4 Days Yellow Mountain Hiking with Wangxian Valley

After breakfast, your guide and driver will accompany you on a 1-hour ride to UNESCO-rated Mt. Huangshan, literally meaning Yellow Mountain, which is one of China’s most stunning landscapes. With its “Five Wonders” of oddly-shaped peaks, ancient twisted pines, seas of clouds, hot springs, and snowscapes, it will make you feel as if you are in a traditional Chinese painting. It is usually regarded as “steep and majestic in the front, gentle and graceful in the back”. And today, we’ll venture deep into its back part.

► Note:
To make the trip on the mountain easier, please leave your unnecessarily large luggage in your private car at the foot of the mountain and pack light.

For a more relaxing journey, we’ll kindly include a cable car ride up the mountain, followed by a hike to iconic attractions. Out of the cable car, let’s make our way to Beginning to Believe Peak, which faces deep ravines on three sides and feels like an isolated island above a sea of clouds. En route, marvel at nature-ensouled rock formations like “Monkey Watching the Sea” and “Dream of Being a Successful Writer”, where a solitary peak is like a huge ink brush into the sky, crowned with a pine like a blooming flower. Once you reach the peak, your vision will instantly open up. This is the moment when you’ll truly understand why Yellow Mountain is hailed as the “First Wondrous Mountain Under Heaven”. Moreover, the peak is truly a kingdom of strange pines. Take in those centuries-old marvelous pines growing from rocky crevices: Some of the thick trunks of them are like black tigers guarding the cliffs; some of the branches are like dragons diving into the sea; and some of the pine needles resemble harp strings waiting to be plucked.  

We’ll stay overnight at a hotel on the mountain. Sleep well and get ready for tomorrow’s breathtaking sunrise!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Xihai Hotel - North Building (4 stars) or Xihai Hotel - South Building (5 stars), Yellow Mountain Scenic Area

In the early morning, your guide will await you at your hotel and then accompany you to admire the awe-inspiring sunrise over the mountain, weather permitting. All remains asleep, only dawn light dappling the stone steps through the gaps between pine boughs. Suddenly, a faint blush tints the pale sky, followed by orange and golden. Sunbeams spread across the sea of clouds, awakening the rolling peaks in succession. As the red sun rises higher, its light shifts from dazzling crimson to gentle silvery white. At this moment, nothing can be heard but the ceaseless clicking of camera shutters.
► Expert-Chosen Sunrise Points: We’ll watch the sunrise at the best spots tailored to the season: generally, Lion Peak during spring in March-May and autumn in September-November, Purple Cloud Peak during summer in June-August, and Beginning to Believe Peak during winter in December-February. 

After returning to the hotel and having breakfast, let’s head to the Flying-over Rock. From afar, it appears like a giant inkstone floating in the clouds, but up close, it resembles a chess piece lost by an immortal, ready to resume a celestial game anytime. Continue hiking about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) to the Bright Summit with an altitude of 1,860 meters (6,102 feet). Although it is the second-highest peak of the Yellow Mountain, the ancients still praised it as the “Crown among All Peaks”. From this vantage point, you can take in the eastern Lotus Peak, where lower peaks embrace the main peak much like a freshly-opened lotus, and the vivid rock “Turtle Carrying a Tortoise” on the Turtle Fish Peak.

Later, plunge into the West Sea Grand Canyon. As mist surges up from the canyon, a flowing sea of clouds unfurls underfoot, as if you’re flying through the sky on a magic sword. Further ahead, savor the sight of the Lucky Pine twisting like an auspicious treasure crafted by divine hands, and five stone pillars extending skyward like an outstretched Buddhist hand. The famed “Huizhou Camel” will soon come into view: a high peak topped with a boulder like a camel stretching its neck forward. This silent stance perfectly echoes the hardworking spirit of the local Huizhou people.

Let’s then head east to the Lion Peak, whose name dates back over 300 years. As the king of beasts, the lion is a symbol of power and authority, so the name shows their respect for nature and rich imagination. To the north, a round rock lies upon another boulder, with surrounding stone textures like a lion’s paws toying with a ball, creating a lively scene.

After descending the mountain by cable car, your guide and driver will escort you to Huangshan Railway Station for a 50-minute bullet train ride to Shangrao. Upon arrival, your guide and local driver will accompany you on a 1.5-hour drive to your hotel in Wangxian Valley.

★ An In-Valley Stay to Soak up Nightscapes

Our handpicked hotel occupies a premier vantage point within the Wangxian Valley, offering an intimate encounter with its stunning night views. Lights sparkle across the valley, bathing quaint local houses in a soft filtered glow, while mountain streams shimmer peacefully. Even if you simply stay in your hotel room, opening the window will allow you easily appreciate the lively streets beneath the star-dotted sky.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Xiansu Hotel, Wangxin Valley

After breakfast, let’s start a walking tour of Wangxian Valley, a fairytale village built right into the side of a 110-meter-high (360-feet-high) cliff. Climb up the White Crane Cliff, where you can enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the valley. A cluster of over a hundred rammed-earth houses clings to the sheer cliffside dotted with green plants, as picturesque as a living water-ink picture. Stroll along the glass walkway, breathing in the fresh aroma of vegetation as insects and birds chirp around you. In the distance, Three Purities Waterfall and Avalokitesvara Waterfall glimmer like jade ribbons amidst the trees. 

After descending the cliff, follow the brook upstream to the Hu Family Ancestral Hall to appreciate its exquisite wood and brick carvings, and discover traditional Chinese weddings in Yang Mansion. In the Workshop Street, step into an oil-extracting workshop to witness the birth of pure tea oil, a tie-dyeing studio to experience traditional natural dyeing, or a pickle workshop to listen to an elder craftsman share age-old pickling recipes. Many local snacks, like refreshing winter melon tea, kudzu juice, grilled chicken leg, and sweet-sour five-eye fruit, also await your exploration. Meanwhile, you’ll find lots of wonderful traditional performances, such as fire-breathing, Nuo exorcism opera, and ancient Chinese instrument shows. If you come across an immersive performance, you might interact with NPCs to earn ancient paper money to exchange for some small souvenirs at specific sites with the help of your guide. When at the Moon Embracing Bridge, the classic shooting position, capture the panoramic view of the cliff architectural complex.

As your 4-day private Huangshan itinerary ends at Wangxian Valley, your guide and driver will escort you to the high-speed train station of Shangrao for your onward journey. If you’d like to continue your journey to the neighboring Jingdezhen, the hometown of Chinese ceramics, we would be willing to customize your exclusive itinerary!

Meal: Western buffet breakfast