By Danica Norris
Well...maybe not THE most beautiful place, but it has got to be up there. I arrived this morning dazed by the train ride and was greeted at 5:45 AM by people trying to sell me things as I got off the train. No kidding. Tea, maps, food, etc. (Huangshan is known for both its tea and mountains.) I kept saying "boo-she-wan" thinking I was communicating only to realize later that I had been saying "I don't like" vs. "I don't want". Though, "boo-yow" (I don't want) didn't work either in getting them to stop hassling me, so I guess it doesn't matter!

Getting there

Not really wanting to figure anything out amidst the insane street sellers, I went straight to a taxi and showed him the address. He had no idea, but when I named the closest town to it "tangkou" he got it and shook his head yes. I got the great idea to call the hostel only after we were down the road a few miles. The hostel reception guy spoke very bad English, but he managed to get out "want me to pick you up." CRAP! The taxi ride was going to be expensive. Dammit I thought...why didn't I call beforehand?? 150 yuan and an hour later I was pretty much still kicking myself in the ass.

We arrived at the hostel and the reception guy showed me into the hostel. It's a dump...but hey, they have internet which I'm using right now. YEA. No heat, again, so it's freezing. But the room was only 60 yuan...and the bathroom is clean, the bed hard as a rock, but big. so that's good. I spent an hour from 7-8 am on the internet trying to figure out train routes to my next destination. I had no luck...other than I know I'm going to Nanching to transfer. Unfortunately, all the train stations are written in Chinese characters...which prompted me to write the packing list.

The reception guy walked me to the bus station...about 1/4 mile up the road. I boarded a bus to the Huangshan scenic area for 10 yuan. The bus ride was more like an amusement park ride where you are swung around all different directions and you pray that your seatbelt holds. The tiny road was all hairpin curves and our bus driver drove up it like a pro but both the Chinese tourists and I made "AAAHHHHHH" sounds when the bus seemed like it was going to tip over...so it wasn't just me.

Having made it to the cable car area, I bought two cable car tickets and an entrance pass. I used my student ID. WOOHOO. 100 yuan off the ticket to get in. The ticket's are regularly 200 yuan and the cable car rides 65 yuan making this scenic spot an exclusive destination. The cable car was totally amazing. I LOVED IT. I was by myself, so I had ample space to clear some fear about being way up in the sky.

The Hike
Reaching the top, I started to walk. I bought some peanuts and filled my Camelback with water. Chinese peanuts rock. I don't know what they put on them, but they are very good! I asked "Tiandu Feng" all the way up as there were no signs for that particular peak. I walked for about 10 minutes and came to a way stop where there were probably 300 plus people walking around. Most people were crowded around the Friendship Pine. It's a famous pine tree in China that looks like it's welcoming you to the area. I bought a lock and had Robert's and my name inscribed on it. I locked it onto the cable overlooking the peaks and took the keys. Supposedly this is something people do to make their love last forever. So, Robert and I are now locked together forever on Huangshan! :) (though, it was a little suspicious because all the locks were only from a few days, so they probably take the locks off and melt them down to do it all over again!)

I headed towards Tiandu Feng. I walked for about another 30 minutes up and down and came to the bottom of the peak. I was at the bottom of what looked like a straight up climb. I thought, I must be nuts. I started and got only about 20 feet up before having to stop. I was out of breath and feeling a little dizzy. I started again, but I saw some Chinese above me climbing putting their hands on the steps above them and using their hands to stabilize them on the almost vertical climb. It was insane. Walk straight up a bit, stop and rest, continue, etc. This went on for about an hour. Along the way, the Chinese coming down put their thumbs up in a "good going" gesture and smiled. This helped a bit....

Eventually, I saw my destination: the Carp's backbone. A precipitous one-person part of the trail that is one of the scariest things I've walked across. The only thing between me and death by falling down a cliff was a rope...and nonetheless, a rope at just above my knee-level. The ropes and chains on the trail were made for short people...and the steps for people with small feet. All the way I had to turn my feet sideways to climb up them.

I crossed Carp's Backbone, which was my original destination, but the trail kept going. I thought about going on, but I was so tired. Right then, Robert called me. Yea! Basically to tell me not so good news though. I haven't been able to get my Wells Fargo debit card to work. I HATE WELLS FARGO. Really, I think they are the worst bank on the planet. Every time I try to make a purchase, it's declined, even though I told them twice and had them write in the records that I was going to be in China. RAR! But, it was absolutely fantastic to hear from him. Oh...how I miss the US! And I swear, I never in my entire life thought I would say that! Oh how I miss clean air and being able to be understood, getting organic food and air conditioners. We live such a great life in the US. Even the bums. I had no idea how good it was until I got here!

I decided I could go a bit further even though I had to pee! I stopped on the way up to wiggle a bit and a man passing me said "ce suo"...toilets!!! No way, I thought. Boy, do I have good luck! The toilets were up ahead and making my way down the steep steps holding onto trees along the way and trying to hold my nose at the same time, I finally got to pee! The toilets were squatting...and no privacy doors. I was really thankful I was the only one in there!

When I finally got to the top of the trail, it was a dead end. There was a vendor at the top selling gold medals with red/white/blue ribbons. The medal had "Huangshan" and something else written on it. There were lots of guys at the top shouting the Chinese equivalent of "Yeah! I made it!¡± A nice girl took my picture and then I headed back down. I held onto the rocks, rope, and chains all the way down, taking my time and trying to stay as present as possible. Every time my thoughts would wander, so would my footing. I got to the bottom, asked what time it was and then saw a white guy! Happy to see someone not Chinese, I started up a conversation. He was from France, spoke English well, worked for AOL in London, and was staying in one of the hotels on the mountain for the evening. He walked back up with me, though my legs were shaking so it took me much longer.

Frank, the Frenchman, and I reached the Friendship Pine. He had met some Chinese along the way that had befriended him and they motioned for us to get together. They took pictures of us together and were delighted by it! Frank and I exchanged emails and he's going to send me the pics since I was too tired to grab my camera! I headed back down to the cable car and he to his hotel. I wished though that I could go with him. He was cute and good company...and of course, he spoke English...which here in China is like really good cologne to me.

On the cable car down, I was with three women and a child, all Chinese. As soon as the cable car started down, they began to talk to me. I didn't understand a thing, but then they pulled out the camera. They took pictures of me with everyone, pausing in between shots to rearrange themselves to get someone else in the picture. Hello, Chinese fire drill in a cable car!?! I was totally freaked out but they were intent on taking pictures with me. Hilarious.

Getting back to the hostel, I stopped and bought some Huangshan tea. Later, the reception guy, whose name, I think, is Wang, took me to his friend's hotel that had food. I ordered too much and couldn't finish half of it. I told the four people wandering around my table, "ni chr", you eat. They all refused and laughed when I said, "chrr-duh-tie-bow-la" which means I'm so stuffed I can't move.

I headed back to the hostel and on the way, I stopped to get TP. "san yuan" the shopkeeper said. 3 yuan! I immediately said "tai gui le" (too expensive!). He started to laugh and said "bu gui le"...not expensive. I said, "Beijing" and held up 1 finger to say that in Beijing it's only 1 yuan. Then I held up two fingers and he said "ok"...I laughed, he laughed, and we had a deal. He knew he was ripping me off, I knew it too, and I didn't care. I just wanted to wipe my rear end with something other than my hand! :)