Huangshan 黄山 (Yellow Mountain)

If you have seen classical Chinese paintings of jagged mountain peaks and pine trees, that was probably a depiction of Huangshan.  It means Yellow Mountain but there is no yellow in the mountains.  It was renamed Yellow Mountain to honor the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di, who practiced alchemy here and became a supernatural being.  It is not one mountain but a mountain range, known for its scenery, sunset, jagged mountain peaks, unique pine trees, winter snow, etc.  It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the iconic landscapes in China.

I have heard of Huangshan for many years but never had the opportunity to visit it.  On this trip, since I am traveling alone, I have the flexibility to go where I want to go and not have to ask anyone.  This is one of 3 places in Central China that has been on my list for years:  Huangshan, Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The same driver who picked me up at the Shanghai Pudong airport a few days ago, picked me up at the Sunrise at the Bund hotel.  He dropped me off at the Shanghai South Railway Station.  There are five railway stations in Shanghai.  My train was scheduled to depart at 12:57 from platform 6.  About 15 minutes before departure time we were allowed onto the platform.  Most passengers scan their local identity cards.  I gave my passport to the gate agent and she entered my passport number into the computer and I was allowed in.  My seat was in first-class in car number 1, seat 9A.

My Train Schedule

Train Station Lobby

Gate 6A for Cars 1-8 for Train No. G3087

A High-speed train

First-class Car

I asked my travel consultant to book me in all first or business class trains.  Not trying to be a snob but I don't feel like pushing or jostling for space in second class.  The price difference is small enough that it is worth the extra expense.  I had a seat next to me but it was empty throughout my whole journey.  I don't know whether it was coincidental or I am paying for the extra seat.

A few minutes after departure a lady came to sell food.  I ordered a lunch tray.  It was a very generous helping.  The train is very modern and clean.  It rode very smoothly and quietly on the tracks.  At times it reached a top speed of over 300 km/hr or close to 200 mph.  Scenery of cities and farms flew by.  The toilets are clean.  This is indeed a high-speed train!  I passed the time by listening to podcasts or music.  I had cellular network connection so I was able to receive and send texts and read news on my phone.  It was everything you want a train journey to be.  I would take a train over flying anytime if it takes about the same amount of time.

My big lunch

A squat toilet

I was picked up at the Huangshan North Railway Station and taken to the An Chi hotel.  I don't remember the name of the town it's in but there are several small towns that are considered in the Huangshan area.  I decided to take a short walk and have a small snack or dinner.  I found a restaurant that serves dumplings.  I ordered a tray of nine and it costs 7 RMB, about $1.

My dumpling dinner for $1

In the morning I was met by my guide Megan.  She is a wonderful English-speaking guide with 20 years of experience.  She said this is the first time she has an American tourist.  Her clients are from Europe or Southeast Asia.  We converse in both Mandarin and English but when it came to explain things she used mostly English because she knows my Chinese is very basic.

We were supposed to go to Huangshan on the first day and Hongcun (宏村), Xidi village (西递村) and Tunxi Old Street (西递村) on the second day.  But it was raining the first day so we had to switch the itineraries.  

But I want to start talking about my trip to Huangshan because this is the highlight of this part of the trip.  Before coming here I pictured Huangshan as a standalone mountain.  You can walk to the summit or take a cable car up there.  Was I wrong.  It really is a mountain complex with many individual speaks scattered all over the area.  The place is so big that it took us several hours to go from one end to another.  We were there on April 30, the day before International Labor Day, May 1.  This is the start of one of two China's Golden Week, when almost the whole country shuts down.  The other week starts on October 1, China's National Day.

We left the hotel early that day, thinking we'd be able to beat the crowd.  When we got there it was like the whole of China was there.  First, there was a long line to get on the bus that was to take you to the entrance.  After that, there was another very long line to get just to take the entrance.  Then another line to get onto the cable car.  It took me 3 hours from starting to queue to the entrance.  Finally we are at the top of the mountain range.  That's when we start exploring different peaks and views and learned more about Huangshan.  

This is just the start

Buses taking us to the entrance

More Crowds

Cable cars up the mountain top

The views of the various peaks are very impressive as the following pictures show.  No wonder artists from all over China came here to drawn those classical paintings.

A range of granite peaks

A solitary peak

The mountain in B&W

I was also very impressed with the way the park was being managed.  In my previous trips to China the locals just trampled all over the place.  There was litter everywhere.  This time the park management folks created small collection areas where you can throw your trash.  There are no trash cans.  The locals did throw their trash in those collection areas.  There are also many workers picking up the trash.  In spite of the crowd the place was quite clean.

