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An art student makes a drawing about the Hongcun ancient village in Yixian county. [Photo by HuYongqi/China Daily] |
Another angle
During our trip, the mountain was hidden in a looming mist and by clouds. However, thatmeant we could enjoy another kind of experience of the mountain and the city named after it.
We rented a car at the Huangshan Tunxi International Airport and drove two hours to thescenic area of Huangshan Mountain via an expressway that weaves its way betweenbamboo-capped mountains. Local residences painted in white and black - a typicalarchitectural style in the southern part of Anhui, influenced by the ancient merchant culturedating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) - dot both sides of the road.
At the foot of the mountain are dozens of restaurants where delicious traditional foodincluding fermented mandarin fish and dried bamboo shoots cooked with ribs, are served.
Mandarin fish is fermented in rice soup for weeks and then tastes soft and fragrant whencooked with ginger and soy sauce. Its reputation expanded to other places outside Anhui tobecome a popular dish in major cities such as Beijing. Many foodies in the capital go to Anhuirestaurants for the fish.
Tangkou township lies under the mountain foot and most people have made their living fromreceiving tourists in restaurants and hotels. Before darkness falls on the small town, ownersof private supermarkets or grocery stores ride motorcycles home.
This summer, regions along the Yangtze River including Anhui have seen more rainwaterthan usual. Riders install an umbrella to shelter themselves from the rain, a rare andinteresting scene for someone living in Beijing like my girlfriend.
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Two workers carry a bamboo sedan chair for visitors. [Photo by Hu Yongqi/China Daily] |
Supply-carrying workers
The next morning, we start climbing the mountain after taking a 20-minute cable car ride.
Along a wet path, visitors balance themselves with sticks made of wood or bamboo.
We walk for hours, one step after another - my pedometer shows 15 kilometers in 6 hours.
My girlfriend keeps stopping every 500 meters to take a long breath, but it is easier for me asI play basketball twice a week and jog once a week.
Along the zigzag path, some flowers attract wild hornets. When my camera zooms in, thehornet and a flower look beautiful. I can also see the hornet's fluttering wings. However,aware of the harm the insect can do, I am extremely cautious.
Like many scenic areas, Huangshan Mountain has workers carrying supplies to the top andtrash down to recycling stations.
Most workers, wearing green shirts that say "Welcome to Huangshan", look middle-agedbased on their wrinkled faces.
They earn around 200 yuan ($29) per day to carry 50 kilograms of goods. The weight and theendless steps they have to climb mean they rest for two days after each day of work.
Some workers also offer to carry visitors up the mountain on a bamboo sedan chair. Oldpeople and children are their main customers.
In Anhui, many of the younger generation have left their homes for major cities such asBeijing and Shanghai to pursue better careers, leaving middle-aged people make up the laborforce.
"The supply-carrying workers also face a problem: Who will take over when the old generationretires?" asks a worker surnamed Zheng, 45.
"A very small group of young people will do our job as they are better educated foremployment prospect," Zheng says.
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A pine tree of the Huangshan Mountain. [Photo by HuYongqi/China Daily] |
Greeting pine
Pines are one of the four highlights in Huangshan. The trees grow in hard granite rocks atmore than 1,000 meters above sea level and rise more than 10 meters on the side facing thesun like a man welcoming visitors with open arms.
The trees are referred to as Yingkesong or "guest greeting pine", which has become a labelfor the province and the logo of the provincial television station.
During our trip, the pines are not clearly visible in the mist, making the scene look like a black-and-white painting.
As I am from Anhui, I am reluctant to admit that I have never been up the mountain before.So, seeing a symbolic pine is a must for me.
After three hours of climbing, we finally arrive at a spot with lots of pine trees. One such treeis now propped up with a steel wire.
In front of the pine are lanes installed to keep order during peak visitor periods such as theNational Day holiday week in October.
Fortunately, there are only two people ahead of us waiting to take photos with the legendarytree.
So, at the end of a long day, we cover five peaks and take tons of pictures of the mountain.
Back at the cable car station to catch the last trip to the foot of the mountain, both of us areexhausted.
We then drive to downtown Huangshan and rush into a massage parlor we'd found onlineearlier. The massage therapists relax our calves, shoulders, head and back.
The massage is probably the most pleasurable among the many I have received and marks aperfect conclusion to our trip.
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Traditional fermented mandarin fish is served at a restaurant in downtown Huangshan. [Photo by HuYongqi/China Daily] |
If you go
Travelers from Beijing have three choices to reach Huangshan:
Direct flights: Air China files from Beijing to Huangshan every night. The two-hour flight is thefastest way to get there. But be wary of cancellations caused by bad weather.
Train: Travelers can take a six-hour high-speed train journey to Huangshan.
Planes, then trains or buses: Travelers can also fly to Hefei, the capital of Anhui, orHangzhou, the capital of neighboring Zhejiang province, and then take high-speed trains orbuses to Huangshan.
During our trip, we stayed in ancient structures near Huangshan Mountain.
The city of Huangshan used to be called Huizhou, which contributed one of the twocharacters of the province's name, with the other one borrowed from the former provincialcapital Anqing.
Back in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Huizhou's merchants traded in tea, salt and scissors.
With the wealth they accumulated, these merchants then started to erect residences, schoolsand workshops with white walls, black roofs and wooden interiors.
Today, many hotels continue this style, exemplified by those in downtown Huangshan and theHongcun ancient village in Yixian county.
Located downtown, the Mozhutang Hotel used to be the residence of a scissors traders.
In its big yard, trees provide shade making it a perfect place for tea-drinking or Chinese chessmatches.
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Dried bamboo shoots are cooked with pork there. [Photo by Hu Yongqi/China Daily] |
Next to the hotel is a summer house. Inside the two-story house are wooden staircases.
In the public space on the second floor is a small library where a wooden table is set withwriting brushes, ink, paper and ink slabs.
The wooden structure demonstrates the carving technique of the area's artists with everywindow sporting carvings of animals, rocks and trees.
In the Hongcun ancient village, a water body connects every house and hotel.
Water flows through the village and visitors can see locals washing vegetables in it or fishing.
Tourist guides explain that the water body was designed around 400 years ago by thevillage's founders.
Meanwhile, along the Nanhu Lake in Hongcun, art students make sketches of the watermirroring the houses, the sky and the trees. Even in black and white, their drawings attractvisitors who stop to admire them.
As a child, my father told me about the village from where my family moved to Anqing.
So, I have always wanted to see the ancient architecture and learn about the local customs.
This visit had made my dream come true.
