Huangshan: Fulfilling All the Beauty One Could Wish for in a Mountain - Tiandu Peak

At the age of 36, I finally saw the Welcoming Pine from my Chinese textbook and experienced the charm of Huangshan that Xu Xiake described as "no mountain compares to climbing this one." To catch good weather, I lingered at the foot of the mountain for three days. Honestly, the rain in Huangshan in September is really heavy. I visited Qiyun Mountain, Chengkan, Xidi, and Hongcun one after another, and finally waited for a sunny day at Huangshan. This wait allowed me to witness the sea of clouds at Huangshan with my own eyes—the grandeur and shock of clouds flowing over the mountain ridges. It also led me to meet two travel companions in life. On the first day, I hiked the entire route from Ciguang Pavilion up to and down from Ciguang Pavilion. When climbing Tiandu Peak, I was lucky to be among the first batch, number 499, to pass through the gate smoothly. Even luckier was meeting Shuo from Hangzhou and Lei from Hebei during the strenuous climb. From then on, Huangshan changed from a solo trip to a three-person journey filled with talking, laughing, and synchronized photo-taking—it really felt like the first time. During downtime, I also thought about how important it is to be in sync with people in life. In the afternoon, fog rolled in, but it didn’t seem to affect our mood at all because the morning’s awe still lingered vividly before our eyes. On the second day, Shuo had to head back to Hangzhou, and I arranged with Lei to climb the mountain again later, leaving our footprints in the West Sea Grand Canyon. I really admire our mountain-climbing ability. In 2025, the three of us plan to visit Yandang Mountain for via ferrata and self-drive the Gannan Grand Loop. Grateful for meeting like-minded people. If it rains the day before, the chance of seeing the sea of clouds the next day at Huangshan is very high. Even if it’s just light rain, it’s not recommended to climb because fog will form afterward, and visibility will be poor. Huangshan tickets allow two entries within three days, but you must register at the ticket checkpoint before entering. Don’t blindly queue to avoid wasting time. The distance of the guesthouse probably doesn’t matter much; just check in advance if they can drop you off at the mountain entrance. I switched to entering the mountain at Xiaoyao Stream Station, where there were fewer people in line. Tiandu Peak limits visitors to 3,000 people daily, releasing 500 people at a time. If you want to climb Tiandu Peak, try to start early to avoid queues or restrictions. Alright, that’s all for today’s memories (commemorating September 22-23, 2024)....