The Steep Trails of Huangshan

[sanking]

Thought some of you might be interested in this view. The shot was made in the Huangshan Mountains of China last October.

Check out the trail as it traverses from left to right, and then turns almost straight up on the side of a cliff. I was pretty much terrified as I went up the trail, and now that I look at in one of my images it is easy to see why. My wife took one look at this and remarked, "My God, you are never going back there again."

I would add that the day we were on this climb the wind was blowing pretty hard, and it was raining and misting. To say the climb was treacherous would be like saying hurricanes are dangerous if you are standing on the beach. If the steps on the far right going up the cliff appear to be almost straight up, there is a good reason. Part of the trail was indeed almost straight up, and if notice, there would be nothing to stop a body if it slipped and fell backward. Well, you would just roll down for a few hundred feet down the trail, and then another thousand feet down the side of the mountain.

The shot was taken from an upper vantage point before we crossed down to the trail in the center.

Sandy

[QT Luong]

Do you know what are the best time of a year (from a photographer point of view) to visit the Huangshan Mountains ?

[sanking]

Do you know what are the best time of a year (from a photographer point of view) to visit the Huangshan Mountains ?

QT,

I believe you could make great photographs there most of the year because Huangshan is located in a temperate zone, about the same latitude as the mountains of North Carolina to Georgia, so you have clear changes of seasons. And there are deciduous climax forests along pine forests, with with mean maximum elevations around 2000 meters. And it snows some in winter. I have seen spectacular photographs made there all season of the year.

Of course, one of the great attractions of the mountains is the fog and mist, and I believe you can get it most of the year. I have been there three times, once in early September, the second time in early October and the last time in mid-October. All three times we had mist and fog virtually every day. Typically the day begins as sunny, then the fog rolls in from the valley in the afternoon.

I am told, however, that the fog and mist is somewhat less common in the winter months than at other times, and frankly, I really would not want to be there at that time anywise because the trails would be extremely treacherous.

The only problem with Huangshan is that there are huge crowds everywhere. At times it seems almost everyone in China is there. Putting any kind of camera on a tripod is a major deal because wherever you are there will be people trying to claim your spot.

Sandy

[Steve Goldstein]

I visited Huangshan in early June several years ago. It was hot and humid, and rained one day of the three we were there. This is not the heavy tourist season, so it was only moderately busy and it was possible to be places without a crowd, or occasionally even another person! This was a good time because the clouds were in and out - the view from the same vantage point changed minute by minute. On the other hand, we could very easily have had 3 days of rain.

I'd like to go back in winter.

[Nathan Potter]

Sandy, are you sure you didn't accidently rotate that image 90 degrees in photoshop! :D

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Taotao]

I was there in the 2nd week of oct (after the big holiday) four years ago. In general, fall is my favorite time to travel in china. I had a lot of rain and fog but the mountain was great. As clouds moved in and out, the sceneries changed constantly. My friend complained about his visit because it was all sunny with blue sky. You should give yourself plenty of time to wait for the changing weather though. Winter must be wonderful too.

[sanking]

I was there in the 2nd week of oct (after the big holiday) four years ago. In general, fall is my favorite time to travel in china. I had a lot of rain and fog but the mountain was great. As clouds moved in and out, the sceneries changed constantly. My friend complained about his visit because it was all sunny with blue sky. You should give yourself plenty of time to wait for the changing weather though. Winter must be wonderful too.

If you do color I believe fall would definitely be a great time to visit because there are many deciduous tress and the color is quite nice -- not as good as in the mountains of Appalachia or in New England, but combined with the spectacular views and mist and fog it is still quite impressive. As for the best time I believe that the first or second week of October would be peak color.

This year we stayed six days on the mountain. There was mist every day, though the first day it did not roll in until fairly late. On issue is wind as in the time when the seasons change the area is more prone to winds. One of the days we were there this year was totally lost because the winds were howling and one could barely walk around without getting blown over so photography was out of the question. That was pretty depressing when you have traveled so long and far to be there.

