Huangshan Travel Guide

Huangshan is a mountain rising in the south of Anhui province, known for the scenery woven from its granite peaks and sea of clouds. Loved by painters and poets since ancient times, it has long been a subject of Chinese landscape painting.

The Huangshan Scenic Area is registered as a UNESCO mixed cultural and natural World Heritage site, and its highlights are the curious rocks, old pines, sea of clouds and hot springs. Walkways linking the steep peaks are in place, and at sunrise and sunset the peaks float on the clouds. Named pines and rocks, such as the Guest-Greeting Pine, welcome climbers.

Tunxi Old Street at the foot of the mountain is a commercial town that retains the look of the Song dynasty. Rows of white walls and tiled roofs in the Huizhou style stand along it, with shops selling tea and inkstones side by side. Nearby Xidi and Hongcun are component sites of the UNESCO World Heritage listing Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun, known for village scenery built around waterways and for their finely detailed wood carvings.

In food, Huizhou cuisine makes the most of fermentation, and dishes with distinctive flavors such as fermented fish stew and hairy tofu are served. Fragrant baked Huangshan cakes are also well suited to taking home as a souvenir. It is a destination representative of Anhui, where mountain, old villages and cuisine can be enjoyed together.