12/10 - Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain)

Huang Shan was the second of the great natural wonders on the itinerary, following Halong Bay in Vietnam.

 

At 1800m high, its no Everest, but the yellow mountain is famed for its stunning scenery rather than for the hardships required to scale its heights. In fact, at times it felt more like a mountain theme park than a walk on the wild side, with its well tended network of walkways, cable cars and hoards of tourists.

 

The missus, already stung by the jungle experience in Lao was hardly chomping at the bit over the prospect of a 6 hour coach journey from Shanghai and an overnight stay in a damp hotel at the base of the mountain. Things got even worse the next day as she woke with a bangin' cold and the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof behind our room. However, the call of the mountain was strong, too strong, and I used my powers of coercion and superior physical strength to strong arm her up the mountain - via cable car, of course, rather than the 10km vertical hike on the eastern steps.

 

At the top, it was a whiteout and the rain kept pouring as we trudged around the mazey paths until we found one of the better mountain top hotels and agreed to yet another jaw dropping price. Once checked in, Si Phong made a beeline for a warm bed and TV and the strong arm was employed once more to wrench her out and deposit her again in to the great and wet outdoors for another forced march.

 

With the attention span of an autistic chimpanzee and temper of a grizzly bear with a poker up its arse, forcing Si Phong in to any extended physical activity is always a high risk game. Fortunately, this one paid off. Big time. We reached the aptly named dispelling cloud pavillion and for a few exhilarating minutes, the fog lifted and we were able to witness the mystical views all around us. The mountains were bathed in early autumnal colors, a patchwork of yellows, reds and greens, and we could see nearby peaks shrouded in mist. We felt like we'd stepped in to a water painting by some old chinese master.

 

Unfortunately, the weather conditions and limitations of my point-and-shoot made Huang Shan quite difficult to photograph, but some moments are better savoured first hand rather than captured behind the lense of a camera. I can only imagine how stunning Huang Shan would be under better conditions and have the feeling that this will not be the last time that we walk its peaks.