Bye Bye China! Visiting Gulangyu and Yongding

Last post: Adventure in the Yellow Moutain: Huangshan 

Versão em Português 

Last stop

Traveling can also be a challenge and, even though I was very happy to be nearly finishing my Chinese odissey I started to show clear signs of fatigue. The long and tiring walk in Huangshan was kept in my body memories. Foot blisters, body pains, very sleepy, etc., and still, I could not rest properly because I had to take a 15-hour train journey to reach Xiamen. I took the train in Huangshan - almost late - and once again I had a great experience interacting with Chinese common people. This time I had a guidebook about Brazil, with some pictures - Cá's gift - and that left my train fellows really excited!

Intro

Xiamen has a population of more than 3.5 million people and sits in coastal China being maybe the biggest and nearest city to Taiwan. It's also frequently ranked as one of the best big Chinese cities to live in.

I had no specific focus in Xiamen since the city have no famous touristic attraction. The option to go over there was because it was easier/cheaper to get from Huangshan to Hong Kong without taking a flight and making more use of my time in China.

Because of this context I went directly to the area that has the greatest touristic potential in Xiamen, the island of Gulangyu. It's a tiny island - around 2 km² - where just 20,000 people live but has its charm. It's one of the busiest domestic tourism spots in China.

Xiamen was one of the forced cities to open to international trade after China lost the Opium War to the British. Gulangyu at that time was assigned as an international area, and 1903 became a safe refuge for Europeans, Japaneses and wealthy Chinese. Thus, the island - even though not as much as described in Lonely Planet - recalls to an European colonial feeling given to its common architecture totally different from  Chinese tradition.

How to get there

Arriving at Xiamen's train station you'll need to catch the bus to the seafront area. There are lots of buses going that way, thus it's worth to check at the time you get there. It wasn't that difficult to find people who could speak English in this city.

After you get to the pier, turn left and you'll probably find the crowds in front of the ticket counters. Get on those lines and buy your ticket (~12 RMB return) to get to Gulangyu. After a 5 min ferry tour you'll arrive in the island.

Where to stay

Unfortunately Gulangyu doesn't have too many options of accommodation for the low cost traveler. Therefore, booking in advance is the rule, especially in the high season as July. Out of the three low cost accomodation options commonly known I stayed in two. The first, Gulangyu International Youth Hostel, it's not bad but it doesn't make any effort to get better, it's in the Chinese hostels average. The second one, Bay View Inn, it's extremely clean and the staff are really attentive and nice, above average. The price was almost the same so if you have the chance to choose the take the second one. I think both can be booked at Hostelbookers.com or Hostelworld.com.

Arriving

When I got there and unloaded my stuff I had some goals. First, have a shower, because I had no shower for 2 days while I had to walk, take trains, etc., so really needed that. Second, to eat, because I was starving. Third, wash my clothes because I had no clean ones to wear anymore. Fourth, find out how to get to Hong Kong, where to stay there, the flight to Singapore, the flight to Paris, Europe details and, finally, the way back to Brazil. Last but not least, I had to sleep.

However, before I went to sleep I could take a picture of Xiamen seen from Gulangyu.

View of Xiamen at night from Gulangyu

The second day was dedicated to the tours and so I could enjoy the island much better. I changed my hostel - there wasn't room for me for the second day - left my stuff and explored the island. Before lunch the island was fully packed by Chinese tourists. I waked through many alleys that can easily make you get lost. On the way I found European style buildings mixed with some others in Chinese traditional architecture. In the center of the island I found a wide vary of cheap Chinese restaurants. I could find a meal of 2 dumplings portions of chick and ginger and 1 Tsingtao beer for 12 RMB.

Statue of Koxinga

Picture of Statue of Koxinga
looking at the sea

One of the islands most easily found touristic spots. It's called Statue of Koxinga, a national hero that expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in 1660. I could say it's one of the most visited places in the island and the alternative to get close to it would be to take a boat tour - or the ferry itself. It costs 15 RMB to get close to the statue.

Sunlight Rock

The highest spot in Gulangyu and surely worth a visit. From it one can see the view of the whole island historic center and city of Xiamen in the back. It's worth saying that the place was p-a-c-k-e-d with tourists making almost impossible to walk in the rock. It costs 60 RMB to go up. I'd like tosay that, only in this place during my whole stay in China they didn't want to accept my student ID. I first paid for the full fare but after I saw that it was written in English that they accepted student ID for half-fare I called the manager and after a short period of tension she decided to give my money back and charge me just the half-fare.

View of Gulangyu and Xiamen
from Sunlight Rock

Walking over Gulangyu

Picture of the nutcracker's store

There were many others tourist attractions but that was enough for me. Just walking through Gulangyu's alleys was making me happy I had no pacience anymore for museums and gardens, etc, etc, etc. I walked through the whole island and tasted lots of local street food. One of my findings was a delicious oyster pancake for 10 RMB - which, yeah, it gives you diarrhea but it was really good - and a bizarre ice cream made of pasta, beans and, of course, ice cream for just 20 RMB. In Gulangyu you can find many cafés which sell capuccino, fappuccino, etc., expensive and not that interesting but which seems to be the latest fashion among youngsters in China. Another curious point in times of world economic crisis was to find the ice cream places that advertise to have an authentic italiano gelatto. I really saw Italian men mixing the ice cream as an attraction to Chinese tourists. I also saw many stores selling nutcrackers. There were whole stores of nutcrackers, probably another coming up fashion in China.

Going to Yongding

For a solo traveler getting to Yongding could be an excessive adventure which I wasn't looking for in the rainy season and just some days before I would leave China. So I tried to find a travel agency that could offer the tour to Yongding. I found one that stays almost next to the place where the ferry dropps you off in Gulangyu. It costs arround 150 RMB including tickets, transportation and lunch. This place was also one of the reasons for me to put the Xiamen region in my travel plan so I was pretty excited about what I would find.

Yongding stays in the province of Fujian and has around 30,000 tulous, the original samples of what we could call as buildings or modern condominiums. These were built by the Hakka people - they used to live in the East coast of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and they spread around the world - as a solution to protect their community from the attack of animals or other people.

Hongkeng Tulou

The area my tour went to visit is a 3-hour drive from Xiamen, in the mountains of Fujian and we faced some rain on the way. We went to visit the Hongkeng Tulou, which is the most touristy one, so not the most authentic, but which still reserved a nice experience for me.

