I am planning a 3-4 week trip to China for October 2011 with my husband. I have visited once before in 2003 with my 80+ year old mother. This time, along with other sights, I would like to include a visit to one of the beautiful mountains of China. If you could only pick one mountain to visit, which would it be? I have read a lot of information in guide books and other sources, but now, I'm interested in fodorite input on this question. My husband and I are hikers, but not campers and are fit and fifty.

Xie Xie

I haven't been to all the mountains in China but from those that I've seen I like the Jade Dragon Mountain the best. Snow capped, good trekking, but could be a bit cold in October. You could also add the mountains around Shangri La(Zhongdian) as well since it's a 4 - 5 hours drive away.

The top mounains in China are including Huangshan, Taishan, Huashan and Wutaishan. Huangshan is the most popular mountain in China.

I have never been to China but have heard a lot about Mt. Huang from my cousin who went there on a hiking expedition. This mountain is in East China Anhui province and is listed by UNESCO as a world culture and natural heritage area. The best way to enjoy Mt. Huang is by hiking. To enjoy hiking to it max. you must ascend via the Easter steps, and descend via the Western steps. It will be around 10-hour hike and can be easily completed in a single day.

Mt Meili snow mountain in Yunnan, 22,241 Ft., along Meekong and Salween rivers at Deqin, Yunnan (far No. tip of Yunnan) right on border w/Tibet (actually an entry pt for Tibet), and the area is 90% Tibet population because it used to be Tibet until conquered by modern China. There are some great hikes here. On one, you rent a horse and guide (horse = donkey in China) cheaply and walk/ride up the side of a low mountain for most of a day, then abandon your help, and walk downhill to a shack where you stay overnight - bring your own everything - food water etc.) Next day you go back up mountain and down again. V. exotic. The setting in Deqin is why I suggest this - few tourists, v. authentic, unforgettable in the world of easy resort travel, not expensive. Getting there is a little slow - bus from Shangri-la (but I wish I had just hired a taxi to do the trip as the views along the way are some of the greatest in the world & as yet undestroyed by the Chinese - but they are trying). If you just cannot handle all this, go to Jade Dragon Mountain near Lijiang in comfort and line up with the yapping crowds.

I would head to Lijiang, an historic mountain town in Yunnan built of of stone and tile, laced with narrow canals and bridges. It is the home of the Naxi people, descended from Tibetan nomads. The distinctive clothing of the Naxi women has an upper blue segment representing night, a white band representing daylight and small circles recalling the stars.

The Dongba Museum will give you an orientation to the region and then walk to Black Dragon Pool, a beautiful city park with stunning views of the valley and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

We drove to the top of tree-covered Lion Mountain and walked down into the Old Town of Lijiang, located on a plateau 7,874 feet above sea level, through a maze of cobbled streets, rickety old wooden buildings and gushing canals. Our guide told us many “snowbirds” from other parts of China come to this area every year to enjoy the mild weather and clean air.

It is a very scenic 44 mile drive to Tiger Leaping Gorge. From the top of the gorge you can look down 700 feet to the rushing Golden Sands (Jingsha) River with 18 frothing rapids. A narrow, two mile long trail has been cut into the side of the mountain with tunnels in the steepest sections to reach the narrowest point on the river.

At the gorge's narrowest point (33 yards wide) all the water piles up against a large, house-size rock in the middle. According to legend, a tiger used this rock as a stepping-stone to leap across from one side of the gorge to the other.

We had lunch at a small courtyard restaurant in Shigu (Stone Drum) Town, before visiting a bridge built by local farmers to help Mao’s army cross a tributary. Nearby is the first bend in the Yangzi, where the river makes a sudden V-shaped turn to flow through the heart of China instead of southeast like the Mekong.

Thanks everyone for your input. We were planning on some time in Lijiang and surrounding area so I appreciate the specific suggestions you have made about the sights in that area. I am also considering a trip to Huangshan. I had not heard about Mt. Meili so I will explore that possibility. We are early in the planning stage for this trip and I will have to sell my husband on additions to the trip so we'll see...

Hi Andrea,

Although we didn't do any strenuous trekking around Lijiang or Zhongdian we did notice treks and the numerous trekking tours on offer while we were there. The scenery is awesome but the treks are not as well laid out or organize as in, let's say the Swiss Alps.

Here are some of my photos from Lijiang and in the album there are some pictures of the mountains and the Tiger Leaping Gorge: http://khun-pook.smugmug.com/Travel/...14502137_pe9wo

This is an interesting blog from a traveler who did more adventurous trekking or hiking around there: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...ogId=238648703

We visited Taishan in 2006 and found it to be an amazing experience. We walked half way up then took the tram the rest of the way to save on time. I would totally recommend it.

I have done a little hiking in the PRC mainland, and a good bit in Switzerland and here in Hong Kong. I would agree with the above analysis that the actual hiking experience in the PRC is not all that great, mostly because it is not that well-organized. Trails don’t seem to be well-marked so you need guides, and you can’t reach trail heads or come back from the end of trails via public transport in many cases, at least in my experience. Esp. when you compare it to someplace like Switzerland where trails are very well-marked, and there is a perfect little hut for a drink or a meal just exactly when you would want it; or Hong Kong where you can reach all walks via public transport.

However, there are many beautiful mountain areas in the PRC where you can go <i>look</i> at mountains. I am just not sure it is worth the time and hassle of trying to do an actual hike there. Doing the concrete trail/stair climbs to some of the various religious sites is OK, but an actual hiking trip may be more hassle than it is worth. The walk in the Shangri-La area does sound interesting and may be worth it, but that is hard to say without knowing how committed you may be to it, e.g. do you want to bring hiking shoes, poles, and other gear, etc. You might also look at outfits like http://www.atg-oxford.co.uk. which do walking tours and are well-regarded. I have walked with them in Europe. Mountain Travel Sobeck might be another good choice, see http://mtsobek.com/. I have used Soebek for things like day rafting trips in Bali. They can also give you an idea of places on an itinerary which you may want to consider including.

If you are planning on including Hong Kong in your itin, there are numerous excellent easy walks as well as challenging hikes here, and weather is fantastic in October, esp. toward the second half of the month. The walks are well-maintained and marked in English, you don’t need a guide and you can get there and back via public transport. There are several on Hong Kong Island itself, so trips to outlying areas are not necessary, although very rewarding (Pat Sin Leng in particular, in addition to something like MacLehose stages #2, 3 or 4.). There are several walks in the area of the Big Buddha, including various ways to walk up or down from the Buddha. There are quite good and inexpensive local restaurants located reasonably near the end of many walks.

FYI, you don’t really want to go to the PRC in the first week in October due to the national holiday there, for which most people have several days to a week off. Trains, planes and sights can be crowded then, esp as weather is good. That does not affect Hong Kong, as the public holiday is only October 1. And there are usually fireworks in the harbour on that day as well.

Hanuman-thanks for the link to your photos of the Lijiang area-it looks like you had a great time and the area is really spectacular! Cicerone-thanks also for your comments on hiking in the PRC. Food for thought. We will be going to Hong Kong and I have printed out your Hong Kong walks information and will plan to use it as time allows.