Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

Many say Huangshan is the best place in China; certainly there are others who would take this much further and say it's the best place in the world. I hadn't planned on going, but when in Anhui Province, Hangshuan is so large, so famous, so all-encompassing, it's almost inevitable that you end up there.


As always in China when visiting a major tourist site, first you queue up to buy your ticket.


Next you queue up for the cable car ride.




Then time to take a photo so as to have a map of the mountain handy.


Snacks are available, but costly. An ear of boiled corn, for example, is about 4 times the normal price.


Huangshan is basically a -- quite astounding -- jumble of granite pillars, and is often seen in Chinese art, including in my room at the inn where I stayed.


Also amazing are the countless cement steps that have been painstakingly constructed throughout the mountain passes.


You'll often see workers on the mountain carrying items like food, tools, equipment.


They'll also carry people, for a price.




Yellow Mountain Fever.

If only all public transport systems were so clearly and simply marked.


Free souvenir -- a walking stick given to me by a woman heading down off the mountain. A few days later when I was on the Beijing subway heading home, a Chinese man spotted the Hanzi (Chinese characters) on the stick and asked me "Huangshan?"

Tunxi

Unfortunately for Hefei, the town of Tunxi is where most tourists prefer to base themselves for excursions to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) and to nearby villages. My room at the Xi'an Inn has a small balcony (upper left in the above photo) that overlooks Tunxi Old Street.


View of Tunxi Old Street from my balcony.


This is a small tea-drinking area for guests staying at the inn.





An antique wooden Qing Dynasty bed in my room. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_dynasty



Guardian of the night.


One of many busy Chinese restaurants on Tunxi Old Street.

Hefei

Hefei is not known for much, though it is the capital of Anhui Province, home to the famous Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). From Beijing, Hefei's about a 5-hour ride south on the high-speed train.







One thing memorable about Hefei was the heat -- around 100F every day.







So cute -- stone mama and stone baby.


Another thing memorable about Hefei was all the lotus blossoms. They seem to flourish in the intense heat and sunshine.







It's common for hotels in China to have beds on display out in the lobby, sort of an advertisement for the good night's rest you'll get. I wonder if anyone ever asks the hotel receptionist the rate for the lobby bed.

Final stop -- Lijiang

Lijiang was the final stop during my five weeks of travel in southern China. From Dali it's only about a 3-hour train ride so we bought Hard Seat (i.e., the cheap seats) tickets for about $5 each. These are the old traditional Chinese green trains, much slower and more basic than the more expensive high-speed trains, which can reach speeds of almost 270 mph!









Back again to visit beautiful Black Dragon Pool, which has some of the most famous views in China.



Like Dali, Lijiang is a popular place for Chinese newlyweds to dress up for wedding photo shoots.


So much tea in Yunnan Province, the most I've seen in my life. Pu'er, a special fermented tea (sometimes fermented for decades) which is a favorite of mine, is produced in this province, and is named after the Yunnan town of Pu'er. Really high quality pu'er tea can be very costly -- more expensive per gram than silver.


We had an excellent early-morning visit to Lijiang's Zhongyi Market, where I bought fruit and dried mushrooms (another treasure from this region of China).


A parting afternoon shot in old town Lijiang before heading to Lijiang's airport, where the plane to Beijing was about 6 hours late, so we didn't get home until around 4 am the following day.

Dali

My second time to Dali, this time with my wife. The train ride from Kunming is only about 6 hours, but we got a sleeper anyway just for the luxury of being able to stretch out (and to take an afternoon nap).




Evening dancing in old town Dali.




And back for a second visit to Dali's famous Three Pagodas.





Many Chinese honeymooners were in Dali dressed up for wedding photo shoots.


I took this photo and the one below at Putuo Island on Erhai Lake. From Dali we took a taxi to the small lakeside town of Caicun, then from there a 45-minute ferry out to the island.




Back in Dali old town, practicing my drumming.


We had a visitor at our inn, who came in one morning and slept under our bed while we did yoga. Better than some of the visitors I've had at other hotels in the past, like mice and cockroaches.


I saw a lot of men smoking these metal water pipes in Yunnan Province. You can buy them online for about $50, but probably can get one much cheaper in Yunnan.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Authentic-yunnan-stainless-steel-water-pipe-water-super-light-portable-retractable-hookah/32212273040.html

Kunming

Kunming, known as Spring City because of its great climate, is located in south-central China. From Guiyang to Kunming the high-speed train takes about 2.5 hours.





There tend to be a lot of traffic-control workers in China's cities.



My second time visiting Kunming's wonderful Yuantong Temple.



I took this photo on my way to catch a train out of Kunming. According to a TIME article, a Chinese company says it found inspiration in Keller's personal traits.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/20/chinese-company-names-sunglasses-after-helen-keller/