When we arrived there our group would follow a tour script. Since I could not understand a thing about what they were saying I ended up visiting all the place on my own. Instead of going to the tulous first I decided to have the views from the top since there were no crowds there yet.

View from the Hongkeng Tulou complex

The view is really impressive, there are many tulous in circle, egg and even squared forms. This is the kind of different architecture that even when you get used to watch at the first view it's hard to forget.

Woman next to the
tulou's entrance

The Hakka people went through a real diaspora not just around Asia but to the whole world. There are Hakka descendants scattered around US, Europe and Asia, many times occupying leadership positions. To be a Hakka it's almost like making part of a global fraternity that looks to keep their tradition and honor their ethnic group. Besides being from a different ethnic group, these people communicate through a different language, the Hakka language, which is different from Mandarim.

Central area inside the tulou

As impressive as looking to the tulous from the outside is when you can get a glimpse from inside. Even though the people who live inside - with the government incentive - are transforming it in something directed towards tourism there are still some people living there as they usually did, especially on those which are in bad state of conservation.

I got into a tulou which as really bad maintained and apparently not openned to visits. It was pouring hard but still I could admire the wooden made structure inside the tulou that circled the inner garden.

In of the greatest tulous there was a ceremony area making the view even more interesting. Unfortunately, as there are people still living there, tourists - especially those who could be taken as foreigners as me - can only get access to the ground level. So I could not go upstairs for a panoramic picture. However, the locals know the tourists curiosity and they sell your picture taken in the entrance. I could lower the price to 12 RMB and took this plastified and enlarged picture home. To avoid loosing it I took a picture with my camera. This surely is one of the most impressive views inside a tulou.

My picture inside the biggest tulou

The end

And I reach the end of my Chinese adventure. Almost a whole month with plenty of happiness, different people, learning, challenges, stress, and unforgetable experiences. China is a millenial giant which is just getting back to its power position. Has lots of things to teach us in terms of culture, citzenship and urbanistic approaches. Besides the language barriers this is for sure a wonderful place to travel in terms of landscapes, culture and safety. I broke my prejudices about the Chinese people and I was offer help everywhere I went and from everyone in order to accomplish my plan. Thank you China for this unforgettable experience. 

Now, let's go to Europe. 1 day in Paris!

Adventure in the Yellow Moutain: Huangshan

Previous Post:  China's Big Apple: Shanghai

Intro

Huangshan, also known as the Yellow Mountain, it's a massive granite group of mountains with 36 peaks reaching more than 1,800 m high. To look at this kind of mountain and its green remembers you about classic Chinese paintings.

Picture about Huangshan

Taking the train in Shanghai

Since I had already bought my train tickets I went directly to Shanghai's train station. Then, I discovered that I hadn't bought a sleeper seat but a hard seat - the cheapest. I was taking a overnight train and that gave me a pretty clear message: a bad slept night. In the hard seat area the lights are never turned off, the A/C is pretty strong, people come and leave at every stop, the seats are small and there's no way to recline it or to anywhere to lay your head. By the other hand, I think it's the finest way to get close to Chinese people. Fortunately, in the middle of the night the train got quite empty and I could take the whole seat row for me.

Arriving in the city of Huangshan

There's an important thing: there's the mountain of Huangshan and the city of Huangshan. When you get to the city of Huangshan that doesn't mean anything because the mountain sits 1 hour away in the surroudings of the city of Tangkou. As you leave the train there'll be some vans and buses to take you there (16 RMB). And, if you're lucky, you'll find some other foreigners who can speak English to you and get yourself in a group. I ended up with two Italians, Giulia and Andrei, who planned to hike the moutain in the same pace I had planned and so we went together from there on. It's worth to buy the mountain map for 7 RMB written in Chinese and English. In the moutain itself the maps sold are available only in Chinese.

Getting to the Huangshan mountain

We took the bus to Tangkou and went to find somewhere to leave our heavy luggage. We bought water, food and had a meal before taking the stairs up. Around 2 pm we went to the moutain. For that we needed to pay 21 RMB for a bus service to the start of the trail and, when we got there more 230 RMB for entrance tickets (the price changes according to the season and student ID cards are accepted for a 50% discount).

Paths and trails

There are two ways to up/down the moutain. You can make use of cablecars, which is the usual solution for elder and tired people, or, you can do it on foot.

Map of the trails in Huangshan

It's possible to go up/down through the Eastern or Western steps. A classic route - the onde I did - is to go up through the Eastern steps and down through the Western steps in the next day. It's done this way because the Estern steps are hard and take 3-4 hours to finish, but, it's feasible, the Western steps are much more difficult and can take up to 6-8 hours to be completed. Thus, it's better to go down that way. Once you got to the top there will be a lot of slopes and stairs that will make everything harder.

Hiking through the Eastern steps

We started our hiking under rain and fog. I felt like the moutain was endless and we would never stop hiking. Every group of stairs was followed by another group, then, another group... This route is also used by men who carry everything, from sheets to the hotels and laundry stuff to bottles of water and food and even other people who don't want / can't hike the way for themselves.

The Italians were still carrying a lot of stuff to camp on the top, which obviously demanded more energy from them. And, Giulia, addicted to photography, was carrying 2 DSLR cameras and 3 lenses. Not a surprise that they later, at the top, gave up of walking down the moutain and decided to take the cablecar. Anyway, so far, the promisse of spectacular scenery was pushing us up.

At times we got a little bit frustrated. Everywhere you looked the lonly thing to be seen was the grey colour of the fog. Sometimes a tiny piece of the moutain was revealed but would be gone away in less than 10 mintues.

Arrived

After 3 hours of hiking, we finally got the top. The problem was that there's no single top but lots of tops and we would have to walk a lot from that point. 

Begin to Believe Peak

This peak was named this way because of its impressive views so people would still find difficult to believe that they got there. For us, there was no big deal because we couldn't see anything from there.

But then..

Picture of Huangshan in the Begin To Believe Peak

From now I'll warn you. The pictures cannot tell not even 50% of the impact of seeing that with your own eyes. It's simply magic! The clouds disapeared and suddenly there were many moutains and peaks in front of us. We got super excited and ran to take pictures. As the wind changed moutains came up and disapeared and even cloudly as it was it was phantastic. However, we didn't know that the best views would be revealed only in the nest day...

