Spring Festival 4: SH to Mount Huangshan

Our trip to Mount Huangshan (Huángshān 黄山) was made at the last minute and so we didn't have accommodation arranged for when we arrived.  Some Americans we had met the previous night in Tunxi (a town nearby) had told us about a man called Mr Hu who would be able to provide food and shelter at a very reasonable price.  But how were we to find this Mr Hu?

It turns out that Mr Hu finds you.  As our bus arrived into Tangkou, Mr Hu pulled up in his ride and ferried us to his lovely (but ridiculously cold - no radiators remember) hotel.  He insisted that he just happened to be passing by when he saw us, but I put it down to some kind of sixth sense.  Or perhaps the bus driver gave him a heads up.  Either way, according to the guest book at Mr Hu's Hotel,  he seems to enjoy a monopoly over foreign visitors.

In his defence, you can see why.  He speaks English, his hotel is cheap, his wife cooks great food, he's incredibly knowledgeable about Mount Huangshan (after 30 years of working as a guide), his guests can enjoy discount entry to the nearby attractions, he'll help book accommodation on top of the mountain and he'll even arrange tickets for a bus or train out of there.  Seriously, if you ever go there, look him up.  Here's a link to (fellow ELA) Priya's excellent blog which has a picture of the great man.  Oh and the wonderful "English Breakfast" they served at his hotel.

We all agreed that the best way to spend our first afternoon in the mountains would be to visit the hot springs.  I think we spent about 5 hours floating around in the pools.  It was glorious.  Until you had to get out.

On our second day we decided to walk up the lower half of the mountain before getting a cable car to the top where we would stay one night.  It was a cold day so we made sure we were nicely layered up.  Two minutes in and we had all stripped down to our t-shirts.  Climbing up steps is hard work.

As the Spring Festival holiday had not yet begun we had the path to ourselves as it wound passed waterfalls and through lush bamboo forests.  We didn't even have to queue for the cable car which took us up to the peak of the mountain where a white, winter wonderland was waiting for us.

Although it was fun to play in the snow (for about a minute), we quickly realised that the snowy, misty and foggy weather would not allow us to experience any of the spectacular views that the mountain is renowned for.  We did encounter a wild monkey though.  It was terrifying.

There are a few hotels on the top of the mountain.  Naturally we stayed in the cheapest.  £10 for a dorm room bed.  The next morning a few of us decided to walk down the mountain.  It was cold, wet, slippery and steep but it did allow us to briefly glimpse some beautiful views of distant peaks poking out from the sea of cloud below.

Whilst stumbling and struggling down the stairs we were frequently passed by Chinese porters who were practically running up the hill with supplies for the guests at the top of the mountain.  They would carry huge loads on their backs whilst wearing little more than plimsolls on their feet.  It was quite an incredible sight but unfortunately I didn't take a photo so here's one I found online.

Mount Huangshan is definitely worth a visit and if you get lucky with the weather, the views will be absolutely incredible.  Recommend staying with Mr Hu, climbing the mountain with one or two nights on the top before climbing down and visiting the hot springs to relax and rest your weary legs.

Next stop, Hangzhou.

Spring Festival 3: NJ to Shanghai

Before I get to Shanghai, I thought I would talk to you about central heating.  Exciting stuff I know but in China, the central heating system in all houses, schools and offices is actually controlled by the government.  Regardless of the weather conditions or current temperature, every year on November 15th it is turned on (cue smog) and then on March 15th it is turned off again.

On top of this it turns out that cities in southern China do not even have central heating systems.  In theory this is because the winters are a lot milder in the south.  All I can say is, it still gets cold.  Very very cold.  There were nights in hostels where we were wearing wooly hats to bed.

Anway, our next stop Shanghai (Shànghǎi 上海) was just a short bullet train ride from Nanjing.  Despite the cold, overcast and occasionally wet weather, we had a really nice few days just walking around and seeing what it had to offer.

