because of the fog, but I did have a fun experience walking on the glass floors. I used to have a fear of heights before getting into scrambling and climbing and walking on the glass (or plastic) panels brought some of that fear back. I was hesitant to step on them at first, as they looked quite flimsy and one even looked like it was cracked. It's been a while since I've felt that fear and I enjoyed the excitement.

It wasn't long before I had to hurry back to my hostel, pack my things and head to the railway station. I couldn't believe how busy the station was! It felt like it was busier than any airport I've been to, but that's just because there were so many people crammed into a single hall. There were other ways to get to my destination. I could have taken the bus or the plane, but I figured it would be good to experience the train at least once while in China.

Oriental Pearl Tower and Views:

Dodging scams in Shanghai

Shanghai is like the New York of China. Skyscrapers seem to be everywhere you look and it's a busy place. I had planned to avoid it, but it was on route so might as well check it out. The guidebook suggested a whole bunch of museums and art galleries, but I prefer to be outside. I spent most of the day walking around, going through The Bund, the "Old Town" and the French Concession.

I realized that everywhere you go in Shanghai, as a tourist, there's someone nearby that'll try to scam you. While taking photos at The Bund, a girl approached me about taking a photo of her and her friends. I was happy to help. After I took the photo they seemed to want to chat and wanted to find out where I was from. The conversation was quite pleasant, until I realized that it was all part of a scam. As soon as they started talking about "tea ceremonies" and inviting me out with them, I thanked them and moved on. This was something I had heard about before. They take you to a fancy restaurant that probably gives them a few bucks and then you end up flipping an expensive bill. I would ran into another group minutes later that did the exact same routine. I also ran into the "art students" who lure you to an art gallery and try and give you limited time deals on their hard-worked paintings. I politely declined.

As I walked to the City God Temple and through the "Old Town" it was Rolex watches. Every single corner had men who were in my face trying to sell fake Rolex watches. It was the first time I really got frustrated with the peddlers. I bought a ticket to a nearby temple just to get away from the annoyances. The "Old Town" looked fairly new to me and it was like a giant shopping mall with couple of Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and overpriced Chinese food. I didn't stay there long.

On the way back to my hostel I walked back through the French Concession. Here the appeal is old western style architecture. It didn't really do much for me. It didn't help that every corner had women and men trying to sell real leather "lady bags." I don't know why I looked like I would be interested in a "lady bag."

The only neat thing about Shanghai is how much it doesn't look like it's a city in China. I feel like I've already spent too much time here and look forward to moving on. Tomorrow I'll be taking my first overnight train, should be interesting.

The Bund:

City God Temple and Old Town:

Streets of Shanghai:

Biking around Yangshuo

What a day! It started off a little bit slow, as I had trouble getting myself out of bed on yet another rainy day. Checked out of the hostel in Xingping and went to Yangshuo for the day. There I decided to explore the surrounding area on a bicycle. I got some ideas of a route from the hostel I stayed at previously and got a decent bike, with a comfortable seat.

Like with my Fishing Village hike, the route that was suggested by the hostel looked way more straight forward on the map. I got lost pretty much right away. The good thing was that I had a picture of the place I was trying to get to and often asked for directions. I followed the Yulong River which was really beautiful for scenery. It's quite calm so it was perfect for reflections.

The trail I followed soon turned from a paved road to an extremely muddy and narrow dirt trail. Often I questioned whether I was on the right route. I also encountered many locals who were trying to get me to go down the Yangshuo by way of bamboo raft. These guys were just horrible. Not only were they in my face about rafting, they also gave me wrong directions when I refused to go on the raft. The most reliable people were the villagers and farmers.

My destination was Moon Hill, a limestone arch formation. After a long, dirty and sometimes frustrating ride, I finally found it. I locked up my bike and bought an overpriced drink from an old lady taking advantage of thirsty travellers. This was a mistake, as she decided to follow me up the entire mountain to try and sell me more drinks. At the top she doubled her price. I politely declined and after taking some photos, I headed back down. She followed me persistantly and she was surprisingly quick for her age, but I did manage to lose her on the way down. I turned off into the bush once I was barely out of her sight and watched her run down past me then took my time enjoying the scenery. She was not too impressed when she saw me reach the bottom a few minutes after her.

I didn't have a whole lot of time remaining as I had to head to Guilin to catch a flight to Shanghai. I spent the rest of the day in buses, taxis and on the plane. I arrived in Shanghai quite late and didn't see much of the city. I'm not a fan of big cities, but I'll try and take in a bit of it before I move on.

Biking around Yangshuo:

Hiking Moon Hill:

Finding Yucun, The Fishing Village

It was still raining when I got up, so I took my time getting out of bed. My intention today was to find the Fishing Village that's near Xingping. Yesterday I tried to hike to it and got lost, today I had a better idea of the route and took photos of the drawn map at my hostel. The map makes it look pretty easy, the problem is that I have no idea whether that route is a street, a paved pathway or a dirt road or a combination of all of those. But I figured wherever I ended up it would be interesting.

As I walked through the rural area, I passed a family that waved to me and said "hello" in English. One of the little kids seemed particularly excited and was full of smiles. I waved back and continued on. Walked for another twenty minutes and found myself walking back towards Xingping. Whatever route I took, I did a complete circle. I sighed, went back to the hotel and asked if they could write down the name of the fishing village so that I could ask people. They wrote it down and told me how to say it.

This made such a difference. Every person I saw I simply said the name and I was pointed in the right direction. Pretty soon I found my way back to that family I saw earlier and though they laughed when they realized I had walked in a circle, they pointed me in the right direction once I told them where I was going.

The trail turned from a nice paved path to a narrow muddy trail. It went tright through a mountain pass and thick foilage. I was getting increasingly dirty and wet and on top of that the rain got stronger. Hiking with an umbrella, a rain poncho that barely fits me and taking pictures was a bit of a challenge. I just laughed when I thought about what I must look like to the people here. It was pretty foggy, but ocassionally the fog would lift and I could see some beautiful scenery.

I got pretty excited when the trail started heading down and I could see the river. I knew I was close and felt quite happy that I finally found this place. Third times the charm! The hilarious thing was when I finally entered the village and saw bus loads of tourists. I guess this was a popular boat stop. I didn't see a single fisherman and what few sterets there were, they were lined with tables selling tourist trinkets, food and drinks. The people looked at me curiously, wondering why I was covered in mud. Ah well, the hike was nice. I took a bamboo raft back to Xingping.

Back at the hostel I met up with Matt and Lauren for lunch. I met them on the boat from Guilin and we talked about hiking up Laozhai Shan, the mountain I went up yesterday. I suggested we go up after lunch if the clouds lifted. Lauren was a bit hesitant but Matt and I managed to convince her. It turned out to be a really good decision because the views we had were just jaw-dropping. It's hard to believe a place like this exists, even when you're looking right at it. It was this view that made me come to Xingping. We took many photos and stayed on the summit for a bit before heading back down.

Finding the Fishing Village:

Heading back to Xingping via Li River:

Views from Laozhai Hill