Entries tagged with “anhui huangshan hongcun mr hu tangkou gina” from LINDY-LOO'S LIFE
Gina and I spent our Dragon Boat Festival long weekend traveling to the province in China know for two things: poverty and natural beauty. Anhui is two provinces West of Jiangsu (the province that I live in) and while there we intended to see some ancient villages as well as China's most famous mountain range; however, as is the theme to life, (or maybe just mine?) we got a lot more than we'd bargained for.
When we arrived at the bottom of the mountains, tired, disoriented, and aggravated from being on a public bus that felt the need to play KTV songs full blast on the tv the entire ride, our 'white skin pass' directed us to Mr. Hu, the token English speaking guy in town. He hooked us up with a place to stay, food, directions on where to go and when.
Before taking his advice, we did a little preemptive exploration of our friendly neighborhood, where we were reminded yet again why we don't eat meat here.
A local chicken vendor.
Fly paper keeps the flies off, right?
And then before we knew it, we were off to Hongcun in my new car for a late lunch and a walk through a thousand-year-old village.
Hongcun Ancient Village was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. This village is apparently the most representative local-style residence of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). So far, it has a history of over 900 years. The village is famed as being the 'Ming and Qing Dynasty Local Residence Museum'. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/anhui/huangshan/yixian.htm
My favorite part was helping the kids play a Chinese version of cops
and robbers (counter revolutionaries and communists?). They actually
had guns!
But come to think of it, I don't know what side I was on. Appropriate.
Then I literally ran into this poor rooster hanging out.
And apparently it was laundry day in the city, and the whole town uses the local bridge as a dry line.
I may or may not have mentioned that Gina is from Wyoming. So her and I are used to natural beauty, fresh air, and hiking. But no amount of my Rocky Mountains training and her Yellow Stone National Park experience could have prepared us for Huangshan.
"Of all the notable mountains in China, Mount Huangshan, to be found in the south of Anhui province, is probably the most famous. Together with the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Great Wall, Mt. Huangshan has become one of the great symbols of China." http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/anhui/huangshan/huangshan.htm
A quick wikipedia search (yes, the Chinese government has recently
blessed us with access to this site for appearances by the olympics committee)
tells you that "the area of Huángshān (lit. Yellow Mountain) is very famous for its scenic beauty, which lies in the peculiar shapes of the granite peaks, in the weather-shaped Huangshan Pine
trees, and in views of the clouds from above. The area also has hot
springs and natural pools. The Huang Shan are a frequent subject of
traditional Chinese paintings and literature. Today, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of China's most popular tourist destinations."
We knew it would be beautiful. But when we got there in the early hours of a rainy morning, we were breathless. Every corner we turned, every step we took, we thought it was the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen. I took 78 pictures.
wikipedia will also tell you that: The Huangshan mountain range comprises many peaks, 77 of which exceed 1,000 m in altitude. The three tallest peaks are Lotus Peak (Lian Hua Feng, 1,864 m,
30°07′N, 118°10′E), nearby Bright Summit Peak (Guang Ming Ding, 1,840 m) and Celestial Peak (Tian Du Feng, literally Capital of Heaven Peak, 1,829 m). The World Heritage Site covers a core area of 154 square kilometres and a buffer zone of 142 square kilometres.
I'd like to say we planned this, but after getting lost we somehow managed to hike to everyone of these peaks.
The mountains were formed in the Mesozoic, about 100 million years ago, when an ancient sea disappeared due to uplift. Later, in the Quaternary, the landscape was shaped by the influence of glaciers. In many cases, stone pillar forests were formed.
And as if we didn't know how talented Chinese people are at building stuff. Check out the paths we were walking on to get around all these peaks!
I mentioned we got lost. Yes. And in turn hiked for over 10 hours. The last of which was running on very tired legs to get to the cable car in time to get down to the bottom before it closed. It was, however, as most of these things are, a blessing in disguise. We saw so much more than we would have.
