In-depth trip to Xiuning: Ancient village in the clouds + golden-red sea of clouds, this trip was totally worth it!

Last week I took a trip around Xiuning, originally wanting to avoid the crowded popular ancient towns, but this trip completely won me over! Who would have thought Anhui still has such a "hidden" place — an ancient village hanging on the mountainside, stepping outside is a tea garden, and even the air carries the fragrance of tea. Driving from Huangshan city, as soon as you enter Xiuning, everything feels different: the mountains on both sides of the road gradually turn green, white walls and black tiles houses nestled in tea gardens, occasionally seeing old farmers walking on the ridges with bamboo baskets on their backs, the car naturally slows down, afraid to miss this scene. Approaching Muligong, the winding mountain road makes you a bit dizzy, but when you look up and see the village on the mountainside, you instantly sober up — the mist wraps the black-tiled roofs, truly like floating in the clouds! We stayed in an old house homestay in the village, the landlady is a local with a soft voice. After putting down our luggage, she brewed us a cup of Huangshan Maofeng tea, picked from their own tea garden. It had a fresh sweetness, much more fragrant than the supermarket ones. The dinner was all "local flavor": dried bamboo shoots stewed with pork over a wood fire stove, the aroma of meat drifting into the courtyard; stinky mandarin fish with no fishy smell, paired with brown rice, I ate two bowls; and stir-fried high mountain vegetables, crisp and fresh, said to be just pulled from the field that morning. The next day we got up at 5 a.m. to watch the sea of clouds, following the landlady to the viewing platform, not caring that the dew on the road soaked our shoes. After waiting for more than ten minutes, the sun peeked over the mountain, and the sea of clouds was instantly dyed golden-red, the terraces below looked like they were covered in crushed gold. My friends and I were stunned, took dozens of photos but none could capture the beauty of the scene. During the day we visited Zuyuan Village, quieter than Muligong. The millennium-old yew tree at the village entrance needs two or three people to hug, its trunk covered in moss. Walking on the stone-paved road, we saw villagers picking tea in the gardens, their fingers quickly plucking the tender buds. We tried to learn but only picked old leaves; the landlady laughed and said, "At your speed, you wouldn’t even pick half a pound in a day." The ancient bridge in the village was interesting too, with little grass growing in the stone cracks, and the stream flowing under the bridge making a soothing sound when you crouch by the side. In the evening, we went to nearby terraces, the autumn rice ears were golden, waving like waves in the wind. We found a rock to sit on, watching the sunset dye the terraces orange, the distant mountains slowly fading, suddenly feeling this trip was not in vain — Xiuning isn’t a place that stuns at first glance, but the more you explore, the more flavorful it becomes, even the air makes you want to take deeper breaths. Before leaving, the landlady packed a bag of their own tea leaves for us, saying spring is the best time to come back and pick tea by hand. I’ve already made plans with my friends to come back and stay a few days to fully experience life in the tea gardens! Oh, and a reminder for those who want to go: wear comfortable sneakers, the village roads are uneven; the temperature difference between morning and evening is big, remember to bring a light jacket~