Huashan National Park Travel Guide - Wikitravel

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Huashan National Park

Mount Hua (Hua Shan)is a sacred Taoist mountain located in Shaanxi

Province, China. It is one of the Five Great Mountains.

Understand

The 2,154-meter-tall mountain, true to its reputation as the "most precipitous

mountain under heaven", is a cluster of five peaks with breathtaking cliff

faces and a tough challenge to mountaineers. Hua is popularly known by

tourists as the "Most Dangerous Hiking Trail in the World" because even

though the climb did not require any technical climbing skills, the hike con-tains a few steep ascents with via ferrata and narrow passes. The biggest

danger to safety is often due to overcrowding in the Summer months. Hua

was historically the location of several influential Taoist monasteries, and

was known as a centre for the practise of traditional Chinese martial arts. It

is also one of the five holy Taoist mountains of China.

Get in

By Train

Huashan Huoche Bei Zhan ( - located in the town of

Mengyuan Frequent minibuses between the train station and Hua Shan

Luoyang - takes about 4-5 hours

Taiyuan Takes about 9 hours

Xian - takes about 30min -3 hours, depending on the train and time. Be-

low is a partial schedule of Apr 2012, taken directly from the Chinese

Railway website, that only includes the fast D and G trains and the first

and last train:

1. K1295/K1298 Yinchuan Guangzhou 01:55 03:20 0d01h25m
http://wikitravel.org/en/Chinahttp://wikitravel.org/en/Chinahttp://wikitravel.org/en/Five_Great_Mountainshttp://wikitravel.org/en/Five_Great_Mountainshttp://wikitravel.org/en/Chinahttp://wikitravel.org/en/Shaanxi


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2. D1002 Xian North Zhengzhou 08:15 08:56 0d00h41m

3. D1022 Xian North Luoyang 08:40 09:22 0d00h42m

4. G2004 Xian North Zhengzhou 09:05 09:37 0d00h32m


6. D140/1 Xian North Wuhan 11:20 12:03 0d00h43m7. G2008 Xian North Zhengzhou 12:40 13:13 0d00h33m

8. D132 Xian North Beijing West 12:55 13:37 0d00h42m





13. G2020 Xian North Zhengzhou 19:10 19:43 0d00h33m14. D1010 Xian North Zhengzhou 19:55 20:38 0d00h43m

15. 2672 Xian Datong 22:48 00:19 0d01h31m

Ticket Price (2nd - 1st class): Normal Trains (K and Non-Letter): 18/$3 -

104/$17 D Fast trains: 35/$6 - 60/$10 G Express trains: 55/$9 -

90/$15

By Bus

From Xi'an: buses (coaches or minibuses) leave from the East side of the train

station's southern parking lot. Buses leave regularly during daylight hours.

These are mixed in with buses to the Terracotta Warriors, and other destina-

tions. Ride time is about two hours and costs 33 yuan for one way or 55 for a

return. Beware scam buses that try to charge 10x as much. You'll be droppedoff in the village near Mt. Hua. From there take a taxi (see the get around sec-

tion).

Be aware these are independent private companies, or just two guys with a

bus. They don't operate on a schedule, but will leave when full of passen-

gers. So For the quickest departure, find a bus already mostly full of people,

since if you choose an empty bus you could be sitting in the parking lot a


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while.

The entrance fee for the National Park is 180 yuan.

Get around

The buses from Xian will drop you off in the village. From here, the only op-

tion is to take a taxi (typically 10 per taxi, regardless of number of passen-

gers) to the East Gate, which is the ticket office. Buy your entrance tickets

here, then board buses that depart to the mountain itself. However the East

Gate will be closed at night, thus if you are planning to climb overnight, pro-

ceed to the the West Gate. After the bus from the ticket office (20yuan) de-

posits you at the mountain proper, you have 3 options for ascending the first

bit. Note that all start, and finish, almost right next one another.

Watch out for scams, especially if you are planning to climb the mountain

overnight to watch sunrise at the East Peak. The only transportation avail-

able then are cabs. There will also be unofficial "cabs" (basically normal cars

operated by locals) called hei che (black cars) parked near the train station.

