Huangshan (Yellow Mountains)

PeaksAnhui,China

Seventy-two granite peaks in eastern China that flood with cloud two hundred days a year, climbed on stepped paths, and the cradle of landscape painting.

September·Peaking now

Sep–Nov

Autumn brings the clearest air of the year: the sea of clouds returns and the sky turns crisp and blue after summer's haze. But National Day (1–7 October) packs every terrace and fills every bed on the summit.

Year-round The granite spires, wind-bent pines and famous sea of clouds are here year-round; autumn brings the colour, winter the snow-dusted peaks above the clouds.

Huangshan is a range of seventy-two granite peaks in Anhui province, eastern China, and it is the landscape that taught the country to paint. The name has nothing to do with colour. In 747 a Tang emperor renamed it for Huangdi, the legendary Yellow Emperor, said to have refined an elixir of life and ascended to heaven here. What the painters came for is the cloud. On more than two hundred days a year the yúnhǎi, the sea of clouds, pours white into the valleys until only the summits stand out of it, then shifts and parts within minutes. It is likeliest on a morning that clears after a wet spell, so you sleep in a hotel on the summit and climb by headlamp in the dark. You wait in the cold at a lookout such as Bright Summit or the Refreshing Terrace. As the sun clears the horizon it catches the white below and turns it copper-gold, and the peaks kindle one by one. Stone steps are cut into the rock all over the mountain, running along sheer walls, and a new spire opens at every turn. Three cableways take the climb out of the approach for most people. At the Jade Screen the Welcome Pine holds its branches out over the drop, and the granite spires framed between its twisted boughs are the picture everyone takes. The tree is reckoned more than 1,500 years old and has a keeper watching it day and night. Off the ridge the West Sea Grand Canyon falls away on narrow stairways and plank walkways pinned to the walls under you, and a monorail saves you the climb out. In late April and May wild azaleas flush the terraces red, pink and white. In the 1600s masters like Hongren and Shitao came up to sketch the pines and cliffs, and painted them for the rest of their lives. Their Huangshan school turned these mist-cut peaks into the template for Chinese landscape art. Shitao put it plainly: Huangshan is my teacher, and I am a friend to Huangshan.

Worth knowing

Good to know

Sunrise is the moment to plan around — cable cars do not run before dawn, so spend the night at a summit hotel and walk to a viewing terrace in the dark.
Avoid the National Day (1–7 October) and May Day holidays, when paths and cable cars are jammed and hotels sell out; weekdays outside those weeks are far quieter.
Three cableways climb the mountain — Yungu, Yuping and Taiping — but queues build fast; ride up early and keep the descent for late afternoon, when the terraces empty.
Dress for cold and steep stone — the summits top 1,800 metres and mornings are chilly, so bring warm layers and firm, non-slip shoes for the thousands of steps.

Things to do

1
Keep a dawn vigil above the sea of clouds
Well before first light, climb by headlamp to a lookout such as Bright Summit or the Refreshing Terrace and wait in the cold. As the sun clears the horizon it catches the sea of clouds below and turns it copper-gold, and the peaks kindle one by one. The yúnhǎi is likeliest on a morning that clears after a wet spell: white cloud pours into the valleys until only the summits stand out like islands, then shifts and parts within minutes. Come after snow instead, with the holiday crowds gone, and the white-laden granite catches that first light as deep crimson.
2
Frame the spires beside the Welcome Pine
Make your way to the Jade Screen, where the emblematic Welcome Pine holds its branches out over the drop, and stand where the wind-bent boughs frame the granite spires beyond. Composing the peaks between the twisted branches is the classic Huangshan picture, and this pine is the most famous of them all.
3
Climb the stepped paths among granite peaks
Stone steps carved into the rock run along sheer granite walls. At every turn a new sharp peak and precipice opens up; if your strength allows, climb to Lotus or Heavenly Capital Peak.
4
Descend into the Xihai (West Sea) Grand Canyon
Drop off the ridge into the West Sea Grand Canyon, where narrow stairways and plank walkways cling to sheer granite walls and pinnacles rise on every side. A small monorail carries you back up from the canyon floor, saving the long climb out.