Picture of Huangshan, vale next to Beihai hotel

At night

So you can better enjoy the mountain, take rest and still watch the sunrise, the best option is to sleep in the top. The cheapest option is tro bring your own tent and camp in from if Beihai Hotel for 30 RMB. However, if you want to rent their tent that would cost 200 RMB. If you want to sleep in the 5-people dorm the price is 280 RMB - that's what I've did. And, finally, if you want normal rooms with everything a 4-star hotel has to offer the range is from 1000 to 2000 RMB or more. Thus, everything's extremely expensive. Since taking your own tent requires a lot of energy - as per my Italian friends experience - I think the best choice would be to sleep in the tent or the dorm. The dorm should be booked way in advancebecause it's quite difficult to get it.

The Italians and me

Me and the Italians wanted to have dinner but it was difficult to find something cheap. To give an idea, the mini markets there are prohibited by the hotels to sell instant noodles. However, one of the owners of the mini market asked us if we wanted to buy it as long as we didn't tell that to anyone. We accepted his proposal and we paid 15 RMB for each. I stayed with the Italians in their tent until it got late and then I went to my hotel dorm room.

Sunrise

One of the greatest natural attractions in Huangshan was to watch the sunrise. And, according to weather forecast we had 70% of chance to have a regular sunrise. One of the best peaks to watch it is the Lion Peak.

Lion Peak

I don't know why this peak has this name. I have no idea. But, we woke up at 4 am, I helped the Italians to pack their tent and we moved to this peak. I mean, not just us but a pack of tourists, foreigners and Chinese. When we arrived there was some competition for the best places.

There are some things about Huangshan, one are the curious rocks - for example, in this picture you can see the monkey in the left side. And, as you can see in the back, there's a sea of clouds. So, this view is know as The Monkeu watching the sea of clouds.

View of The Monkey watching the sea of clouds

Then I had my 5 minutes of panic. I had left my camera inside my bag, but I didn't properly close it and when I was trying to climb a rock to have a better viw I heard the noise of something big hitting the ground. When I was about to check what it was someone delivered my camera. I got desperate! But, for close, nothing happened - the camera had fell over a tiny dirty ground area in the middle of the rocks - only my UV filter was broken!

We watched the sunrise, which for me had a special meaning because it was my 24th birthday, yea, celebrated on my own in the moutain. And, for the open skies with just a few clouds, I could see I would get a wonderful gift, a unique sunny day in a week in the middle of the rainy season.

Before we could move on however, our friend Giulia had some stomach ache problems and that started to point that me and my friends would have to separate later that day.

On the way to the Flying Rock

As we walked to the Flying Rock - one of the most impressive rocks in Huangshan - we had amazing views. Like this:

View from the vale on the way to the Flying Rock

My Italian friends were having more difficult to walk, but still they were trying hard to make it. Giulia however started to have nausea and more intensive stomach ache so she could not follow me and Andrei to the rock.

The Flying Rock

After a very intensive ladder of stairs, with some stops to breath, and, getting very tired, we made it to the Flying Rock. By the picture the name became quite obvious. A piece of rock in an arrow shape in the edge of a cliff.

View from the Flying Rock

The views from there were simply spectacular. All the area know as West Canyon, full of peaks, walls, cliffs and green mixed. One of the most beautiful and different places I ever seen!

Views from the West Canyon from the Flying Rock

From there we could see trails and paths that were built in the cliffs. These paths were almost all supended, a construction masterpiece. Imagine how was to built it?

Paths in the cliffs of the West Canyon

After our visit to the Flying Rock, we went immediately to the other side, in truth, we took all the way back - the endless stairs. We took the trail that goes all the way down to the cliff and energy would never be so important like now. More and more tourists were getting to the moutain and the paths started to get crowded.

Start of the West Canyon

The West Canyon is a new trail in Huangshan that starts behind Xihai Hotel. The scenery is spectactular and maybe the best scenery from the whole moutain. Since the trail is pretty intensive - stairs almost all the time - the big tour groups don't rick to go there, so it's easier to enjoy the nature.

Impresses me the fact that the Chinese moutains are so unknown internationaly. A few people mentioned Huangshan on their trip plans. I agree that's not the easiest place to go, however, is not that hard either, it's just 6-12 h from Shanghai (bus x train) and it's served by airports and nice highways.

Going down in the West Canyon

The scenery is wonderful. A sunny day was perfect to give the vivid colors to Huangshan. A real birthday gift for sure!

Path to reach the
bottom of the West Canyon

As we went down to the bottom of the Canyon we saw images of carved rocks, pines na other trees that made unusual combinations. Now, we were walking through the impressive paths we had seen from the Flying Rock. The number of tourists in this area is much reduced compared to other parts of the mountain but sometimes some Chinese came along to take pictures with us.

After walking down almost all the West Canyon we found Robert, a Dutch guy who was following the same path we were. Some conversation and soon we found that our map was not updated and the track connection we thought we'd find in the bottom of the Canyon was closed. In other words, all we went down now we'd have to go up AND, go all the way back to the Flying Rock again so we could continue our way. Well, we faced all the climbing again and, when we reached the top, my Italian friends gave up and went to rest. They would take the cablecar to go down - even though the way to reach the cablecar it was not easy

Finding the way out of the moutain

A huge amount of people, heat, tired, and messy maps turned our task of finding our way down a real challenge. We got stuck in the traffic between trails. In fact, the flow of visitors is so massive that there are fences to create direction orders.

West cliff of Huangshan

If you could not see in the picture the little "ands" walking in the path the picture below makes it a bit clearer. That caused me some panic because I had to be back to Huangshan's train station at 6 pm to get my night train to Fuzhou-Xiamen. And, then we were spending almost 1 hour to walk some very short distances.

"Traffic" in the trail

Here we could understand why the entrance tickets are getting so expensive. It's not a simple question of making money but to put visitor flow under the park capacity. New price rises will be inevitable or even the creation of maximum quota of visitors per day.

Here one of the most impressive pictures I saw in Huangshan. A group of tourists in a tiny trail - which however are not dangerous - and a huge mountain of rocks and green in the back.

