Travel Adapters: Anhui

The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties are said to be among the best of their kinds in China.

Together with xidi, it was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2000. hongcun was a location where the film crouching tiger, hidden dragon was shot.

Moon Pool (月沼); there was the epic fighting scene made here from the film crouching tiger, hidden dragon…it’s only route to the outer cities got this village isolated from the various “wars” since the earlier dynasties to the civil wars so much so that its architectural heritages were able to preserve so well…

宏村“牛肠” Hongcun water canal also called as “ox intestines”; every street has a water canal running along it, filling the village with the soothing sound of rushing water. they channel water to every building in the village and is finally directed into a small lake near the entrance to the village….marvellous works! can one imagine the “dirty” water is collected into a small lake next to the entrance to the village?!

宏村敬修堂 Jing Xiu Hall, Hongcun; a place for some quiet time….the vase “瓶” on the extreme right and the mirror “镜” on the extreme left draw from its sound-alike chinese characters “平静”, which means peaceful…..

rich in its carving, this window screen was carved from a solid slab of stone. it was learnt that a foreigner offered an amount for this stone carving but fortunately it was turned down

rich in wooden carving as well……it can be seen in almost every panel of doors and windows in the buildings……brilliant!!!

well you can guess it that this is the meeting hall whereby the family matters were discussed and resolved….the livings sit around the main hall…….

well visited by the top ranking officials within China itself.

Ancient well within the city

Door alley in a very rich person's resident.

Water lillies blossom abundantly in the water pond around the village.

The famous scrolls of chinese black and white paintings of high mountains, rocks, trees and sea of clouds come alive in huangshan mountains in the south anhui province. It is a marvelous mountain area, now on the UNESCO World cultural and natural heritage list. there is an old saying well known throughout the country "no need to see any other mountains after huangshan!"

There are 5 famous mountains in China. There is no other need to view the other mountains in China if one has seen these top 5. However, if one has been to Huangshan, there is no other need to see any other mountain within China! Huangshan or Yellow Mountain as it is renowned as the number one mountain in China and for it to be accorded with this title is not without a reason.

Huangshan has spectacular landscape with its four unique scenes: interesting shaped rocks, waterfalls, unique shaped pine trees growing out of rocks, and its sea of clouds. huangshan has it all, the steepness, the grace, the elegance, and so on.

Cable car runs from the foot of the Yellow Mountain all the way to the mountain top. The ride takes about 20 minutes there or so. It was another 10 minutes way to the lodging area which is as good as a 2-stars hotel in China! Not that spectacular whihc one would expect, but for one that is way up the famous mountain, this is rather acceptable. It comes with all necessary facilities with breakfast.

From the hotel, it takes probably a stone throw for one to view the magnificient and spectacular scenery on top Yellow Mountain. There are various routes that will bring one to an area of specific viewing spot. Each routes take different time and ennergy level as the cemented steps go up and down each routes, with some very tiny routes of about a person's shouldner width without any hand-rails! Not for the faint hearted at some route crossings. However, they are plans to fence up these routes that all young and old will be able to travel and enjoy the beautiful scenery up in Yellow Mountain.

The time taken to cover each specific routes depends on individual as well as the distance. The longest and most challenging route to the very top of the peak takes probably about an hours for an average person. For the seniors, there are the carriage services which charges a rate of about 150 Chinese Yuan to shuffle from one point to another one way.

There is also a massaging service back in every hotel located at the mountain and it's worth the money to get relaxed for the expert hands to sooth your aching muscles or joint pains after a day's hardwork on top of the world at Yellow Mountain!

“五岳归来不看山，黄山归来不看岳”. There are 5 top famous mountains in China. And it says there is no other need to view the other mountain in China if one has seen these top 5. However, if one has been to Huangshan, there is no other need to see any other mountain! It is renowned as the number one mountain in China for a reason.