BTW, there are many hotels on the mountain and it Huangshan Mountain is not one mountain but rather there are many individual peaks. The oldest, and I believe the largest, hotel on the mountain is Refreshing Terrace, and lot of people go there because of its age and the fact that many important dignitaries have stayed there. But it is my least favorite hotel. For best views I would recommend Lotus Peak, Jade Screen Pavillion Hotel, and my favorite, Celestial Peak. There may be even ones with better views but in spite of three visits there are still many areas I have not visited.

You can see a rough layout of the area at this web site.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/images/map/anhui/huangshan-map.gif

In China they have saying that goes like this. There are three great mountain ranges in China and if you have seen all three there is no need to see any others. And if you have seen Huangshan Mountain there is no need to see the other day. And it is really that spectacular when conditions are right.

Sandy

[Peter York]

Sandy,

If I may ask, what is the approximate cost of these hotels, and did you arrange travel yourself or through a touring agency. I've wanted to visit China (and Japan) for a long time now, and I may be able to do so in the next few years. Thanks!

[sanking]

Sandy,

If I may ask, what is the approximate cost of these hotels, and did you arrange travel yourself or through a touring agency. I've wanted to visit China (and Japan) for a long time now, and I may be able to do so in the next few years. Thanks!

Peter,

The cost of the trip for me was really very low because all of the arrangements to Yellow Mountain were made for me and the other two American (on was born and educated in China) photographers in the group by a good friend from Nanjing who is also a professional photographer who does fabulous work, and he droves us there in his SUV. So my cost was $700 for six days on the mountain, and included lodging, cable car fees, all food, and gas for the car. Then I paid $960 to Fly Asia for round trip fare form GSP in South Carolina to Shanghai, and there my wife's friend met us and after a day in Shanghai accompanied us back to Nanjing in a first class seat on one of fast train that go at some ungodly speed, like close to 300 mph. Shanghai is the most expensive place we stayed and as I recall we payed about $100 a night, but in a four star hotel (and I shared that with a friend). We spent five night in Nanjing in a very nice hotel with a single at about $40 a night, but again this was special deal because my wife's friend made the arrangements.

So all told we spent two weeks in China and I believe my total costs were a but less than $2500, and of course I had two native Chinese speakers in the group so never had to worry about language. I honestly don't know what it would cost to have that trip arranged by an agency, but I would think it would be at least double what it wound up costing me.

I will say that China is more difficult to get around in if you don't speak Chinese than other countries I have visited because so few people, outside of Shanghai and Beijing, speak any English. And I just have no ability to learn Chinese at this stage of my life, which is ironic because I am a linguist and speak fluently three languages other than English. But it is a fascinating country and I am very blessed to have such wonderful contacts and to have traveled there so widely in trips with good Chinese friends. And our friend from Nanjing loves to have us there and travel with us as we all bring a lot of experience to the table to share with him, and of course we give him in return for his efforts prints that he proudly shows on his wall to his friends and colleagues, so it is great publicity and has lead to some interesting exchanges of my work with other Chinese artists.

Sandy

[Drew Wiley]

Sounds like a fun excursion, Sandy, but also like one of those places a handheld MF
camera would be a "must" due to crowds. I always wanted to do the circuit around
Minya Konka with LF, but it will probably never happen. My wife has a degree in
Chinese literature and lived a year there, so the language is no problem; but she
twisted her ankle in rural China and it has never been the same, so steep trails
are impossible for her. Too bad we don't get those kinds of mists here in the Calif
Pinnacles! Shots like that must be gratifying with the kind of control you can get over the highlights in carbon printing.

[sanking]

Sounds like a fun excursion, Sandy, but also like one of those places a handheld MF
camera would be a "must" due to crowds. I always wanted to do the circuit around
Minya Konka with LF, but it will probably never happen. My wife has a degree in
Chinese literature and lived a year there, so the language is no problem; but she
twisted her ankle in rural China and it has never been the same, so steep trails
are impossible for her. Too bad we don't get those kinds of mists here in the Calif
Pinnacles! Shots like that must be gratifying with the kind of control you can get over the highlights in carbon printing.

Well, the trails of Huangshan are not for those with physical problems. I have a very bad knee and the trip up and down the mountains was very painful. Not sure I could do it again in two or three years.

Sandy