After a cigarette butt caused a massive fire several years ago smoking is banned in the park.  The local Chinese are notorious for smoking but they nevertheless adhere to this rule. I guess the fine will be quite massive if you smoke in the park.

Maintenance worker picking up trash

Porters carrying people

Porter carrying goods.  No animals or motorized vehicles allowed

There are also several artists practicing their drawing or painting skills.

When we came down from the Mountain we took a big cable car that get us down to the parking lot where buses are waiting to take us back to the other parking lot where we started.  Just to give you an idea how big the park is, the bus took about an hour on the highway to go from one end to the other end where we started.  In spite of the crowd and the hassles it was absolutely worth the time and effort.  This is like visiting the Grand Canyon in the US.  It is an iconic mountain in China that you don't want to miss.

I have been having difficulties with the wifi and internet in both Suzhou and Hangzhou.  Because of government restrictions I have to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to get around some of the banned websites.  It slows my internet connection and I had much difficulty uploading the pictures.  I decided to publish this post about the mountain now and write the next post about the other sites that I visited.

Shanghai

Shanghai is one of the biggest cities in China.  Its urban area has a population of almost 30 million people.   It is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze river.  The Huangpu river bisects the city.  In recent years its skyline has been transformed by new skyscrapers.  It is one of the busiest container ports in the world.  

In the 1930s' it was a financial and commercial hub.  It fell to the Japanese during the second world war.  During the Japanese occupation many Jewish refugees came from Europe to escape Hitler's war against the Jews.  Many of the Jews left after Japan surrendered in World War II and Shanghai was retaken by the Chinese army.  It regained its reputation as a hub for international trade and finance.  It is home to several highly-ranked universities in the world.  Its subway system is the largest metro network in the world by route length.

I was booked into the Sunrise at the Bund hotel for 4 nights.  I arrived in Shanghai early because of the availability of flights and wanting to get acclimatized to the local time zone before beginning the rest of my China trip.  I also want to meet my friend Edward, whose daughter is working here in Shanghai.

Sunrise at the Bund hotel

Although it claims to be a 4-5 star hotel I will be generous if I give it a 4 star.  It is a beautiful building but the service compared to big-name western hotels like the Marriott or Hilton, it has a ways to go.  The staff show little enthusiasm in their work and most of the lobby staff like bell boy and concierge barely speak English.  

The hotel is located in the North Bund area.  The Jewish Refugee Museum is nearby, which means that many Jewish refugees lived her during World War II.  There are high-rise buildings everywhere and there is still construction of more high-rise buildings in the neighborhood.  My room was not ready when I arrived so I asked the driver to drop me off at a nearby mall so that I can find an ATM machine.  Shopping malls are a relatively new concept in China, starting in the 80s' after Deng Xiaoping decided to open up China.  Most malls in China are probably less than 20 years old.  The SMP mall that I went to is gleaming with new tiles and glass.  It was probably built before the popularity of online shopping started.  The shops are beautiful but they were not busy.  At the bottom level there were many restaurants catering to nearby office workers.

On the way back to the hotel I stopped at an ICBC Bank to withdraw some cash in Chinese RMB or Yuan but they were all in $100 bills.  Too big to give as tips so I went into the bank itself to get some smaller bills.  The exchange rate is US$1 = 6.82 RMB. 

After taking a short nap I was ready to do some exploration of the city.  I decided to go to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Shanghai - Nanjing Road and the Bund.  Since I have not learned how to use the Metro I decided the easiest way for me to go to there is using ride-share.  Instead of Uber, it is called Didi in China.  I downloaded the app before coming to China and entered all my personal and credit card information.  The bell boy helped me picked the spot where I should get off.  The ride costs about 20 RMB or less than $3.   

It's a Friday night so the place was packed with people.  No traffic is allowed on Nanjing Road.  Many people are happily strolling, sometimes stopping at shops.  The shops sell anything that you can think of.  Food, electronics, clothings, souvenirs, etc.  Here are some pictures:

Shop selling food

Scorpions and Centipedes

Apple Store

Department Store

Five Guys - American Hamburgers

There are a couple of technology stores, like Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung.  These are mostly phone companies but the Chinese phone companies have branched off making Electric Vehicles (EV).  It's a very competitive market and the prices are low enough that Americans will drool over them.  Most of them costs around US$30,000 to $40,000.  Some higher-end ones can costs over $100,000.  If they are allowed to enter the US market without tariffs the legacy American car-makers may not survive.  You see them everywhere in other parts of the world.

Huawei Showroom

After Nanjing Road I took the steps up to The Bund.  This is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai.  There are many historical buildings in this area with different classical designs.  By the 1940s' many of the top financial institutions in the world were represented here.  When the communist government took over China many of these institutions moved to Hong Kong.  Today it is  developed as a tourist area and many of the buildings were returned to their former use as financial institutions or hotels.  Today it is one of the biggest tourists attractions in Shanghai.

