Climb Tiandu Peak in Huangshan in one day.
The original plan was to climb Mt. Huangshan for two days, but because I didn’t want to stay overnight on the mountain, I changed it to one day. So our purpose was very simple, which was to climb Tiandu Peak. Although the restaurant owner advised us the day before that we might not be able to climb it, we were stubborn. There were probably more people during the National Day holiday, but it was not as difficult as I imagined, and I got to experience a lot of things.
Our route is to walk up the mountain from Ciguang Pavilion, then queue up to go up Tiandu Peak, go up the new trail, pass the Liyu Ridge, go down the old trail, then walk towards the Welcoming Pine, and go down the mountain from the Yuping Cableway.
The timetable is as shown
4:30 Wake up
5:00 Go out
6:10 Take the scenic area bus for 19 yuan, you can buy tickets via WeChat, and you need a mainland China ID card to enter
Arrive at the scenic spot at 6:30, ticket price 190 (visit Huangshan twice in three days)
6:35 Get on the walking bus, free of charge
Start climbing at 6:50
8:00 Start queuing for Tiandu Peak
11:30 Enter Tiandu Peak
13:40 Arrive at Carp Ridge, Carp Ridge and the most popular check-in spot are at the same location
It takes about 10 minutes to queue up to the carp ridge
14:30 Descend Tiandu Peak
There is a small shop at the bottom, take a 10-minute break to eat
Walk towards the Welcoming Pine, you can pass by the Welcoming Pine, One Line Sky and other scenic spots, and arrive at the Yuping Cableway at 15:40, the fee is 90 to go down the mountain.
A few suggestions are
Huangshan is quite big, and if you have time you can stay one night on the mountain, but it is still very cold in October, and a hotel costs about 1,500 per night, so I am a little reluctant.
It will be very cold in the mountains, so it is best to bring a jacket. In October, a thin down jacket is also acceptable.
I recommend going up Xindaokou because it is the steepest and many places are almost right angles, so your legs will feel a little weak when you come down.
If you want to buy food and drinks on the mountain, it is best to go early because the higher you go, the more expensive it is.
There is drinking water on the mountain, but it is at room temperature, so you can’t make instant noodles with it. You can bring some self-heating rice or something.
There are a lot of authentic foods at the foot of Huangshan Mountain, and the prices are quite attractive. You can try them all. If you want to buy local specialties, I suggest you visit a few more stores, as I got ripped off.
As for queuing, I think you shouldn't get up too early, because the bus will leave for the scenic area at about 5:20. It's better to get up earlier than 5:20, because not so many people go at 3 or 4 o'clock, and the buses to the scenic area are very efficient and there are many of them, so the time difference here is not much. If you want to queue less at Tiandu Peak, you can go up the mountain one day in advance, or choose to climb the mountain like me. The time will be more stable than queuing for the cable car, but it's better to climb faster, you will overtake many people, because you can take a long rest while queuing for Tiandu Peak.
You can also queue up later. When I went down Tiandu Peak, it was around 2pm. There were basically no people queuing, but you could still get in. It was just that you were about to be unable to get in. So you should keep an eye on the time. If you queue up before this time, you should still have a chance to get to Tiandu Peak.
Finally, I think Tiandu Peak is still worth visiting. After all, it is only open once every five years and is quite steep. The experience is quite different from ordinary step-by-step mountain climbing. When you look down while climbing, you will feel a sense of fear that you cannot take pictures with your mobile phone. People with a fear of heights should be cautious, and the scenery you see when you climb to the highest place is indeed the best!