November 24, 2014 in Asia, China, Deals, Destinations, Trip Planner
Check out this deal for a flight from Toronto to Bejing, China for just over $700 CAD! I went online to check the flights & it’s really available!
Even more amazing is that it’s a direct flight! If you know you’re going, book quickly as there are limited seats at this price.
I wish I could book this deal, but we’re heading to Myanmar next year. Hopefully this deal comes around again
September 25, 2014 in Asia, China, Destinations
Hua Shan (华山) was the highlight of our trip to China, & also the most physically challenging. The views were amazing – and the sheer rock faces were quite literally breathtaking! Photos don’t do it any justice so you’ll just need to head there to see it for yourself 🙂 And if you aren’t up for making the climb on foot, there’s a cable car that takes you very close to the North Peak. From there, you can hike to any of the 5 peaks (see a map of the mountain trails at the end of this post).
Just a warning that this post is going to be a bit photo-intensive, so I’ll write a separate post on how to get to/from Hua Shan. Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we only made it to the North Peak. We will definitely be back & next time we’ll stay on the mountain overnight to hike to the other peaks.
There are 2 ticket booths, one for the cable car and the other for the foot path. There was no one when we arrived to buy tickets at the Western Gate (which is about a 10-15min walk from where the bus drops you off). From there, it is an uphill climb to the North Peak, with the last 3km being very steep. You will need to hang onto the rusty chains to steady yourself as the steps are narrow, uneven and steep. Also, these paths get pretty narrow considering they expect two-way traffic to flow. We brought gloves with us and were really glad we had them.
Breakfast of champions 🙂
Enroute to the Western Gate ticket office
A comforting message for a safe climb
Got our tickets!
Spiritual start to our climb
The first 2km weren’t too difficult. Steps were nice & even and paths were wider
Locks of love
Beautiful views about halfway up
There was a fork in the road and we weren’t sure which way to go. We followed the path on the right (towards the Thousand Feet Cliff).
Steeper climb…
Neverending stairs…
Reaching the Thousand Feet Cliff
Much narrower and steeper
The climb
Looking back… Had to hang on tight for this one
Another view from further up
Selfie before continuing the climb
Upwards & onwards
Steps have gotten pretty narrow here
Looking back one last time. Pretty steep
Made it to the Cable Car Station
Views from close to the North Peak
Made it!!! 3hr15min to the North Peak 🙂
The Soldier’s Path – a different footpath (steeper) that follows the cable car route
Refreshing drink from Happy Lemon back in Xian! 🙂
Map of Hua Shan
To read more about the mountains we climbed in China, go here.
September 20, 2014 in Asia, China
Ever since I was a little girl, I had admired the sense of serenity and solitude depicted by the traditional ink and wash paintings of the Sacred Mountains of China. The beautiful guóhuà (國畫) and the mythological stories my Dad used to tell us before bed were the main reasons behind my trip to China. Born & raised in Canada, I was on a mission to travel to some of these mountains, and also to learn more about the country and culture.
My pre-trip planning wasn’t very fruitful when it came to figuring out how to get to the mountains on my own, and even less information was available about navigating the mountains themselves. Now that I have triumphantly returned, I want to share my experiences & provide all the logistics required to get to and from Hua Shan (华山) & Huang Shan (黄山).
Throughout our trip, we noticed that most of the tour groups and tourists were National Chinese, and many were sporting loud megaphones. However, I thought it would be different when we escaped to the mountains. I was wrong… There were Chinese tour groups everywhere. Well, at least at the top of the mountain and at the cable car stations. Since we decided we were going to make it up the mountain by foot, we did manage to sneak off from the crowds and enjoy moments of peace on our own. My most favourite moments by far from my entire China trip were the mountain treks – although it was definitely a reflective journey, it was also a physical & mental challenge, forcing me to face my severe fear of heights.
If you are considering a trip to China, I highly recommend including at least one visit to a Sacred Mountain. Whether you choose to hike up on foot or take the cable car, I think it’s worth the detour.
Since I want to share full details about each mountain, I am breaking them into separate posts for easier reading:
1. Hua Shan – famous among tourists as the “most dangerous hiking trail in the world”
2. Huang Shan – also known as Yellow Mountain, it is the subject of many traditional Chinese paintings and literature
If you have any questions, just send me an email & I’d be happy to help.
See more mountain climbing adventures from my trip to Vietnam.
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