Mt. Hua 华山 Huà Shān
Mt. Hua is an amazing place to go. The scenery here is phenomenal! Mt. Hua is one of the Five Holy Buddhist Mountains. It is said that allmountains have personalitiessome reflect the personality of a beautiful woman (based on the scenery, fragrance, level of difficulty of the hike and other aspects), some show the personality of an old man. Mt. Hua is said to have a young man’s personality and once you start your ascent you’ll see why. Mt. Hua is a rugged, rough, steep mountain. It is not exactly a relaxing hike but the difficulty of the hike will only add to the sense of accomplishment that you will receive once you are able to enjoy the beautiful scenery from one of the peaks.
1 Night on Mt. Hua
If you decide to climb Mt. Hua I would recommend spending at least one night on the mountain. This will give you more time to climb the mountain and enjoy the scenery without feeling rushed. Look up a hostel before you get there and book a room regardless of how much it is. Think of it this way it is only one night.
The reason why I recommend that you stay for at least one night on the mountain is because of the time constraints that you will have on you if you plan to make it a day trip. The earliest bus that takes you to Mt. Hua leaves at around 8:00am. It will take you more or less 2 to 2 ½ hours to get there. Once the bus stops you will be let out at a hotel near the base of the mountain, where you can stock up on all of the food, water and resources (maps, gloves, etc.) that you think you might need for the hike. So, theoretically it will be about 11:00am before you even get to the base of the mountain to start your hike. The last bus back to Xi’an leaves around 7:00 -8:00pm. That gives you just about 8 hours to make the entire trip both up and down the mountain.
It is possibleto make the entire hike to the peak and back in the 8 hours but it will be exhausting and you will not have the time to stop and enjoy the scenery. Also, if you are in too much of a hurry you may slip and become injured on the steep paths.
If your intention was to make the trip to Mt. Hua a day trip the only feasible way to do it would be to take the cable cars to the top of the mountain and hike the remainder of the mountain to the peaks. I don’t recommend taking the cable cars because in my mind that defeats the purpose of taking the trip to hike the mountain in the first place. Also, you will miss out on so much beautiful scenery by taking the cable cars.
The World’s Narrowest Mountain Path 长空栈道 Cháng kōng zhàn dào
For those that are bold enough to take on theworld’s narrowest mountain path be advised that it is near the east, west and south peak (they are all bunched together) and there will be signs pointing the way throughout the mountain. Once you arrive at the narrowest mountain path you will see a long line of people waiting for the chance to cross the path. Don’t be surprised if the wait time get up to 20-30 minutes. The narrowest path does draw in a lot of people, however, it is a narrow path. Only one person can go at a time. So, naturally there will be a line of people because the foot traffic will become bottlenecked and create some congestion. So, be prepared for a little bit of a wait.
In order to cross the narrowest mountain path you will need to put on a harness, which is strapped to a cable connected to another cable that is anchored to the mountain. It is much safer to cross this path now than it has been in years previous, nonetheless these safety precautions are not foolproof. If you were to fall from the path I don’t think the probability of being pulled up and rescued is very high. On that note there are tens of people that die on this path every year for one reason or another. So there is definitely an element of danger to this area.
The Photos
While on this path you will have the option of having a Polaroid taken of you. The photographer will have you strike a pose that you will almost definitely not be comfortable with. It only costs about 20-30RMB, I would say that it is worth it. The reason why is because if you decide to take out your phone or camera and start taking pictures you could mistakenly drop it off the side of the mountain, and it would be a long drop down. Or even worse, if you were so focused on you camera, then you could lose your balance and fall yourself. I personally think that paying 20-30RMB is a much better deal than losing a $1,000 phone or camera.
If it has rained or snowed recently the path should be closed, but if it is not then best not to tempt fate. At any rate if recently rained or snowed on the mountain at all it might be best not to hike it. Mt. Hua is very steep in some areas and the path doesn’t always provide you with the best footing.
On a side note: The temperature at the peak of Mt. Hua is vastly different from the temperature at the base of the mountain. It is best to bring a jacket, pants and some gloves for the hike. What may start out as a hot day at the base could very easily turn into a cold one at the peak.
Also, one problem that you will not have to worry about on this mountain is altitude sickness. The altitude is not that high on this mountain and there for you can exert yourself all you want without have to worry about pacing yourself or succumbing to altitude sickness.
How to get to Mt. Hua
The easiest, cheapest andmost convenient way to get to Mt. Hua is by bus. The buses depart from the regular train station (not high speed rail) and have the destination marked on the front of the bus. It will take approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours to get to the drop off point.
International Kev 