Huangshan & Suzhou, China

Huangshan, meaning "yellow mountain", a very beautiful mountain, so beautiful that i said to myself that it's a place that i can only come once in a life time. Why? I'll tell you why, because it's freaking TIRING! Can you walk up and down for 12 hours, eat cold sausage, only 2 toilet stops(in 12 hours), dangerous mountain path and worrying that you might fall of the cliff? then you should come and take this challenge!

We took the night train from Shanghai to Anhui and reach there in the morning, I've forgotten how much it cost but it was a comfortable ride.

this is how our triple deck bed on the train looks like. It's clean and no dust mite ><
but luckily i got my bed on the lowest deck :P

It's always a good idea to carry your backpack in-front of you, tip from Bing bing. Oh ya! the train station in shanghai was a culture shock. You can see people from all walks of life from people wear suits to a man carrying ducks and pushing you from behind. so careful folks!

And don't get me started with the toilet @ Anhui. they DON'T have a DOOR and the people are line up in front of you, looking you pee. So you got to choose showing your front part while u pee or the back part. I choose to sacrifice my buttock!

upon arriving the train station we boarded a mini bus to our motel which I've forgotten whether it's the northern or southern foot of the mountain but it was a long ride....1.5hours

well at least the scenery was green and cool air

after checking in to our motel (@ the foot mountain) and had a delicious lunch....OMG their tomato.....super sweet... i love it, well that was before i know what kind of fertilizer they were using :S
tell you more later

After our lunch we visit around the foot mountain area because it was too late to go up Huangshan

beautiful waterfall with green water and lots of bamboo trees. I wonder if it's grown naturally or man made?

this place was also the place where sonce of the scene in "Crouching tiger hidden dragon" movie took place.... amazing right?

Persimmon fruit!

there is also fruits and black sesame seed orchard! Here was where i found out that they use "organic" fertilizer......is it? man #$%&? oh yea! you got that right! the aroma was really powerful.
No wonder their tomato is so juicy :S

another beautiful spot.. the 9 Dragon step weterfall. 4KM up the mountain. Yea we took the challenged! the view was worth the climb!

awesome! there are 9 steps of the waterfall, so that's how the name came. well of cause my dummy camera can't capture it all...too bad

we even climb up near the waterfall....it was abit slippery
wear sportshoe!

this place look familiar? Chow yun fatt was here
after that we were brought to try their local green tea.
Every china tour is not complete with a tea stop...hehe

at night after dinner, we were given a comprehensive brief on how to go around Huangshan.
They were really professional with a huge Huangshan map

the next morning as early as 5am we check out from out motel and leave our heavy luggage there and travel light to Huangshan as we will only be spending 1 night on top.
They even borrowed us a cane for free >< so nice of them

upon arriving the Taiping cable car station as early as 5:30am, the crowd was already thick.
so if you are later...i can't imagine how long you need to wait just to ride the cable car up.

we took their cable car which cost 200RMB/pax...pricey but worth every buck

Finally @ 7 or 8am we reach the top, Huangshan! the view was just speechless.....freaking awesome!
Huangshan is also under UNESCO world heritage site! there were pine trees, granite peaks and of course people everywhere.

many people come here to put their love locks and throw the key down cliff for eternal love.
from the mountaintop you can't see the mountain foot as it would be covered by the clouds, known as the Sea of clouds or yunhai

Huangshan comprising many peaks. Amonth the famous and the tallest are Lotus Peak(1,864m), Bright summit peak(1,840m) and Capital of Heaven peak (1,829m)

we go up

and down and up and down

up

and down

nearly walk down to the mountain foot and up again

this is how the path is @ Huangshan, steps built on the cliff. WARNIG: people with heart problem, afraid of height or depressing and have suicide attempt before, get advice from your doctor before you come

every year there are a number of people fell off and their body was never to be found
boo~ @~@

many of chinese paintaing and poems are about or influence by this very place..
And the most recent is that, James Cameron, director of the film Avater, cited Huangshan as one of his influenced in designing the fictional world of the film....WOW how cool is that

as we walk futher up, the crowd get less and less till only 4 of us less. Tip: don't drink too much water....sip a little as a time...as you can see... NO TOILET

after several hours of walking ..... we get really tired and legs starting to cramp
we have to stop every half hour walk :S

we reach another peak! yippy!

they really look like how they draw in Chinese painting..... crazy amazing!

it was starting to get dark from 6am we head to our hotel @ Huangshan and check in. If I'm not mistaken 1 night it cost about 600++RMB. Food, water and accommodation is expensive @ the mountain so it's good to bring your own food from the mountain food but you'll need to carry it along the way :S

we bought instant beef noodle and 1 extra big sausage for dinner....it was delicious and i slept like a baby

the next morning we check out and start again early to continue our dangerous hike to other mountain peaks >< luckily we borrowed the cane....it was really useful

that building i think it's a hotel or something...I'm not too sure

that is the way up to the Lotus peak...it was too dangerous and too steep for us so we decided to skip that 1...thank god! my leg was half kaputt at that point

alright this look ok! go up!

nice view from the top peak!
so it was about afternoon we started to walked down the mountain and not take the cable car
It was nightmare for me. My legs was cramping and going down the steps was killing softly...hehe luckily i didn't have to carry any heavy bag.....thanks to Boon my hero...hehe

on the way down....we saw another "boon" resting....so i told boon to stand beside and took this photo.....don't they look same? even the hair cut is the same.... HAAHAHahahaha

by the time we reached the mountain foot, it was evening we check in again to the motel and had another delicious dinner. though i remember the "organic"fertilizer they were using....i was too tired to bother and what the hack....the tomato is really freaking good.

the next evening we took the train back to Shanghai i slept like a baby again and i was so tired that i didn't brush my teeth to sleep....i know...ewwwww

on the way back we have a detour to suzhou. Chilling around the town

we manage to visit a famous poet's private garden.
one of many Suzhou's garden museum

there is a pavilion where the poet used to do his poetry and paintings overlooking a pagoda

that is the view from the pavilion. too bad the weather wasn't at our side. it was pouring rain but luckily it was only for an hour :)

it was said that this flood design by a fengsui master to bring fortune and there is a special method to walk it.....hmm... i'm not sure but in china there is always a story even for a small tree ><

the backyard

after visiting the garden we have only few hours left....we just walking around the neighborhood and see how the locals at their daily life

suzhou's little venice?

there are also boat tour around this area for tourist....but i don't think it's appealing to me because 1. the water is black like a blakc ink. 2. it stink 3......

their shit goes there, their house pipes goes there and they even do their laundry there.... ewwww.....so much for don't wash where u shit......... double ewwwwwww

Taoism temple

enjoy some local delight....

dessert hmm..... we also tried their noodle....freaking big bowl...sorry was too busy eating to take photo...hehe. In the evening we took the train and continue our journey back to Shanghai
It was a freaky, tiring, shocking, beautiful awesome 5 days and 4 night :)
like i say a trip that i can only do once a a lifetime. what do you think?

~zai jian~