Day 4: Late Lunch at Yuping Crowne Plaza Huangshan

By the time we returned to Crowne Plaza, it was already 1.30pm and we had not taken our lunch... *.* We quickly packed our luggage, checked out and headed to the hotel's Chinese restaurant Yuping. 

In case you're wondering, Lin booked us into Crowne Plaza for two nites. The additional nite was simply for us to hold our bulkier luggage while we were up in Huangshan.

Yuping is a tastefully designed restaurant that serves Hunan, Sichuan and Anhui cuisine. :)

Because we were famished, everything tasted good. :)

The bitter gourd pork rib soup was yum even for Lin & I who don't take bitter gourds at all. :) We were that hungry! :D

We enjoyed the tender chilli pepper beef cubes. :)

The preserved veg tofu was an acquired taste. Tina didn't quite like it. We would prefer if the stewed veg stew a little longer.

Preserved veg fried rice

Spring onion pancakes

and chewy coconut with milk custard rolls :)

First we were too hungry. Now we were too stuffed. *.*

Details of Yuping Chinese Restaurant:
W: http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/huangshan/txncp/hoteldetail/dining

Day 4: Strolling into Chinese Paintings at Hong Cun (宏村)

Strolling into Hong Cun 宏村 is like strolling into a Chinese painting. This village in Yi County, Anhui Province eludes a subtle charm. I was drawn into its beauty, Tina too. Maybe it's because we love taking pics. I can't say the same for Lin & Ann, who were a little bored. Lin had researched on the place too long ago, and forgot what it was known for. Ann was totally clueless. :)

Hong Cun 宏村 is a UNESCO Heritage Site and the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed here. :)

Animal spotting. :) 



Life's simple joy. :)



The greys, the blacks & the greens :)



Purple blooms were sprouting out from amongst the greens. :)



Old charm. :)




Basic accountability? :)



Hong Cun (宏村) is an artists & photographers' enclave & I can understand why. :) Inspiration comes from every nook & corner of the village. It has provided me inspiration for another painting too ;)





Slowing down one's pace at Hong Cun seemed the most natural thing to do. :)




Seasonal fruits aplenty which we didn't buy cos we didn't wanna carry more stuff. :)))



Street food was a no no for us...in case our tummies couldn't take it. :)



Reflection at Moon Pond (月沼)... :)



It's difficult to find friends especially gfs who are intrigued by China's rich & diverse culture, history and beauty as we are. Ann & Tina have been excellent China travel buddies. :) Lin's already planning our adventure to Xinjiang next autumn & I'm looking forward to it! :))) 


Let me rewind a little. :) The car ride to Hong Cun was scenic as well.



A pity we had three sleepy heads on board... *.*



Details of Hong Cun (宏村):
W: http://www.hongcun.com.cn/hcindex.asp

Day 3: Way Above Our Expectations ;)

Lin had prepared us for a below average but pricey accommodation on Huangshan. During off peak season, a standard room cost about RMB1,000. This is because every brick and item are brought up the mountains by laborers on poles across their back. There is no other way of bringing things up the mountains.

Lin had earlier tried booking us in Beihai where the Chinese leaders stay when they visit but her colleague's cousin recommended Xihai instead. Reviews on Xihai were not fantastic. Then two weeks before departure, Lin learned Xihai has a new wing, and quickly requested for us to be put up in the new wing instead. The new wing was way way above our expectation! ;) Behind the average facade is a swanky interior... *.*

Channel News Asia is available here! :)))

We checked out the hotel's restaurant's menu but didn't dine there. The food smelt strange....We prepared our own lunch & dinner instead before heading out to enjoy Huangshan. :) For lunch we had pink salmon with wasabe & mayo farfelle. For supper, we had Baxter Lobster Bisque. Now you know why our backpacks weighed a ton! :)))

Details of Huangshan Xihai Hotel:
W: http://www.hsxihaihotel.cn/

Day 3: The Big Climb! :D

Rise & shine to our BIG climb! :)

Despite having done our research on how to get to Huangshan and what to expect, we were still a little clueless as to what was in stored for us. 

Here's a pictorial journal of what we did and saw on our 2 days 1 nite up in this magnificent mountain.

We had to take a bus from Tangkou to the cable car station. :) Bus tickets required. 

Cable car station. Tickets required for the entrance and cable car ride too. Thankfully Lin has a co-worker in Beijing whose dad used to work for the Park and he gave us four complimentary entrance tickets. :)

Others were much earlier than us... humph! *.*

The cable car took us to White Goose Ridge where we began our hike. Our backpacks were heavily laden with our mini rice cooker, food and water. We read reviews about the expensive and mediocre food. So we brought our own supply. :)))

Huangshan on a clear day. :) 


We weren't sure of our stamina and took many breaks throughout the hike. It was stop, snap & snack. :) We had to snack cos our backpacks were too heavy. :)))



Lin & I aren't mountain people. But we felt we needed to conquer Huangshan as it's China's number one mountain and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The walk in the mountains was very pleasant. :) We didn't hire a guide. When we were unsure of the direction, we simply ask the other hikers around us. ;)







While many admire the scenery,  peaks and pine trees, I was drawn by these petite flowers. :)



There's always the option of a sedan for those who are tired. :)))



Ann wasn't feeling too good, and we left her and our backpacks at the new Xihai Hotel and continued our hike to Cloud Dispelling Pavilion. 

No monkeys but squirrels along the way! :)



It got a little foggy and chilly...



Cloud Dispelling Pavilion is where, if we are lucky, we would be able to see sea of clouds. Apparently that was the inspiration for Avatar.  Humph...there wasn't any clouds...



We spotted a number of budding artists though. :) Huangshan is a continuous source of inspiration for them. :)




Lovers wishing for eternal love come here as well to affix locks on the railings of the mountain. :) We overheard a lady chiding her other half for wanting to remove one of the locks and breaking up others' relationship! :))) 





The climb near the edge of the mountain was nerve wrecking. *.* I couldn't take any pics as I was on all fours. *.*  If one misses a step, that's the end of one's story. Lin & I have height phobia and we couldn't scale higher up Huangshan as much as we like to. :( Hence we gotta forgo seeing the sunset and sunrise. :( 

It has been said to enjoy Huangshan, we have to look downward. But for Lin & myself, we were looking anywhere but downward!




Haiz, we headed back to Cloud Dispelling Pavilion for dinner instead. :)



Pineapple rice atop with pork floss. :) Our mini rice cooker works wonder eh? :)))

Our dinner view was excellent! :) View of the mountain tops. :))) No sea of clouds still...

We didn't bother waking up to see the sunrise though it's a mandatory thing to do in Huangshan because Lin & I have height issues and because the chances of us seeing it was only 60%. Hence we didn't wake up at 3:30am. :))) 

Ann was feeling much better after a much needed sleep. :) Time to head back down. :)

Brush Pen Peak

Our baggage were lighter as we cleared most of our food & water. :) But why were we still struggling??? :)))



Out of no where came the clouds. :) Too much clouds.... :)))



Low visibility



It was actually quite romantic... :)))



That was all we could see on the second day. :)))



We regained visibility only when we were back at Yunggu cable station.



Colours again! Woohoo! :D



That was our Huangshan adventure. ;) Ann had sore calves for the next few days! We were spared because of climbing stairs in our new house the last couple of months. :)))



Oh a pic of the bus terminal. :)