Many tourists, local and international, throng the bund at night.  Almost all the buildings across the river on the Pudong side are brightly lit up by modern LED lights.  When I was here about 20 years ago some of these buildings were still under construction.  There are many cruises along the Huangpu river.

Nightview of Pudong from the Bund

Looking South

Looking North

The Peace Hotel and Bank of China buildings next to Nanjing Road

I have the whole day free the day next day so I set up to explore three places:  Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden and the Jewish Refugee Museum.  I decided to learn how to use the subway, which is called the Metro in Shanghai.  I have taken subways all over the way and it's easy to figure out how to use it.  But first I need to find the Metro station near the hotel.  They pointed to the direction of the Metro station and when I thought I was in the vicinity I couldn't find it.  There were no clear signs like in some countries.  I ran into a lady from Brazil who was looking for the same thing.  I asked a lady riding by on her bike and she pointed us to the right direction.

The International Cruise Terminal Metro Station

I asked Lavia where she was going.  She said she wants to see this interesting building called the Wukang Building.  I've never heard of it but I was curious so I decided to follow her.  There was a big crowd in the area.  When I first saw the building it reminds me of the Flatiron building in New York City.  The building was designed by a Hungarian-Slovak architect called László Hudec and was completed in 1924.  It has been the residence of many celebrities.

The Wukang Mansion

22-story Flatiron Building in NYC

The Wukang building is in the French Concession, a beautiful tree-lined neighborhood.  It was a Saturday so most of the businesses were closed.  We peeked into one of them and saw a violin repair shop.

A tree-lined street in the former French Concession

A violin repair shop

We next stopped at the Shanghai Library down the street.  It is housed in a beautiful building but not a famous Shanghai landmark.

Inside of the Shanghai Library

Livia and I then split up.  She wanted to go to Nanjing Road while I wanted to go to the Yu Garden.  I was here 20 years ago and remember the traditional Chinese-style architecture of the buildings and garden.  When I approached the garden I was stunned by the size of the crowd.  There were so many people that it was impossible to stop and appreciate any of the buildings or landscape.  Instead, most tourists were more interested in patronizing the restaurants and gift shops than admiring the garden itself.  After about 30 minutes I decided to leave and start walking towards the Shanghai Museum.  

I used Google Map to give me directions to the Shanghai Museum.  However, I seem to be going around in circles.  Google Map does not work in China!  I decided to ask a security guard at a building.  He pointed me in the direction of the museum but he told me that I won't be able to get in.  You need a reservation.  Then I decided to give up and go back to the hotel.

The next day I met my friend Edward and his family.  Edward and I have known each other since second grade, which means we have known each other for more than 60 years!  His daughter works for the Singapore government in Shanghai so they come here frequently.  He was the one who introduced me to Asia Odyssey Travel, who organized this trip for me.

We met at a building shaped like a ship, logoed by Louis Vuitton.  Why a ship?  I guess in order to be different and standout you want something that differentiate you from the other building.  Inside this "ship" is a massive shopping center. located on Nanjing Road West in Central Shanghai.

Louis Vuitton store shaped like a ship

As we walked around the neighborhood I was impressed by the shops and malls.  You'd think that you are walking in SoHo in New York City or Paris or London.  China has come a long way in terms of keeping up with the European and American cities.  The young generation are spending freely.  They have jobs and they have money.

Shops in the neighborhood

Inside a shopping mall

The area where my hotel is located is a mix use of office buildings, apartments, malls, banks, etc.  It is a couple of miles from the main commercial area.  One block away is the north Bund, a continuation of the popular Bund in central Shanghai.  China, or Shanghai, is no longer a backward underdeveloped country.  The streets are clean.  There are beautiful walkways around the park-like area, with gardeners attending to the beautiful plants.  In some cases it may be more beautiful than some of the European and American cities.

Gardener tending the flowers

Beautiful clean walkway for walking or jogging

Zinnias are in bloom

You can see high-rise buildings not far away

White Daisies

What stood out is that I did not run into any homeless people.  Is it the product of a communist system, where the government takes care of the people?  I also felt totally safe when walking the streets at night.  Owning a gun here is almost unheard of.  You may get run over by a bicycle or motorcycle but you definitely won't be robbed.

I am sure there are parts of Shanghai where the poor live.  The prices of most things are lower than in the US or Europe so I don't think the average worker gets paid a lot.  But their healthcare is taken care of.  They also can start collecting a government pension starting at 60 years old.  Not a lot of money but I heard it's a few hundred RMB.