One of the most impressive views in Huangshan

From there we started to go down - or, to be more specific, to find our way down. You need to get to the cablecar area, and, instead of going down, keep going straight walking through the Welcome Pine  - nothing but a big and famous pine - and then keep going up and down until finally the stairs will show up at your right.

I went down with Robert talking about moutains, culture, the Netherlands, Brazil, and enjoying the views.

Views from the West side of the moutain

Every 30 min we stopped to have rest and drink some water. Then, gradually the prices of everything started go down too and we found lots of stalls selling medals for those who completed the circuit. Many tourists were buying the medals even if they didn't go up or down on foot.

Well, I was really really tired, maybe the most tiring day in the whole trip. But, well, it was worth it. I was happy that I won that intensive and worthy challenge in my birthday. It was a real gift and I was glad that I had the chance to do it. I hope that the next years can offer so great experiences like the time between my birthdays in 2011 and 2012. Oh, and so I would not forget I bought a medal to "prize" myself for the achievement.

Last unforgetable view of Huangshan

Next post will be the last about China, last stop in Guolangya and Yongding around the city of Xiamen.

Aventuras na Montanha Amarela: Huangshan

Post anterior: A Big Apple da China: Shanghai

English Version

Intro

Huangshan, também conhecida como a Montanha Amarela, é um maciço de granito distribuído em 36 picos e atingindo mais de 1.800 m de altura. Olhar para esse tipo de montanha, e a sua mistura com a vegetação remete às clássicas pinturas chinesas. 

Pintura retratando Huangshan

Pegando o trem em Shanghai

Como eu já tinha comprado as passagens de trem fui diretamente para a estação ferroviária de Shanghai. Foi então que descobri que eu não teria direito a um assento do tipo sleeper - leito - e sim um hard seat - o assento mais barato. O meu trem era noturno e portanto isso era uma mensagem bem clara: uma noite muito mal dormida. Na área de hard seat as luzes nunca são apagadas, o A/C é muito forte, chegam e saem pessoas à cada parada, os assentos são pequenos e apertados e não há como reclinar as costas ou encostar a cabeça. Por outro lado, acredito que é a melhor experiência em termos de ficar realmente próximo e em contato com o povo chinês. Por sorte, no meio da madrugada o trem acabou ficando vazio e eu pude deitar no banco inteiro à minha volta.

Chegando na cidade de Huangshan

Há uma coisa importante: existe a montanha Huangshan e a cidade de Huangshan. Quando você chega na cidade de Huangshan ainda não quer dizer nada pois a montanha fica cerca de 1h de distância nas cercanias da cidade de Tangkou. Logo que você sai do trem há algumas vans e ônibus procurando por passageiros pra fazer esse trajeto (16 RMB). E, se tiver sorte, você também encontra alguns outros estrangeiros que possam falar inglês e se agrupar. Acabei encontrando dois italianos, Giulia e Andrei, que planejavam subir e descer a montanha na mesma programação que eu, e então fomos juntos dali pra frente. Convém adquirir um mapa da montanha por 7 RMB escrito em chinês e inglês. Na própria montanha os mapas geralmente são vendidos apenas em chinês.

Chegando na montanha Huangshan

Pegamos o ônibus e ao chegarmos em Tangkou fomos encontrar algum lugar pra deixar nossa bagagem mais pesada comprarmos água, comida e forrarmos o estômago antes de encarar a subida. Por volta das 14h fomos para a montanha. Pra isso ainda é necessário pagar cerca de 21 RMB por um ônibus até o começo da trilha e, ao chegarmos lá mais uma taxa salgada de 230 RMB (o preço muda de acordo com a estação e também são aceitas carteirinhas de estudante p/ desconto de 50%).

Caminhos e trilhas

Existem duas formas e caminhos de descer/subir a montanha. Você pode fazer uso dos bondinhos, o que geralmente é a solução escolhida por pessoas mais velhas e os que estiverem cansados, ou, você pode subir ou descer a pé. 

Mapa das trilhas em Huangshan

Ainda existem dois lados em que é possível descer/subir a montanha. O lado leste e o oeste. Uma rota clássica - a que eu fiz - é subir pelo lado leste e descer pelo oeste no dia seguinte. É feita desse jeito porque o lado leste é difícil e leva 3-4 horas para completar, porém é possível, o lado oeste é muito mais cansativo e pode levar até 6-8 horas para ser completado. Portanto, é melhor descê-lo. Uma vez que você chegou no topo ainda há uma série de sobes e desces que tornam a caminhada ainda mais cansativa.

Subindo pelo lado leste

Começamos nossa empreitada debaixo de um pouco de chuva, neblina e muuuuita subida. Tem-se a sensação de que a montanha é infinita. A cada lance enorme de escadas, mais outros e outros e mais outros e nunca termina. Essa rota também é utilizada por homens de carga que carregam tudo, desde lençóis dos hotéis, até garrafas d'água e comida e até pessoas que não querem/podem fazer a subida com as próprias pernas em cadeirinhas.

Os italianos ainda estavam carregando todos os apetrechos para acamparem no topo, o que obviamente demandava ainda mais energia. E, a Giulia, fissurada em fotografia, tinha um trabalhão para arrumar suas 2 câmeras DSLR e 3 lentes. Não foi à toa que depois, no topo, no dia seguinte, eles acabaram desistindo de completar a caminhada e resolveram descer de bonde. Enfim, até aqui a promessa de paisagens espetaculares fazia-nos continuar subindo com força e determinação. 

As vezes ficávamos um pouco desanimados. Para todo lugar que você olhasse a única coisa a ser vista era o cinza da neblina. Algumas vezes um pedacinho ou outro da montanha fazia uma aparição mas em menos de 10 minutos já sumia novamente.

Chegamos

Após 3 horas de muito esforço e cansaço, conseguimos chegar no topo da montanha. O problema é que é apenas ainda um dos topos, e para andar ou ver qualquer coisa ainda tem muita subida pela frente. Fomos então tentar ver um dos picos que era bem próximo dali.

Begin to Believe Peak

Esse pico tem esse nome pois segundo a história era tão maravilhoso que as pessoas nem acreditavam que haviam chegado nele. Para nós, a princípio o pico nem era tão grande coisa porque não dava pra ver absolutamente nada a partir dele.

Foi então que...

