黄山市

Why this place

Huangshan is the mountain that Chinese landscape painting has been depicting for a thousand years: granite peaks rising out of cloud, twisted pines growing from bare rock, hot springs and a sea of mist in the early morning. It is a UNESCO site and it is as good as its reputation.

What to see

• The summit sunrise from Guangmingding or Lion Peak — the reason to stay overnight on the mountain
• The Beginning-to-Believe Peak and the flying-over rocks in the West Sea canyon
• The old villages of Hongcun and Xidi — UNESCO-listed Huizhou villages with white walls and horse-head gables
• Tunxi old street in Huangshan city, the Huizhou merchant quarter

What to eat

• Huizhou cuisine — one of China's eight great cuisines; try the stinky mandarin fish (chou guiyu)
• Bamboo shoots, wild herbs and the local tofu

How to plan

Two nights: one on the mountain for the sunrise, one in Hongcun or Tunxi for the villages.

Best time

April–May and October–November; winter is beautiful with snow and far fewer people

Practical tips

• The mountain is a hard walk with thousands of steps — the cable car saves the worst of it but not all
• Overnight on the mountain is expensive and must be booked ahead; the sunrise is worth it