A sunrise breaking through the fog will illuminate your courage for a lifetime. Beautiful Huangshan welcomes you!
4 days and 3 nights, explore Huangshan for 3000 RMB! Stay in a mountaintop tent to watch the sea of clouds at sunrise—this trip is worth every penny!
Hello everyone, I’m your “mountain travel buddy” Xiao Lang⛰️! This time, with a budget of 3000 RMB, I completed a 4-day, 3-night light luxury hiking trip in Huangshan—can you believe it? ✅ Stayed in a tent at 1700 meters elevation, opening the curtain to a rolling sea of clouds ✅ Witnessed a golden sunrise breaking through the fog, so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes ✅ Completed the classic loop of West Sea Grand Canyon + Bright Summit Peak + Guest-Greeting Pine ✅ Ate Huizhou stinky mandarin fish, Mao tofu, and stone ear mushroom chicken stew; people at the foot of the mountain spend 30 RMB each for a full meal, while the whole trip including food, lodging, transportation, and activities cost 3000 RMB per person! This isn’t a “bitter budget trip,” but a reasonable budget for an unforgettable mountain romance.
Total budget: 3000 RMB/person (4 days, 3 nights)
- 🚄 Round-trip high-speed train: 1000 RMB (departing from Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing/Hefei, 2-4 hours direct)
- 🏔 Accommodation (2 nights at the foot + 1 night on the mountain): 900 RMB
- Economy hotel at the foot: 2 nights × 150 = 300 RMB
- Tent/shared room on the mountain: 600 RMB (peak season price, includes cold-proof sleeping bag)
- 🍽 Food and drinks (Huizhou cuisine + trail meals): 500 RMB (125 RMB/day, expensive on the mountain but worth it)
- 🚌 Transportation + tickets + cable car: 600 RMB (core expenses, reasonably allocated)
- 🎒 Gear + contingency fund: 500 RMB (rent cold-proof clothing, oxygen canisters, buy souvenirs).
🗓 Highlights: Stay on the mountaintop to watch the sunrise + hike West Sea Grand Canyon + experience Huizhou local life.
🌄 Day 1: Arrive in Huangshan, rest and prepare in Tangkou Town
- 🚄 Arrive at Huangshan North Station (high-speed rail station), buses and carpooling available right outside to Tangkou Town (South Gate of Huangshan Scenic Area)
- Transport: Bus 20 RMB/person or carpool 30 RMB/person, about 40 minutes
- 🏡 Stay at an economy hotel in Tangkou Town (such as “7 Days,” “Home Inn,” “Tuke”), about 150 RMB/night, clean and safe
- 🎒 Afternoon shopping and preparation:
- Rent cold-proof jacket (50 RMB/day, big temperature difference on the mountain)
- Buy trekking poles (20 RMB), oxygen canisters (20 RMB each, bring 1-2)
- Bring your own snacks: chocolate, beef jerky, bread, instant noodles in a thermos (mountain food is expensive)
- 🍲 Dinner at “Huizhou Flavor” or “Old Neighborhood Restaurant”:
- Must-try: stinky mandarin fish (slightly stinky and tender), Mao tofu (crispy outside, soft inside), stone ear mushroom scrambled eggs
- About 60 RMB per person, authentic and warming.
🏞 Day 2: Hike up or take the cable car, stay on the mountaintop to watch the sunset and sea of clouds
>⛰ Two ways to ascend:
✅ Option A (recommended for the fit): hike up (save money + deep experience)
- 🕐 Start at 7 AM from Yungu Temple, hike about 3 hours, 8 km
- 🗺 Route: Yungu Temple → Bai’e Ridge → Shixin Peak → near Beihai Hotel
- 💪 Pros: fewer people, beautiful scenery, see stone bamboo shoots, Eighteen Arhats facing the South Sea
- 💰 Save: no need to buy Yuping cable car ticket (90 RMB)
✅ Option B (easier): Yungu cable car up (more relaxed)
- 🎫 Cable car ticket: 80 RMB (one way), from Yungu Temple directly to Bai’e Ridge
- 🚠 Pros: saves energy, good for elders or carrying luggage
>🌇 Whichever way, aim to arrive at the mountaintop lodging before 4 PM!
- 🏕 Stay at Beihai Hotel or Paiyun Lodge or West Sea Hotel tent area (book 7 days in advance on official website or Trip.com!)