Foto de Huangshan no Begin To Believe Peak

Desde agora vou fazer um aviso. As fotos não contam nem 50% do impacto que é estar vendo com os próprios olhos esse lugar. É simplesmente mágico! As nuvens sumiram e de repente havia uma série de montanhas e picos ali na nossa frente. Ficamos eufóricos e corremos para tirar fotos. Conforme o vento mudava as montanhas sumiam e apareciam e apesar de estar muito nublado era uma paisagem fantástica. Porém, mal sabíamos que o melhor seria reservado para o dia seguinte...

Foto de Huangshan, vale próximo ao hotel Beihai

À noite

Para que seja possível tirar maior proveito da montanha, descansar e ainda ver o sol nascer, a melhor opção é dormir lá em cima. A opção mais barata é trazer sua própria barraca e acampar na frente do Beihai Hotel por 30 RMB. Se, por outro lado, você quiser dormir numa barraca deles vai custar 200 RMB. Se você quiser dormir no dormitório dividindo o quarto com mais 5 pessoas vai ser 280 RMB - o que eu fiz. E, finalmente, se você quiser quartos normais com todas as regalias, se prepare pra deixar + 1000-2000 RMB. Ou seja, é extremamente caro. Dado que levar sua própria barraca gasta muita energia - vide os colegas italianos - acredito que a melhor opção seja então dormir na barraca ou no dormitório. As vagas de dormitório devem ser reservadas com antecedência porque é difícil consegui-las.

Os italianos e eu

Eu e os italianos queríamos comer mas estava difícil encontrar algo razoavelmente barato. Para se ter uma idéia, os mini-mercados que existem lá em cima são proibidos pelos hotéis de vender macarrão instantâneo. Porém, um dos donos dos mini-mercados chamou a gente num canto e perguntou se queríamos comprar desde que não falássemos para ninguém onde havíamos conseguido. Topamos e saiu por cerca de 15 RMB cada potinho. Fiquei junto com os italianos na barraca deles até que ficasse mais tarde e aí eu fui pro meu quarto no hotel.

Nascer do sol

Uma das grandes atrações naturais em Huangshan é assistir ao nascer do sol. E, de acordo com a previsão meteorológica do dia anterior tínhamos uma chance de 70% de que isso fosse ocorrer. Há ainda alguns picos melhores para ver isso e um deles é o Lion Peak.

Lion Peak

Vou ficar devendo em falar sobre o porquê desse nome. Não faço idéia. Mas, acordamos as 4h da manhã, ajudei os italianos a desmontarem a barraca deles e fomos em direção a esse pico. Quer dizer, não só a gente mas uma horda de turistas, gringos e chineses. Quando chegamos lá já havia alguma competição para ver quem pegava os melhores lugares.

Há algumas coisas sobre Huangshan, uma são as pedras com formas curiosas - por exemplo, nessa foto você pode ver o macaco sentado no canto esquerdo. E, como dá pra ver no fundo, há um mar de nuvens. Então, essa vista é chamada como O Macaco observando o mar de nuvens.

Vista O Macaco observando o mar de nuvens

Foi então que eu tive meus 5 minutos de pânico. Eu tinha deixado a câmera dentro da bolsa, porém tinha deixado a bolsa aberta e quando eu fui subir em cima de uma pedra pra ter uma vista melhor só escutei um barulho de algo pesado caindo no chão. Quando fui ver me entregaram minha câmera. Fiquei desesperado! Mas, por pouco não aconteceu nada - ela havia caído sobre uma minúscula área de terra no meio das pedras - e apenas o filtro UV quebrou.

Assistimos ao nascer do sol, que pra mim tinha um significado especial porque era meu 24o aniversário, sim, comemorado internamente ali na montanha. E, pelo céu aberto e com poucas nuvens altas, dava pra ver que eu ganharia um ótimo presente, o único dia ensolarado em mais de 1 semana e em plena estação chuvosa! :)

Antes que pudéssemos continuar nossa caminhada porém, nossa amiga Giulia começou a passar mal com problemas no estômago e isso já começou a indicar que eu e os italianos iríamos nos separar mais pra frente.

No caminho para a Flying Rock

Enquanto andávamos em direção à Flying Rock - uma das rochas marcantes de Huangshan - acabamos tendo vistas impressionantes no caminho. Como essa:

Vista de vale a caminho da Flying Rock

Meus amigos italianos mostravam cada vez mais dificuldade de acompanhar o sobe e desce das trilhas, mas ainda assim se mantinham firmes na sua determinação. A Giulia porém, por estar com náuseas e dor de estômago, não pode acompanhar-nos na parada seguinte.

The Flying Rock

Depois de uma seqüência bizarra de escadas e mais escadas, com algumas paradas para descanso, e, muito cansaço, conseguimos chegar até a Flying Rock. Pela foto da pra ver que o nome é um tanto óbvio. Um pedaço de pedra numa forma de lança no topo de um abismo.

Vista da Flying Rock

As vistas a partir dessa pedra eram espetaculares. Toda a área conhecida como West Canyon, cheia de picos, paredões, abismos e vegetação misturados. Sem dúvida, uma das coisas mais bonitas e diferentes que já vi na vida.

Vista do West Canyon a partir da Flying Rock

De lá ainda podíamos avistar algumas trilhas e caminhos que foram construídos nas encostas das montanhas. Essas trilhas são quase que totalmente suspensas, uma verdadeira obra de ousadia. Imagine como deve ter sido a construção dessas passarelas?

Passarelas nos paredões do West Canyon

Feita nossa visita à Flying Rock, fomos em direção ao outro lado, na verdade, pegamos todo o caminho de volta que havíamos passado - as subidas intermináveis se converteram em descidas sem fim - em direção ao West Canyon. Pegaríamos a trilha que desce até o centro desse abismo de montanhas e energia e disposição nunca seriam tão importantes como agora. Aos poucos também notamos que a montanha começava a ficar cheia e que mais e mais turistas chineses estavam chegando.

Começo do West Canyon

O West Canyon é uma trilha relativamente nova em Huangshan e começa por detrás do Xihai Hotel. As paisagens são espetaculares e talvez as mais incríveis e memoráveis de toda a montanha. Como a trilha é bastante exigente - são escadas praticamente o tempo todo - os grandes grupos de turismo não se arriscam a descê-la, portanto é mais fácil de aproveitar a natureza nessa etapa.

