Seeking a short stint of adventure and beauty, Lee Michaels took a hike around China’s most picturesque mountain, Huangshan.

Last month we set off on a trip to hike through one of China’s most famed scenic spots, Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), an area covering close to 15,400 hectares (38,054 acres) in Anhui province. In 1982, China’s State Council declared it a site of “scenic beauty and historic interest” and in 1990 it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in a move to protect its scenery and rare and threatened species of flora and fauna.

Huangshan has a long and varied history. Formed more than 100 million years ago when the Yangste Sea disappeared after crustal movements, it has hundreds of peaks, with more than 70 reaching altitudes surpassing 1,000 metres. It was originally called Yishan (Black Mountain), but in the year 747 during the Tang Dynasty it was renamed Huangshan, reflecting Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor and his efforts to make pills of immortality on the mountain. For thousands of years, Taoists and later Buddhists have made Huangshan a place of worship, and artists and poets have made it their muse.

It’s considered by many to be the most beautiful of China’s major mountains, and some even say that once you’ve been to Huangshan, you may as well pack up your Scarpas and head home, because no other mountain can compare.

With myriad, often life-like rock formations, it offers a feast of magnificent scenery. Its highest point, Lotus Flower Peak, rises to 1,864 metres above sea level, and at various times, mesmerising cloud formations appear like lakes and waterfalls around the ridges. Rare and unique pines are in abundance and in spring brightly coloured flora dots the cliffs. One thing that can’t be missed is watching the sunset and sunrise at Lion Peak or Turtle Peak. Fight the lazy urge to sleep in and get yourself to a lookout. Sitting on a rock watching the pink sun sink into or rise out of a sea of white clouds will probably be one of the best of nature’s performances you could hope to witness.

Huangshan is connected by about 50km of pathways, which requires about two days of walking, and there are several hotels, hostels and camping options on the mountaintops to see you through the night (and even a Bank of China). If you’re a trekking enthusiast from somewhere like New Zealand, Canada or Australia, exploring Huangshan might not quite fit your definition of ‘hiking’. There’s not a path that isn’t rendered with cement, barely a direction to look in that allows you forget the existence of mankind, and not a lookout that isn’t obscured by a v-fingered tourist posing for yet another photo.

But, despite the ever-thick groups of tourists from start to finish, Huangshan is not a place for the morbidly unfit or the acrophobic. Its precipitous mountains are damn hard going, pushing you on endless steep climbs and descents, and for much of the time, one side of you – often both – is flanked by a sheer drop that only John Rambo could survive a fall from.

Beyond the natural, Huangshan is also impressively well maintained. In fact, many of the thousands of stone steps that are carved into the mountains are thought to have been there for more than one thousand years. Everything you need can be found along the track, so while we recommend you keep at least a litre of water on you (you’ll need it), the various shops you come across from time to time will keep you in good supply with water, food, ice creams and souvenirs. Finally, a tip before you head home: reserve a little time for some restorative bathing in one of Huangshan’s famous natural hot springs.

Side trips

If you’ve got more than two days up your sleeve, an easy day’s meander can be had around Emerald Valley. Nearby villages of Hongcun and Xidi, also UNESCO World Heritage Sites, are also worth spending some time in.