Tales of a Phototrotter
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This is quite clearly China in all its natural blazin’ glory - Huang-fucking-shan.
Will definitely return to the Grand Sea West Canyon when I hit up Huangshan again.
Mt. HuangShan黄山 Peaking out of the clouds… (by ming1967)
Nostalgia..
I miss this place so much! Need to return when there’s less snow..
Unswept snow-capped walkways around Huangshan.
Sun? During sunrise? On Huangshan?
Why yes! I would love that.
We were partly fortunate enough to view the sunrise though not in its full glory as it weaved itself between fog, mist and clouds during the morning. However, trudging across to Lion Peak, we caught a glimpse of an open area where there were a lot less clouds and out peeped the sun!
For those who don’t know the rarity of seeing the sun on Huangshan - as an indication, Steven, one of the hostel owners in Tunxi’s Ying Qing Youth Hostel had previously worked as a tour guide and claimed that of the 70 times he had ascended the mountain, he had only seen the sunrise 5 times. Some people go an entire lifetime without seeing the sunrise atop Huangshan, but when you do.. Dear lord pray for your eyes because it is a sight to behold!
In the meantime, this view will do.
I’ll be back!
Suffering from a little bit of vertigo, after struggling my way to the top, there were casually fenced off viewing points where a breath taking view of huge canyons in the Huangshan mountain range could be seen. Photographers are found decked all across these spots busily snapping away!
As a smile is the prettiest language, gracefulness the best self presentation.
Měi Shí Rén Jiā (美食人家)
This famous restaurant is located at the beginning of Ancient Street in Tunxi, Anhui Province. Arguably one of the two best restaurants you can find in all of Huizhou, they specialise in Huizhou’s famous cuisines with it considered one of the top eight best cuisines in China.
Here, rather than ordering off a menu, you would be escorted by one of the many waitresses to the sample counter where all dishes are on display. Any questions can be directed towards your designated waitress and all portions are relatively small to allow you to try a larger variety of dishes.
Definitely one of the best places to go to if you’re interested in culinary delights such as this! It was so good we had to go back a second time and helped ourselves to a bit of everything.
Address:
Měi Shí Rén Jiā (美食人家)
No. 245 Tunxi Ancient Street
Tunxi
Cheng Kan Village
A quick blurb:
Chengkan Village was formerly named Longxi Village. It was first built in East Han Dynasty. Up to now, it has a history of more than 1800 years. Chengkan village has a great reputation – “the best village in Jiangnan area”. The location and architecture style depend exactly on the theory of “the Eight Diagrams” and “Feng Shui”. Chengkan village has three streets and ninety-nine lanes, just like a maze, with hills and rivers surrounding it. The ancient river – Longxi River is like a jade belt going across Chengkan village. The eight mountains surrounding the village are like eight directions of “the Eight Diagrams”. The exquisite layout of Chengkan village is a wonder among the village architectures in China. - China Odyssey
We were told to head to this village under recommendation by Steve, owner of the Ying Qing Youth Hostel, who had emphasised the significance and sheer architectural brilliance of this village as opposed to the tourist-heavy Xidi or Hongcun Villages. This it did not disappoint.
However, there is a great shame with the tourism here being largely undeveloped and so if you did not speak or understand Chinese, there would be no way of being able to hire a tour guide to explain the significance of this place. Yet, that’s what makes this place so serene and amazing to walk around in. No touts, no sellers and absolutely no one to bug you. Just the rest of the day to explore the village still functioning as it did 1800 years ago, right where it can trace its roots back towards.
Huangshan (黄山)
No, this isn’t a ripped off photo nor is it a painting - I took this photo myself.
Huangshan was the highlight of my trip, ascending on Christmas Eve and waking up to the spectacular snow-capped peaks of this amazing mountain range on the morning of Christmas. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful and a definite fulfilment of my long-term wish to spend a white Christmas somewhere. This shot was taken about an hour after sunrise as we made our way towards Lion Peak. Much of the cloud seas would move across these summits, randomly blocking your view when attempting to take a photo, a challenge indeed.