Drivers will approach you offering to bring you to the entrance for a price of

around 30 yuan. On the way, if it has rained recently, they will claim that

there was been a slight erosion which has caused a blockage of the paths and

thus closure of the entrances. To make the story sound more convincing,

some may even pretend to call their "brother" or "friend" on the mountain

who will then speak to you to confirm that the roads have been closed. If the

weather is good, the driver will claim that the roads are under maintenance.Knowing that you would need a visual confirmation to be fully convinced,

the driver will then take you to the East Gate, which is always closed at

night. At that crucial moment where you are thinking to yourself that your

plans have been spoilt, he will recommend that you stay in a hotel before at-

tempting the climb the next morning, and very conveniently, there will be an

"affordable" hotel right next to the entrance, which he will point out. If he

succeeds in getting you to fork out money to stay the night, he will earn a


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commission.

1) Climb the North Peak--main route. Plan for more than four hours to reach

the North Peak. There will be plenty of shops by the side of the path selling

food and drinks for you to replenish your energy. Eating hot noodles in the

cold will be a very pleasant experience.

2) Take the cable car (80 yuan one way, 150 yuan for a return) to the North

Peak. Be warned - the line to enter the cable car often last over two hours - so

try to arrive early. Thankfully, line cutting is surprisingly rare, and most of

the line is blocked from the sun and with water misting, so sans boredom,

it's still fairly comfortable even in summer. The cable car is only available

from the East Gate.

3) Climb the North Peak--alternate route below the cable car. Called "Solid-

er's Way" - it's the more difficult, but faster of the two hiking routes. This

takes an estimated 2 hours, and is nothing but steps. It also contains one sec-

tion with optional ~80 degree steps, for those who have seen the famous pho-tos online. The steepest steps on the mountain (approaching 90 degrees) are

also here, though now chained off in favor of a far more forgiving route.

These three routes meet up again just below the North Peak summit. One

can of course, take any of the 3 routes up, and then either of the other two re-

maining down.

From this meeting area (just below the North Peak summit), there is initially

only one route to the other peaks. This passes through the area known as the

"Heavenly Steps" (literally "ascend heaven ladder", "Sun and Moon

Cliff" and "Black Dragon Mountain," the latter called that because it looks

like a dragon's wavy back. The route is no more than a meter wide at places.

This should take about 2 hours.

At the top of this section is the "Gold Lock Pass." Here the route branches.


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Paths lead towards the East, South, Center and West Peaks, as well as other

points of interest. As most of the elevation gain is done, the final ascent to

each of the peaks is not too severe. You likely only have time to climb one

(probably the South, the highest) or walk a circuit. In this are there are tem-

ples, lodges and other sites. This includes the infamous Changkong Board-walk.

See

Green Dragon Ridge - (Canglong Feng) narrow rock ridge with vertical

cliffs on both sides (not for the faint of heart)

North Peak - (Bei Feng) the first of the five mountain peaks

Do

Watch the sun rise from East Peak (Dong Feng) by attempting a night

hike. It won't be as crowded as during the daytime, but you will see oth-

er hikers ascending as well. Be sure to bring along a flashlight, spare bat-

teries and warm clothing. Such equipment can be rented from a storealong the road leading to the West Gate entrance. Check the weather

forecast before climbing because a rainy night will result in dense fog in

the early morning which conceals the sunrise.

At East Peak, prepare yourself mentally as you ascend the famous yun

ding, which are narrow steps half the length of your feet, carved into the

stone, and stacked up at an angle so sharp that you are virtually climb-ing a stone ladder. Experience the thrill of clinging onto the iron chains

by the side of the path with your arms, while slowly groping for a

foothold on the slippery steps.

Next morning, walk from East Peak to the other peaks, where the

scenery changes from rock outcrops to lush foliage (in spring). The mist

will gradually fade away to reveal a breathtaking expanse of valleys ifyou look over the edge of the cliffs. Indulge in a sense of satisfaction as


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you survey the arduously long journey you had completed during the

night.