When we arrived at the bottom of the mountains, tired, disoriented, and aggravated from being on a public bus that felt the need to play KTV songs full blast on the tv the entire ride, our 'white skin pass' directed us to Mr. Hu, the token English speaking guy in town. He hooked us up with a place to stay, food, directions on where to go and when.
Before taking his advice, we did a little preemptive exploration of our friendly neighborhood, where we were reminded yet again why we don't eat meat here.
A local chicken vendor.
Fly paper keeps the flies off, right?And then before we knew it, we were off to Hongcun in my new car for a late lunch and a walk through a thousand-year-old village.
Hongcun Ancient Village was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. This village is apparently the most representative local-style residence of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). So far, it has a history of over 900 years. The village is famed as being the 'Ming and Qing Dynasty Local Residence Museum'. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/anhui/huangshan/yixian.htm
My favorite part was helping the kids play a Chinese version of cops
and robbers (counter revolutionaries and communists?). They actually
had guns!But come to think of it, I don't know what side I was on. Appropriate.Then I literally ran into this poor rooster hanging out.
And apparently it was laundry day in the city, and the whole town uses the local bridge as a dry line. I may or may not have mentioned that Gina is from Wyoming. So her and I are used to natural beauty, fresh air, and hiking. But no amount of my Rocky Mountains training and her Yellow Stone National Park experience could have prepared us for Huangshan.
"Of all the notable mountains in China, Mount Huangshan, to be found in the south of Anhui province, is probably the most famous. Together with the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Great Wall, Mt. Huangshan has become one of the great symbols of China." http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/anhui/huangshan/huangshan.htm
A quick wikipedia search (yes, the Chinese government has recently
blessed us with access to this site for appearances by the olympics committee)
tells you that "the area of Huángshān (lit. Yellow Mountain) is very famous for its scenic beauty, which lies in the peculiar shapes of the granite peaks, in the weather-shaped Huangshan Pine
trees, and in views of the clouds from above. The area also has hot
springs and natural pools. The Huang Shan are a frequent subject of
traditional Chinese paintings and literature. Today, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of China's most popular tourist destinations."We knew it would be beautiful. But when we got there in the early hours of a rainy morning, we were breathless. Every corner we turned, every step we took, we thought it was the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen. I took 78 pictures.
Because the mountain tops are often above cloud level, they offer
views of the clouds from above and interesting light-effects. The Sea of Clouds (Chinese: 雲海, Pinyin: Yun Hai) and Buddha's Light (Chinese:
佛光 Pinyin: Fo Guang) are famous phenomena which attract many tourists. Reminded me of Silver Star!
wikipedia will also tell you that: The Huangshan mountain range comprises many peaks, 77 of which exceed 1,000 m in altitude. The three tallest peaks are Lotus Peak (Lian Hua Feng, 1,864 m,
30°07′N, 118°10′E), nearby Bright Summit Peak (Guang Ming Ding, 1,840 m) and Celestial Peak (Tian Du Feng, literally Capital of Heaven Peak, 1,829 m). The World Heritage Site covers a core area of 154 square kilometres and a buffer zone of 142 square kilometres. I'd like to say we planned this, but after getting lost we somehow managed to hike to everyone of these peaks.
The mountains were formed in the Mesozoic, about 100 million years ago, when an ancient sea disappeared due to uplift. Later, in the Quaternary, the landscape was shaped by the influence of glaciers. In many cases, stone pillar forests were formed.And as if we didn't know how talented Chinese people are at building stuff. Check out the paths we were walking on to get around all these peaks!
I mentioned we got lost. Yes. And in turn hiked for over 10 hours. The last of which was running on very tired legs to get to the cable car in time to get down to the bottom before it closed. It was, however, as most of these things are, a blessing in disguise. We saw so much more than we would have.
And then guiltlessly feasted on local food (bamboo and mushrooms) once we finally made it back to Mr Hu's.
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