Me impressiona o fato de que as montanhas chinesas sejam tão pouco conhecidas internacionalmente. Pouquíssimas pessoas mencionaram Huangshan em seus planos de viagem. Concordo que não é o lugar mais fácil do mundo para chegar, porém, não é tão difícil também, fica entre 6 a 12 h de Shanghai (ônibus x trem), e também é servida por aeroportos. 

Descendo o West Canyon

A paisagem das montanhas era simplesmente maravilhosa. Um dia ensolarado era perfeito para dar a cores mais vivas a Huangshan. Um verdadeiro presente de aniversário, com certeza!

Passarela para descer o West Canyon

Conforme descíamos para o fundo do Canyon íamos vendo as paisagens esculpidas de rochas, pinheiros e outras árvores que formavam essas combinações tão inusitadas. Também, os caminhos que tínhamos visto da Flying Rock, agora estávamos andando sobre eles. O número de turistas nessa área era realmente muito reduzido quando comparado com as outras partes de Huangshan mas algumas vezes alguns chineses conversaram com a gente pois queriam tirar fotos conosco. 

Após termos descido o West Canyon quase inteiro conhecemos Robert, um holandês que tinha traçado o mesmo plano de trilha que nós. Algumas frases trocadas e logo descobrimos que o mapa que tínhamos estava desatualizado e conexão de trilha que esperávamos encontrar no fundo do West Canyon não existia. Em outras palavras, tudo o que descemos teríamos que subir E, além disso, subir até a Flying Rock novamente para continuar o caminho no topo da montanha. Pois bem, enfrentamos toda a subida novamente e, quando chegamos ao topo, meus colegas italianos desistiram e foram descansar. Iriam buscar descer a montanha de teleférico - mesmo assim a caminhada até chegar no teleférico não era pequena e envolvia muito cansaço pela frente.

Buscando a saída da montanha

Uma quantidade absurda de pessoas, calor, cansaço, e mapas confusos tornaram a tarefa de achar a trilha que descia a montanha pelo lado oeste um verdadeiro desafio. Pegamos alguns engarrafamentos formidáveis nas trilhas. Na verdade, o fluxo de visitantes é tão grande que uma boa parte do caminho contém demarcações de sentido.

Encosta oeste de Huangshan

Se não dava pra ver na foto as "formiguinhas" andando na encosta da montanha, nessa foto agora fica bem claro. Isso causou um certo pânico da minha parte porque eu tinha que estar antes das 18h de volta à estação de trem em Huangshan pra pegar meu trem noturno com destino Fuzhou-Xiamen. E, de repente estávamos gastando quase 1 hora pra andar trechos muito curtos.

"Trânsito" nas trilhas

Aqui dá pra entender porque o custo para entrar no parque está ficando tão caro. Não é uma mera questão arrecadatória mas principalmente de adequação à capacidade do parque de suportar tantos visitantes. Novos aumentos de preço serão inevitáveis ou ainda a criação de uma cota máximo de visitantes por dia.

Aqui, mais uma foto das paisagens mais impressionantes que vi em Huangshan. Um monte de turistas apinhados em trilhas estreitas - que porém não chegam a ser perigosas - e uma montanha gigantesca feita de pedras e verde no fundo.

Uma das vistas mais impressionantes em Huangshan

A partir dali iniciamos o caminha da descida - ou melhor, de achar o caminha da descida. É necessário chegar até a área do teleférico e, ao invés de descer em direção a ele, seguir em frente passando pelo Welcome Pine - nada mais que um pinheiro grande e famoso - e andar mais e mais subindo e descendo, até que finalmente uma escadaria aparece à direita.

Descemos eu e o Robert conversando sobre as montanhas, a cultura, Holanda, Brasil, e apreciando a paisagem. 

Vista da montanha por detrás da trilha oeste nas descida

A cada 30 minutos andando fazíamos uma parada para descansar e tomar água. Aos poucos os preços das coisas foram baixando também e encontramos várias barraquinhas vendendo medalhas para quem completou a caminhada. Vários turistas compram as medalhas mesmo sem ter subido e descido a montanha a pé. 

Bom, eu estava morto, talvez o dia em que estive mais cansado em toda a viagem. Porém, valeu a pena. Eu estava feliz por ter vencido esse desafio tão intenso e recompensador no dia do meu aniversário. Foi realmente um presente e uma alegria ter tido essa chance. Espero que os próximos anos possam oferecer experiências tão grandiosas quanto as que tive entre o meu aniversário em 2011 e o de 2012. Ah, e para guardar de memória comprei uma medalha para "me premiar" pela conquista! 

Última vista inesquecível de Huangshan

O próximo será o último post sobre a China, a última parada em Guolangya e Yongding próximos a cidade de Xiamen. 

China's Big Apple: Shanghai

Previous Post:  Suzhou and its gardens

Portuguese Version

Intro

Finally I reached the biggest and most developed city of China, and also ranked among the most influent cities of the world. Shanghai was a secondary minor city, less important than Nanjing, Hangzhou or Suzhou until the Opium War. After that, the city, which is strategically placed next to the sea and big rivers coming from inner China, was compulsorily openned to trade. 

Location of Shanghai in China

In 1842, eight Western countries - Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austro-Hungarian Empire, US and UK - and Japan were granted territorial concessions which worked as international independent areas. Even though most of the population were Chinese, the Chinese law did not apply in these areas. Since then Shanghai went through an economic, social and cultural boom becoming around the 20's and 30's the most developed city in East Asia.

Map of Shanghai in 1907

Shanghai started to loose its prestige in 1937, after being conquered by Japanese and experiecing a sharp decline in trade even after it was returned to China. Following those events, after the Cultural Revolution, most of business and cultural influence fled to Taiwan and Hong Kong, starting decades of shadow coupled with communism power over China.

In 1990, Shanghai started to reborn from the ashes through a government programme that planned - and was successfull - to transform Pudong area in financial services center and also headquarter area for big companies. Nowadays, there's located the 3rd tallest building in the world, Shanghai World Financial Center. The city enjoys an extensive public transportation system, some great green areas, and lots of buildings in European style that remained from the old concessions. Add up to that a population of more than 23 million people and the dream of wealth for the rich - qualified professionals, university students, etc - and the poor - rural migrants looking for jobs.