 

 

After five months in a city that has very little in the form of entertainment, culture or tourism, it was very refreshing to visit museums, have a great choice of food, find bars that served decent drinks and most importantly, not be stared at when walking down the street!  In the French Concession area, there was almost as many foreigners as Chinese people.  This might not seem that amazing to you but it blew my mind. 

We were in the area to find the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre which we had read about in our Lonely Planet Guide.  It turned out to be located in the basement of an apartment block which was in the middle of nowhere.  Despite the strange location, they have a great collection of old Chinese propaganda posters from the last century on display.  Here's one of my favourites:

As a forward thinking city, Shanghai also gave us some glimpses of what the future might have in store for us.  Apparently multi-coloured dogs and 'urinals with a view' are where we are headed.

Shanghai is a fantastic city and has much too much to see and do in three days.  Hopefully I'll get to go back again before I head home in the summer.  Next up is a trip to the countryside and an attempt at climbing Mount Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain.

Spring Festival 2: TJ to Nanjing

Getting a train at 7:00am is never fun (and neither is realising that, on arriving at the station, you've left your passport at home . . . poor Fiona), but doing so meant that we had a good day and a half to explore Nanjing (Nánjīng 南京), the next leg on our tour of China.

After dumping our stuff at the cosy Jasmine Hostel, we headed into town to see the old city wall.  Unfortunately the wall at Zhonghuamen had been closed so that preparations could be made for the upcoming Spring Festival celebrations.  So we basically ended up spending the afternoon looking at, and walking next to, a big wall.

After the excitement of the wall, we made our way into town and found a bustling central touristy area by the Qin Huai River.  There there hundreds of stores and stalls selling the usual tat and questionable snacks.  There was one diamond in the rough though, Sarah's new favourite treat; glazed strawberries on a stick.

Back at the hostel we decided that there were not enough "what do you call a man who . . . " jokes in the world.  Here are some of our attempts:

What do you call a man who tells it like it is?  Frank
What do you call a man with bailiffs at his door?  Owen
What do you call a girl on the toilet?  Dianarrhea

We're genuinely quite proud of the first two.  I think we called it a night after the third.

We had big plans for day two.  Plans that did not allow for time wasting or spontaneous adventuring.  Slightly unfortunate then that the first thing we did was walk into a random museum that was not in fact the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.  If you're a fan of silk, then the Yunjin Museum is for you.

I don't really know how to talk about the Nanjing Massacre, a period that is also known as the Rape of Nanjing.  Before coming to China I hardly knew anything about the massacre and I'm not sure that there are many Westerners who do (although Zhang Yimou's recent film Flowers of War might help to change that). 

What happened following the Japanese capture of the city in 1937 is nothing short of horrifying.  The photos, diary entries, stories and eye witness accounts that are on display at the museum are incredibly moving and frequently impossible to comprehend.  For those who want to learn more, there are thousands of sites dedicated to remembering the atrocity.  As always, a decent place to start is wikipedia.

The museum itself is very well organised and all displays have English translations.  If you ever visit Nanjing then the museum will probably be top of your list of things to see and rightly so.  Despite the horrendous subject matter and sombre atmosphere, I would say it was one of the most interesting museums that I have ever visited.  It is certainly an unforgettable experience.

In the afternoon we opted for a bit of fresh air and greenery and so made our way to Zijin Shan Park (lit. Purple-Gold Mountain).  There was greenery, but I'm not too sure about fresh air.  Throughout the park there are many historical sites to visit.  We decided that we wanted to see Dr Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum (mainly because it was free).  Dr Sun is often referred to as "the father of modern China" and as such, his mausoleum attracts millions of Chinese tourists every year.  The buildings were beautiful and the view from the top would have been spectacular had it not been for the smog filled sky.

On the way back to the hotel we popped into a Western bar for some cocktails and nachos.  Very classy.  Despite having been in the city for only a day and a half, we all agreed that Nanjing had made a great first impression.  Not only does it have historical significance and legitimate tourist attractions but also trees, parks, rivers, lakes and even hills (it's amazing how much I miss hills).  Poor old Tianjin just can't compete.