With a safety harness (since 2005!) walk out on the

Changkong zhandao, "Vast Sky Plank Walk"). Climb a ladder that's

nothing more steel rods driven into a crack in the rock, and walk on

planks a foot wide along the edge of a cliff dropping thousands of feet,

and in places put you trust in footholds carved into the rock. Note that

this is closed during the winter.

Other than the "Vast Sky Plank Walk" one can choose to descend to the

famous Chess Pavilion next to the east peak via the steep footholdings

cut into the mountain. This is the only way to get there and like the

plank walk there is now a harness for rent (30). In the very beginning

of the climb down it is 90 degree steep but in overall it's a little less

frightening than the plank walk and the Chess pavilion is a great reward

for the few visitors that manage to reach it.

Buy

A golden lock at the golden lock temple and add it to the iron railings as a

prayer for your family. Couples also often buy locks and inscribe their names

on them as a symbol of everlasting love. While people symbolically place

their locks at the golden lock pass, many choose to randomly place them on

railings by the side.

A gold or bronze medal that you can inscribe with your name to commemo-

rate your ascent of the mountain.

Eat

Biang Biang Mian (Noodles) Special Shaanxi noodles available on the moun-

tain. The character for biang is a special character with 57 strokes only used

in Shaanxi Province. Small shops also sell typical snacks and drinks.


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It is also advisable to bring your own snacks or food. For example, a bowl of

instant noodles at North Peak is 17rmb as of Dec 2012, about four times more

expensive than back in town, and despite being located right by the cable

cars.

In winter the restaurants close early due to low volume. If you arrive at din-

nertime it is not uncommon for restaurants to be closed or to only have in-

stant noodles. Cooking can also be difficult for the staff due to frozen water

pipes.

Drink

Be sure to bring enough water for your hike. You may need to buy water on

the mountain which will cost you about 5 Yuan (up to 10 Yuan when fur-

thest up on the mountain). If you buy the water before coming the price

should be about 1.5 Yuan. Most people will drink Red Bull from small gold-

en cans. This Red Bull is not carbonated and is a little more watery than

those available in the United States.

Sleep

Most of the peaks have guesthouses where you can sleep in communal

rooms of about 4 to 10 people. The price should be around 60 to 120 Yuan.

Non-communal rooms start at around 200 Yuan a night.

Note that the guest houses are not heated, and they can be brutally cold dur-

ing the winter. It is possible that the provided sheets and thin mattresses will

not be enough, so dress warm and/or bring a sleeping bag and insulation for

your head, where the most heat is lost. Restrooms are also located outside, so

any breaks will require a short walk outside in the cold.

There are no shower facilities or running water in the guesthouses. Bring

moist towelettes, sanitation gel, or simply a small towel to douse with drink-

ing water if you want to wash your hands or face.


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For a more authentic experience, sleep by the edge of the cliff at East Peak.

The ground slopes upwards towards the edge, thus it is relatively safe to

sleep near the edge even though there are no railings. Alternatively, huddle

up closer to the metal posts away from the edge of the cliff if you would like

a safer place to sleep. Prepare enough warm clothes as the temperaturedrops close to zero at East Peak, with the wind chill.

Contact

The guest houses do not have WiFi internet access in their rooms. China Uni-

com has full HSDPA signal at all the peaks so it is advisable to have a phone

that can tether if you want to access the internet from your computer. Aswith everywhere in China, data speeds can vary tremendously regardless of

signal strength.

Get out

In Huashan village, minibuses leave from the intersection of Yuquan Lu and

Xitong Gonglu, as well as the East Gate that gives access to the cable car sta-

tion, on a frequent basis. Although some guides say they stop at 7:00, unli-

censed transportation continues. In a worst-case scenario a rickety village

taxi could surely be persuaded to make the trip back to Xi'an for 300-500.

Bus 608 (3) runs between the train station (not the north station) and the big

roundabout just outside the new big Huashan visitor center (big glass build-

ing). There is no sign that signals it is a bus stop but the pink buses seem to

run quite frequently so if one failure to flag it down the next will be around

soon.

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Huashan National Park Travel Guide - Wikitravel