My Tour Tips of Yellow Mountain

[johnhuangshan]

1. Choose the right time, otherwise, the hotels are always overbooked during high seasons, such as mid Sept.—mid Nov. I went there during the late August and my staff workers went during early September last year. The reasons were simple: very few tourists and not crowded on the top.
A. Students and teachers were home and ready for the new semester.
B. Overseas tour groups usually set their date for the second half month to enjoy the cool weather.
C. Domestic groups usually take the advantage of the summer vocation as it is easy to recruit the quorum to start the tour. Therefore, the whole mountain is almost yours if you go to the Yellow Mountain during late August and early September.
2. Take shuttle bus to Huangshan City (Tunxi) either from Shanghai Southern Station or Hangzhou West Station. The fees are low and it takes less time. All the buses are brand new and air-conditioned. The scenery along the Hangzhou-Huangshan Express Way is fantastic, with green hills and white cottages scattered among the bamboo groves or tea bushes. 3 hours from Hangzhou, and 5 hours from Shanghai.
3. The scenic areas on the top are limited and you can’t get lost, either from southern side or from eastern side to the top. Therefore, a guide is not as important as you imagined. However, an exclusive car is strongly suggested if you want to cover more Ming villages at the foot the mountain when you complete the trekking, as there are few taxis between these villages and you might waste lots of time by taking local worn-out tricycles.
4. Take a night train back to Shanghai or Nanjing, either soft sleepers or hard ones so as to save the extra room rate at downtown and your precious time. But if you want to have a shower or a short rest, what is to be done? A temporary room service is available from a small traditional hotel at downtown, only half rate for 4 hours, between 17 pm. --- 20:30 pm. The hotel is just located at the west side of the Early Commercial Market Street (Laojie). The hotel is called Old Street Inn. You can have a shower and then have stroll on the Laojie, eat your dinner at No. 1 Restaurant on the eastern side of the street, where you can try the local signature dishes, very authentic. Then back to your temporary room and get ready for the railway station, 10 minutes taxies drive. There are several trains, starting between 21: 40—23:40, leaving for your destination, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing or Guilin.
The above is my tour experience of Mt. Huangshan.
Just consult at shanghai-huangshan.net