If you or your friends are coming to Yellow Mountain for a short tour I strongly suggest you can have a cruise tour on the west lake at Hangzhou either before you leave for the destination or after your hiking over the mountain,  since the express way between Hangzhou and Huangshan City have been open to traffic almost a year.
You can either fly to Huangshan City first and take a coach tour back Shanghai by way of Hangzhou or go to Hangzhou first and take a night flight back home after your mountain trekking tour on the top.
Day 1. Take a private van to Hangzhou and have city tour around the West Lake and then go for the real destination Huangshan City late in the afternoon. It takes you less than 3 hours to arrive in the downtown hotel in Huangshan City.
Day 2. Go to the mountain and have a trekking tour for 3--5 hours and stay over the night on the top.
Day 3. Watch the sunrise and continue your tour on the top and get down either by cable car or on foot. You can go to a Ming village to have a glance of the local culture and history. After dinner you can go to the airport back home.
You can also have a vice versa tour:
Day 1. Fly to Huangshan City and stay at downtown Hotel or take a night train and arrive around 8 next morning.
Day 2. Go to the mountain and have a trekking tour for 3--5 hours and stay over the night on the top.
Day 3. Watch the sunrise and continue your tour on the top and get down either by cable car or on foot. You can go to a Ming village to have a glance of the local culture and history. After dinner you can go to the airport back home or stay over night at downtown hotel.
Day 4. Take a coach tour to Hangzhou early in the morning and have a cruise tour on the West Lake and eat your lunch by the lake and you can either take bus train back home late in the afternoon.
For more practical information, please drop in an email and you get a quick reply.

john@chinahuangshan.com

¡¡¡¡