Actual map of Shanghai

Arriving in Shanghai

As I planned I left Suzhou very early, around 7 am, and took the bullet train with destination to Shanghai. The trip didn't last 30 min and I arrived in the city's central station. I bought a map and found the way to my hostel in the central area. I was sleeping at the Mingtown Nanjing Road Youth Hostel, which had an excellent cost of 50-60 RMB/night in the dorm.

Location is everything around Shanghai, and you're gonna probably find lots of hostels around the whole city but it's worth to pay a little extra to stay next to the central area. There's an excellent subway system but it cannot take you everywhere, and, remember, if everything was far and big in whole China, imagine in the biggest city.

I left my stuff and looked for a train ticket branch - in the big cities you'll often find train ticket branches outside the train stations. This time I needed a combo Shanghai -> Huanghsan -> Fuzhou -> Xiamen. There is my last 4 train tickets to be bought in China. The city of Fuzhou was not a touristic stop, just technical, to change trains and get to Xiamen. Some may br asking why I would do that in my first hour after I got to Shanghai. The answer is that train tickets must be bought in advance in China, otherwise you'd rik yourself to get a standing ticket - yeah, exactly, no seat - or, getting some boring overstay and loose your itinerary.

Purchasing the tickets

As I got more experienced on that, I asked a hostel employee to write down all my needs in Chinese in a little paper. Then, I reached the train ticket counter I just had to show them the paper. Still, there were some doubts - apparently the teller could not believe that some arrivals/departures were so close to each other, but, yeah, that was my plan. What wasn't part of my plan was that she misunderstood me - and I realized that too late - and instead of taking sleeper seats - so I could sleep - she took all hard seats - which basically means no sleep at all while you'll get 90o seats squeezed with many other Chinese. So I got happy for the next days without knowing about my conditions in the train to Huangshan.

Time to meet Shanghai!

A map, a bag, an umbrella and it's time to get on the street to explore this giant!

Yuyuan Gardens

The story of the the Yuyuan Gardens goes back to 1559, during Ming dynasty, when Pan Yundan decided to build a sumptuous garden - it came to be the largest and most prestigious one in Shanghai at that time - to his father Pan En.

Inside of Yuyuan Gardens

However, expenses with the construction would eventually led the family to bankruptcy. Since then the garden changed many hands, was taken by the British during the Opium War and by the Japanese during WW2, finally being reopenned to public in 1961. The entrance costs 40 RMB.

Around Yuyuan Gardens

Maybe more interesting than the gardens itself is the neighborhood around. A big commercial area with plenty of traditional Chinese style buildings which were restored to give room to dozens of stores that offer from souveniers to meals. A good time to buy little gifts and put your bargaining skills on practice. Be ready to ask 5-6x less than the advertised price, and buy at that value. The walking away tatic works!

The view around Yuyuan Gardens

City God's Temple

Temple's facade pciture

This is a tiny temple next to the gardens and the entrance costs only 10 RMB. It's not so special if you're not a Buddhist. Maybe the most attractive thing is the temple's facade, quite adorned, however it could be seen for free from outside.

There's still China in Shanghai

Picture of a small
 street in  Shanghai

If you talk to people that went to Shanghai or even read books as Lonely Planet there's some significant chances that you end up seeing the city as something that do not represent real China, a modern Frankenstein created as a combination of years of Western and Eastern influences aimed to trade and commerce. Truth is that most parts of Shanghai do not look like other "Chinas" I've found in Beijing, Datong, Pingyao or Xi´An. However those cities did not look like Nanjing or Suzhou. As I've said before in another post, in a general manner, the cities located at China's Eastern coast are likely to be much more modern than the others, which is natural, since that are has been undergoing economic liberalization for many years already. That doesn't mean that the old China does not exist. You just need to walk, get lost, and.. suddenly...

Yeah, I suddenly found a rare place in Shanghai - chaos, mess, wires, chickens, dogs, sellers, typically Asia. For instants I found I had gone back to Cambodia - Eric, one of my Chinese friends once said that when he as born in the 80's, his city Guangzhou was quite similar to what he has seen in Cambodia. So, yes, the old China is there, we just can't get restricted to guide books about what's nice or what is not in a city. A simple walk would reveal interesting impressions.

People walking in a small street of Shanghai

Since I was in the middle of the neighborhood I decided to explore it on foot and I noticed people were not that used to foreigners there. A maze of small alleys with small houses circled by avenues and buildings in construction - the own reflection of China in modern times. I bought an ice-cream - btw, ice-creams in China are wonderful and deserve an article about even taking into account the fact that I ended up with a red beans ice-cram! - and I went walking and observing people around, carrying everything and remembering some months ago. Then I thought about testing the prices and looked for a barber shop. I found and asked him to cut my hair and thought we had agreed in the price - 5 RMB. In the end I was giving him the 5 RMB bill when he showed me the 50 RMB bill. Obviously he was trying to cheat on me, but since 5 RMB was actually too cheap - even less than Cambodia - I paid him 10 RMB and left his shop.

Is it possible to find Chinese enjoying free time in Shnaghai?

Curiously looked that my trip in Shanghai had been granted the mission to prove some mistakes from common sense about there. From what I read back in Lonely Planet, differently from other Chinese cities it would be much harder to find someone having free time or doing common and usual daily stuff  because Shanghai was the chaos of black-tie men, the taxis and skyscrapers. Well, it did not take too long until I realized it was not that way. First with the small neighborhood I found and second, with a park in the French Concession area.

Fuxing Park

Picture of Fuxing Park -
French architecture

Fuxing Park was built inside the French Concession and thus shows French architecture elements. My expectation was to find an empty park but it happened the opposite and I found Chinese elderly make active use of their free time.

Not so different from our "serestas" in Brazil - at least for someone who was born and raised in the countryside - there were many Chinese dancing, doing exercise, or just enjoying their free time in a Thursday morning.

Chinese dancing

Chinese in the park

Kid and grandpa playing

There's some reflex of the Chinese society. The one child per family policy has been reducing Chinese families size generation after generation. Naturally, now young grandparents (~60) can help their son to raise their kids. For example, instead of hiring nannies, it's very common that the grandparents spend their free time with their grandchildren. There were many elderly and babies or young kids in the park.

