Dispatch: Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain, is a world heritage site in Eastern China. Although not nearly as famous as its namesake the Yellow River, which was immortalized by I.P. Freely in his mandatory sixth grade reader of the same name, the Yellow Mountain holds its own as a premier wonder of nature.  A four hour drive from Hangzhou through rolling hills, sleepy villages and endless tea farms, the yellow granite fingers of Huangshan rise 3,000 feet toward the heavens.

We ascended Lotus Peak in a cable car that offered 10 minutes of silent meditation, or picture taking frenzy depending on who one is with, and were quickly engulfed in the ubiquitous mist. Once we arrived at the top we hiked for 30-minutes before arriving at our hotel, stopping often to take pictures of the majestic panoramas. Since most mountains have erratic, vertical topography, we climbed and descended more stairs that I dared count. A pattern quickly established itself. The adults would climb a few hundred steps, stop in silent agony as the burn in our calves receded and then chase the next vantage point.  Stephanie and Justine left the rest of us in the dust and soon lost us on the mountain edge trail. We finally found them, framed by the beautiful Huangshan pines and granite peaks that ascended like gnarled fingers, at one of many rest stops along the way.  After another picture taking frenzy, and there would be many over the next two days, we continued to the Ben Hai Hotel which is considered a 4-star facility, but only by remote mountain standards.  Our day guide, Mr. Wang, got us checked in and then took us on a short trek to point out the best spots to view the world famous Yellow Mountain sunrise which was scheduled for 5:35 am. After dinner we arranged to meet in the lobby at 5:00 am, retreated to our rooms to watch the Olympics, which are featured continuously on no less than 4-separate channels, and promptly passed out.