It was 7:30 am and time to board the train from Huaibei, Anhui to Huang Shan in the south of Anhui; this was a normal train (K), the 550 km journey was to take 11.5 hours. When I got on the train I was not surprised by the bench seats (rather than single seats). There are choices, even for these K trains; soft seat, hard seat, NO SEAT, or a bench; this was to be a grueling trip.
The train traveled through the provincial capital of Hefei which had a population of about 7.5 million; super highways seemed to be everywhere, the visibility was very poor. All the rivers seemed to be used for industry and many boat owners live on their vessel.
I managed to strike up a conversation with a doctor and his wife; he said he was a surgeon and he made only 4,000 RMB ($550.00 Canadian) per month. Many of the other passengers were eating snacks and throwing the garbage out of the window; this seemed to match the scenery as every small town had so many piles of garbage...a bit shocking. As the towns became more distant there were many farms,
the landscape became more mountainous, the scenery was more pleasing.
Once I arrived in Huangshan my task was to barter with a taxi to get to a bus station; turned out the station was closed, so he said. A deal was made for a 100 RMB ride to Tang Kou which is a town at the base of Huangshan Mountain (Yellow Mountain); I got a nice hotel for 350 RMB ($58.00). In the morning I caught a bus for 26 RMB to the main gate for the mountain. I paid 230 RMB($38) to enter the gate to start the 1, 864 metre (6, 115 ft) ascent of the mountain. At the base of the mountain the visibility was limited but clear enough for some brief views before cloud and fog moved in.
The mountain was clean which made me happy; my last mountain climb up Tai Shan was disgusting. The climbers were few and far between at the beginning since most Chinese would take the cable car to get up the mountain. Once I climbed in elevation light rain started which was followed by heavy downpours and wind. Most of what I saw I could only capture with my naked eye since the deluge of water made the visibility poor. There were: flowers, bluffs, cave entrances, walkways attached to the side of the mountain, and many scriptures carved into stone walls.
After passing the spot where all the Chinese tourists get off the chair lift the narrow stairways became very congested, and the ascent became very slow.
At the Lotus Peak I could not see my hand in front of my face since the cloud was so thick, I was just soaked and the wind was cold.
I descended the thousands of steps to the bottom and reached the entrance gate, 11 hours after starting my journey. My knees were a bit sore but once I got back to the hotel and showered up I was ready to walk the mini Los Vegas strip that is the main drag of Tang Kou.
In the morning I took a bus to Huangshan city to see what it had to offer, I was pleasantly surprised by how clean it was. I found a hotel and then headed out the 67 kms on a bus to the Huashan Mysterious Grottoes (man made caves).
These 36 grottoes are said to be about 1,700 years old and were fabulous. This Chinese National Park is a designated scenic area, there is a mystery as to why the grottoes were dug, exactly how, and where the material went (some guess Hangzhou). I took many photo's and leisurely walked in all the grottoes...very satisfying.
The small mountains outside of Huangshan are covered in pine trees, it is nice to hang around a forested area rather than city or flat farm fields.
My afternoon and evening were spent in the old district of Huang Shan called Tunxi City, it was very nice there; many tourists. Some of the buildings are 700 some odd years old; there are museums and many tourist shops and restaurants.
For me Huangshan was extraordinary, the people were friendly, the city was clean; and there was a lot more to see in the area than just the "Yellow Mountain". There was a bit of bad luck with the heavy rain and poor visibility from about the half way point on my climb till the top. When a tourist plans a holiday ahead of time then weather often plays a part in the success of the venture.
My trip back north to Huaibei was 14 hrs long which was 3 hours longer than my trip south; there was to be a lot more stopping along the way to let fast trains and freight trains pass. After that grueling train ride it took me a couple of days to forget the 25 hours of train travel and embrace the memories that I acquired.
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