Huang Shan

In the olden days, if you were a prominent figure (brave warrior, wise prime minister), or had extremely good deeds (such as being a faithful widow until death, a filial son), the emperor would bestow upon the family a 'pai fang' 牌坊， which signifies the 'greatness' of the family clan. In Anhui, we visited this group of 'pai fang' from a particular family. It has 7 of the arches, one of the families that had the most.
To me, the significance of the arches lie in the stories behind each and every one of them. One had the story of mistress that brought up the first wife's child into a prominent figure after her husband died shortly after she was married into the family *wonder who would do such a thing nowadays*. The architecture of the arches and how they are arranged .. makes a scenic sight and it was used as the set for many dramas and movies.



early winter: the trees were still brown, a dreamy feeling... like autumn


nearby, is the family's large garden for their sons and daughters to play, recite poems and draw. I really mean LARGE.. the garden is a good tens of acres complete with a lake and countless valuable bonsai trees. During the cultural revolution, many trees were cut and burnt but the villagers around couldn't bear to see the trees being destroyed and hid them in their houses or in the woods. These bonsai plants were preserved to date and are a delight to behold.

a huge lake for the 少爷、小姐 to play.. *envious*

This bonsai tree costs a cool 5 000 000 RMB. :s who would buy such a tree? according to the guide, there was a person who offered such a price for the tree, but this tree is not for sale ;)


I've forgotten the name of the place. It is just next to 翡翠谷， the set for the flying above bamboo sword fighting scene in crouching tiger hidden dragon.. this body of water reminds me of the morning glory pool in Yellowstone. i'm sure it would be even nicer when the sun is right above it.


*flower freak in me*


the waters are said to bring good luck and fortune to those who touch it. *how bout drinking it? more luck? hehe*



*interesting... is this how gps works??*


me in the garish FOC beanie with lu in the cable car on our way to the mid-way point @ HuangShan.


Although I didn't get to experience any snow falling on my head, the sheer thrill of seeing the blanketed ground is simply -- cool, literally :)


I wonder if it was the overexposure of my camera, or the surroundings were simply too bright due to the ice that formed on the twigs and branches of the trees. Most of the trees here are pine trees, many are very very very ancient (100-300 yrs old).

ice crystals on a branch, it's delicate, touch it, and it is all gone.


it snowed last night, hence the sun this morning started to melt the ice crystals..


Interesting mix of greenery and snow, it was the perfect day to tour HuangShan during winter. It was great as there were no haze, no snow, no rain; the weather was perfect with the sun shinning on us while we get to enjoy the snow scenery from the snow fall the night before =)


As with many touristy destinations in China, the padlock on a chain can be seen everywhere. Lovers carve their name on the locks and lock the padlock on the chain while throwing away the key into the valley. *romantic, but too commercialized*




Yay. me luv snow (only there is not enough snow to make a snow man :( )


We had to take a 4-5 hour walk to our hotel for the night at the top of HuangShan. Along our descent, we saw many amazing sights that we thought were only possible in postcards. This is one amusing sight. Notice the stone formation at the top left hand corner of the picture looks like a gigantic 2nd generation mobile phone, complete with the antenna!!



Some of the paths up the mountain were build many many years ago during the Tang Dynasty (i m not sure about which dynasty tho... ). Every single stone is carried up the mountain using manpower.


Sunset beckons as we hurry to our hotel at 玉屏风.




The tree behind us is the most prominent tree in the whole of HuangShan, it is called the 'Welcoming Pine' 迎客松.

As the sun sets, temperatures drop sub zero. These pictures were taken by a half frozen Jayne.


It's FREEZING!! but nice pictures have to be taken :p
Dinner was simple, but everyone in our tour group finished every single scrap of food on the table. We were really hungry after a long day up the mountain. *Didn't take any pictures as the hungry monster in me made me forget everything except food* Although the hotel was situated thousand over meters above sea level, it has all the comforts one could expect from a 3-star hotel. This simple fact is fascinating as every single little thing, from eggs to huge glass doors were carried up the mountain by manpower.



The next morning, we woke up extremely early to see the sun rise. Left (top), right (bottom).
It was an experience to see how the sun slowly crawls up, and slowly one can feel its heat, its warmth and everything around looks different.


The clouds surrounding the mountains.. looks magical~


aaah. it's a blessing in life to see such sight, even at least once.


As the cable car was under maintenance for the day, we had to climb all 40 000 steps down the mountain. My thigh was super sore when I woke up the next morning. Nonetheless, we were still extremely fortunate as we see the many other tourists that had to climb UP the mountain using the 40 000 steps =)


A man carrying two gas cylinders up to the mountain. This is how every single non man-made thing gets up the mountain. I sincerely salute these men and how they toil to make their living. During our way down, we saw one of such worker slip and fall at the steep stairs. *ouch* He looked in pain but his expression was worse when he realized that he couldn't work for the day as he twisted his back.



The trip to HuangShan was fruitful and I learnt much from this trip: the historical significance of different sights in China and above all, the wonders of God's creation.





*i m lazy, a procrastinator, and that is why I haven't uploaded pics of HuangShan since last december until now =)*