French Concession

A street part of the
French Concession

Also known as La Concéssion Française de Shanghai, this part of Shanghai will never be found with that name. This region was initially given to France in 1849, having its area expanded twice, in 1900 and 1914, and finally becoming not just a French settlement but the final destination of many Western imigrant nationalities. However, years of European culture have left its legacy with hundreds of architecture style buildings left behind, many trees and even churches.

To find the old French Concession you'll need to go to the districts of Luwan and Xuhui, easilly accessible by subway. In a general manner the region extends from the Center until South and West of Shanghai and can be better explored on foot. Unfortunatelly as it's not an open museum neither has the whole region been restored, there are "traces" of old architecture and history combined with modern buildings and other kinds of buildings. But, I'd recommend to do the tour. It's worth saying that a great number of the old buildings are being converted into luxury brands retail shops.

Trees and traffic at the French Concession

It was lunch time and I was looking for some cheap food in the area - hard task. I ended up finding a small restaurant whe many construction workers had their meals. In a completely finger pointing communication I made myself clear and spent just 10 RMB for a delicious meal.

Shanghai at night

If Shanghai it's an interesting city during the day, at night is something incredible. In other words, Shanghai has its full charm at night. All the colors, buildings, get mixed and that creates a magic atmosphere in the city. Not by chance, some time ago, it was called Paris of the East.

The Bund

European style building at The Bund

Traffic at The Bund's area

The Bund is the name given to the West riverfront area in Shanghai's Center. Bund was a word from many possible origins which designates river banks. The Bund area was first developed to host banks, trade houses and consulates of the former European concessions. Further, in the 40's, Chinese financial institutions until the Cultural Revolution removed such usage and all foreign symbols. The Bund came back to live in 70's and 80's with Deng Xiaoping's reforms and restoration urban plans.

View from the Bund from the
pedestrian path next to the river

Nowadays the area has not just financial institutions headquartered there but also hotels and luxury clubs, being at the same time one of Shanghai's postcards. Another interesting view is to watch the Bund from Pudong, in the East bank of the river. However, as the buildings are small the view is as not as impressive.

The Bund seen from the East bank of the river, Pudong

Pudong

Pudong is neighborhood which marks Shanghai's ascension taking back its place as one of the world's most important city, since it was developed from 1990 onwards. So, what you gonna see now, before 1990, wasn't anything but rural undeveloped areas. That's the moment to get impressed with the size and power of changes taking place in China. The world's 3rd tallest skyscraper was built were less than 20 years ago there were just farms.

One of the best views of Shanghai -
Pudong's horizon seen from The Bund

Arriving in Pudong can be done by subway, by ferry/boat or by a "special subway". The most logical option for me was to take the subway which delivers you right in the heart of Pudong for just 2-3 RMB depending from where you're coming from. The boats could cost splurge amounts if you're willing to have an onboard dinner - I'd not expect that from a low cost traveler. And, the "special subway" for 40 RMB doesn't make any sense if you can just take the regular one.

As you get there you gonna notice many avenues and flyovers - yeah, the Lonely Planet was right when they mentioned that the area was not "pedestrian friendly". Not because of danger but because it makes you a little bit confused about where and how to go. It's possible to visit many skyscrapers there, including the Oriental Pearl Tower (tower w/ the balls), a traditional element of Pudong's skyline. Other options could be Jin Mao Building and the gigantic Shanghai World Financial Center, 3rd tallest skyscraper in the world, 494 m tall and the tallest of China, however planned to be surpassed by Shanghai Tower which will be finished by 2014 and will reach 565.5 m.

I didn't go upstairs at any of those buildings because: Shanghai World Financial Center was closed for visits and, even though it would cost me 300 RMB to get its final observation deck, it was something I would pay for. As a consolation prize I had dinner at the world's 3rd tallest building - at the Subway restaurant, in the S1 level for just 15  RMB, hehe. Other towers, in my opinion, were too expensive for what they'd offer. I got happy enough with the ground's views.

Shanghai World Financial Center in the back
 and Jin Mao Tower at the front

If you want to watch views of The Bund from Pudong you need some extra courage. There are no indications showing you how to get to Pudong's river bank. Go in the back of the Oriental Pearl Tower, and always go to the river's direction. You'll find some sort of parking lot and, after, there'll be a public pier where you'll find the views you're looking for.

Zhujiajao Water Town

There's a little 60.000 people water town just 40 minutes away of Shanghai and with more than 1,700 years of history. Basically it was trade based village connected to rivers by small cannals. To get there you'll need to get a bus for 12 RMB at People's Square in Shanghai. You'll reach the square by a subway station with the same name, and then walk until the bus terminal. The bus is painted in pink and there's no number or name identification so it's recommended to take a paper with the final destionation written down in Chinese.

When you reach Zhujiajao's bus terminal there aren't direct indications how to get to the historical area. Hawkers will try to sell you maps but don't buy it because when you purchase the entrance ticket to some old buildings there's a map included anyway - 30 RMB.

Picture of Zhujiajao in the river bank

Like any trip, the people around you can impact a lot the quality of your tour. In general, in all my trips in Asia, I have never had a problem with that. But, in that day, I grouped myself with a couple of German mathematicians and the result was not as expected. I was a low cost traveler, they were people looking for average-high end experiences. I believe that the final result was that I haven't spent as little as I wanted and they didn't have the expected extravagances. So, here goes some advice, always try to travel with people who have the same interests and are looking for the same thing you are, otherwise conflicts are inevitable.

Picture of the main temple of Zhujiajao

The city's best attraction were the cannals and the possibility to rent a boat - 60 RMB - and make a tour around. Unfortunatelly the internal area of the buildings gives no great experience when compared with what you can find in Shanghai or Suzhou.

Scams in Shanghai

Do you remember when I told you about scams aimed at tourists in Beijing? Well, in Shanghai I found it even worse and better planned. It could be at the People's Square, or East Nanjing Street, or at The Bund, areas of lots of people, be aware, especially if you're alone, that you're surelly being watched. People will come out of nowhere asking who you are, where you gonna go and what have you done so far in China. Or, they gonna ask you to take a picture of a couple or a group of friends and then start the same script followed conversation. As I said other times, Chinese, in general, are shy, and if they want to interact with you they gonna do it in a shy and careful manner. A too expansive behavior - including invitations to drink something in another place - should be taken very carefully and considered as out of common atitude in Chinese culture.

Next post will be about Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, back into China's countryside again, and a crazy sequence of bad slept nights in train hard seats!