- Recommended to choose shared dorm bed or tent (600 RMB/person, includes sleeping bag + moisture-proof mat)
- Limited conditions but priceless experience: open the window to see the strange pines, listen to the wind through the valley at night
- 🌅 Evening hike to Danxia Peak or Lion Peak to watch the sunset:
- Sea of clouds rolling, peaks like islands, golden afterglow fills the sky
- Photo tip: wear bright clothes, use telephoto lens for silhouettes.
🌅 Day 3: Huangshan essentials day hike, sunrise + West Sea Grand Canyon + Guest-Greeting Pine
- 🕐 Wake up at 4:30 AM, rush to Bright Summit Peak or Danxia Peak for sunrise! (Check weather in advance, high chance of sea of clouds)
- Sunrise moment: golden light breaks through fog, mountains dyed gold, silence all around, some applaud and cry...
- 🍱 Breakfast: simple meal at mountaintop hotel (porridge + steamed bun + egg, 30 RMB/person)
- 🥾 Full-day hike on the classic clockwise route:
1. **West Sea Grand Canyon (must-see!)** - enter from Paiyun Pavilion, walk the first and second loop plank roads (cliffside paths, thrilling and stunning)
- Optional: take the popular small train at the valley bottom (100 RMB round trip) or hike up and down (save 80 RMB)
2. Flying Stone → Bright Summit Peak (second highest peak, 360° viewing platform)
3. Aoyu Peak → Hundred-step Cloud Ladder → Lotus Peak (or Tiandu Peak, alternating open days)
4. Guest-Greeting Pine (Huangshan’s symbol! Queue for photos, but worth it)
5. End at Yupinglou viewing platform, look far at Tiandu Peak
- 🍱 Lunch: bring your own snacks or buy simple mountaintop meal (rice bowl/noodles about 60 RMB, expensive but filling)
- 🚠 Descend in the evening via Yuping cable car (90 RMB), return to Tangkou Town
- 🏡 Stay in Tangkou Town, take a hot shower, celebrate “summit success”!
- 🍲 Dinner celebration: another round of stinky mandarin fish + Mao tofu, about 80 RMB per person.
🏘 Day 4: Half-day tour of Hongcun or wrap up in Tangkou, then return
>🌿 Option A (recommended for culture lovers): light hike in Hongcun (a picturesque village)
- 🚌 Carpool from Tangkou Town to Hongcun (about 1 hour, 40 RMB/person)
- 🎫 Ticket: 94 RMB (half price for students), can buy on site
- 📸 Must-see spots:
- Nanhu Painting Bridge (filming location of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”)
- Reflections of white walls and black tiles by Yue Pond
- Chengzhi Hall (Huizhou-style mansion with exquisite wood carvings)
- ☕ Have a cup of “Tea Qianyan” corn juice at the village entrance (15 RMB), sweet like childhood
- 🚄 Return from Huangshan North Station in the afternoon
>🌿 Option B (easy wrap-up): rest and shop in Tangkou Town
- Sleep in, buy souvenirs:
- Huangshan Maofeng tea (100 RMB/can)
- Huizhou ink pastry (20 RMB/box)
- Stone ear mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots (vacuum packed, under 50 RMB)
- 🚄 Return directly from Huangshan North Station.
💡 Xiao Lang’s money-saving & pit-avoidance tips:
1. Book mountaintop lodging at least 7 days in advance! Especially tents/beds, don’t be late!
2. Save on West Sea small train: hike up and down the valley (about 1 hour), save 100 RMB, scenery is more stunning.
3. Control food budget on the mountain: eat your own breakfast, bring snacks for lunch, have a big meal at the foot in the evening.
4. Choose one cable car only: recommended to take cable car up, hike + cable car down (save energy)
5. Weather is key! *Check Huangshan Tourism official website weather forecast 3 days before departure; rainy days have higher chance of sea of clouds but slippery trails.
6. Wear non-slip sports shoes! Mountain paths are steep, especially West Sea Grand Canyon, safety first.
✨ Why do I say 3000 RMB for Huangshan is worth it? Because it offers:
☁️ A sunrise breaking through the fog, lighting your courage for the whole year
🌊 A sea of clouds rolling for thousands of miles, like standing on the world’s summit
🌲 A cliffside canyon trail, heart racing with the beauty
🍲 A bite of Huizhou stinky mandarin fish, stinky but addictive
3000 RMB, 4 days, for a shock that makes you say “After visiting the Five Great Mountains, no other mountain compares”—valuable for the experience, memorable for the memory, beautiful in the moment.