Huangshan & Huizhou

“After the Five Great Mountains, you need not see any other.” Strange pines, odd rocks, seas of clouds and snowscapes, plus the Huizhou-style villages of Hongcun and Xidi: the quintessential Chinese mountain destination.

Huangshan City lies at the southern tip of Anhui Province, where Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangxi meet. Formerly called Huizhou, it includes Tunxi District (the urban center), Huangshan District (home to the Huangshan Scenic Area), Huizhou District, and Shexian, Yixian, Xiuning and Qimen counties. It has two World Heritage Sites: the Huangshan Scenic Area (a mixed cultural and natural site) and the ancient villages of southern Anhui, Xidi and Hongcun. Together with Huizhou Ancient City, the Tangyue Memorial Archways, Qiyun Mountain and the Xin'an River Landscape Gallery, it makes a combined destination of mountains, ancient villages and Hui culture. The climate is subtropical monsoon and the area can be visited year-round. In April–May, seas of clouds after rain are most frequent, with rapeseed flowers and azaleas below the mountain. June–August is the rainy and summer-escape season: the summit is cool but often foggy. From late October to mid-November the autumn colors arrive, and the red leaves of Tachuan and the harvest-drying displays in Huizhou villages are the most photogenic. December–February brings rime and snow to the summit, with the fewest visitors and the cheapest tickets, but some trails and the West Sea Grand Canyon are closed. The area splits into three zones. First, the Huangshan Scenic Area (the south gate at Tangkou town is the base camp; staying one night on the mountain for sunrise is standard). Second, the villages of Yixian (Hongcun, Xidi, Tachuan, Lucun and Nanping), about 1 hour by car from Tangkou. Third, Tunxi and Shexian (Tunxi Old Street, Huizhou Ancient City, the Tangyue Memorial Archways and the Xin'an River Landscape Gallery). Getting there: Huangshan North high-speed rail station has trains to Hangzhou (about 1.5 hours), Shanghai (about 2.5–3 hours), Hefei and Nanjing; Huangshan Tunxi International Airport is about 7 km from the city; both Huangshan North station and Tunxi have direct buses to Tangkou and Hongcun, and Tangkou to Hongcun takes about 1 hour. We suggest 4–5 days: 2 days on Huangshan (including a night on the mountain), 1 day for Hongcun and Xidi, and 1–2 days for Tunxi Old Street plus Huizhou Ancient City or the Xin'an River. Tips: on holidays, Huangshan tickets and cable cars must be reserved in advance with real names through the “Huangshan Tourism Official Platform” mini-program. Prices are high on the mountain, so bring your own water and snacks; a walking stick, raincoat and non-slip shoes are very useful. Book summit accommodation 1–2 weeks ahead and dress warmly in winter. Hui cuisine is represented by stinky mandarin fish, fuzzy (mao) tofu, daobanxiang (cured pork) and the Huizhou one-pot stew, all available on Tunxi Old Street and in Hongcun.

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries