I've been in for a unique China experience. The past few days were a public holiday and I decided to go hiking to Huang Shan by joining a Chinese tour group.Huang Shan is one of the most fameous mountains in China. And - as I've learned the hard way - it attracts around 30'000 visitors on peak days (such as these public holidays). I guess I should have consulted my Lonely Planet before booking the damn thing, which hints that "Today the reclusive artists seeking an inspirational retreat from the hustle and bustle of the temporal world have been replaced by crowds of tourists, who bring the hustle and bustle with them". The picture to the left is not staged and is largely representative for the entire 35km of mountain trails.
The mountain was not only full of eager hikers, but also full of uniformed guards which continually opened and closed routes in a desperate attempt to spread congestion evenly across the entire mountain and to keep the crowd under control.As a side note: The scenery really was breathtaking, although it must look even cooler on a less sunny day, when there's mist between the peaks. What's really particular, though, is that the entire network of mountain trails consists of paved walkways and stairs. Not a single patch of dirt or forest soil. Almost like walking the streets downtown, just with better air ;-)
Friday night we slept in a hospice at the mountain top in order to get up at 4am the next morning to see the sunrise. Friendly Urusla, of course, managed to call me late at night and wake me up. The net result being that I spent the remaining hours of the night listening to the snoring of my 5 room mates. I still can't believe that such loud snoring comes without hostile intentions... And yes, the next morning was cloudy *!&%
But overall it was a great cultural experience. Not to be missed, but not to be repeated either.
