Jailbreak 2: HuangShan Summer 2020

Yellow mountain has long been on my bucket list. The main problem with visiting here was finding the right time to go. Public holidays, especially Spring Festival the mountain is packed and those are generally the only time I can go. I figured that this could be my last chance and so I just bit the bullet and made my way. I was fully prepared for a sea of tourists, long lines everywhere and a certain amount of shoving. Amazingly I hardly encountered any! I got picked up at 6:30 from my hotel, so I was through the security and foreigner health checks and on a cable car by half 7 in the morning.

The initial cable car was only about 12 minutes but already I knew I had made the right choice. Even with a vert scared Chinese family in with me, and filthy windows, the view was stunning. I chose to go up the mountain from the west car and come down the next morning on the west one. It was an ambitious one but I was told not impossible.

Confusing mountain rules. 

 As it was early, it wasn't too hot but I was still sweating buckets! My first plan was to make my way in the direction of my hotel for the night (I splashed out and got myself a room on the mountain  for the night), which turned out to be a very good idea. I arrived about 10 am and hoped to just drop my bag off, they let me check in early and were very pleasant.

The hotel itself had received very poor reviews online, so I was expecting very little from the place. Apart from having very few food choices, I was impressed with the place and slept wonderfully. Having the mountain without the tourists was fantastic. I wandered up to a nice sunset spot and made friends with a guy who was a part time travel photographer, He is responsible for the tree sunset one. My poor phone tried hard but just couldn't quite manage it. After sitting and watching the sunset with the calm of a million strangers I braved the dark track back to the hotel and crashed out.

"Hiking" the mountain is mostly  just climbing billions of steps on wide concrete trails. Its hard work in the heat and humidity of Chinese August but not impossible. I was expecting much worse!