I originally planned to spend the New Year holiday soaking in hot springs, but the inflated holiday prices quickly persuaded me to give up. After hearing that Huangshan had recently seen snow and being attracted by the rime scenery online, I made a last-minute decision to visit Huangshan during the holiday.

The forecast said it would snow on New Year’s Day, so we chose to climb on January 2, watch the rime and sunset, then catch the sunrise on January 3 before returning.

Itinerary

  • 2026-01-01: Drove from Hangzhou to the South Gate of Huangshan and stayed overnight.
  • 2026-01-02: Started climbing at 6 am, took the Yuping cableway, visited the Guest-Greeting Pine, Bright Summit, Qunfeng Ridge, Flying-over Rock, and watched sunset at Danxia Peak.
  • 2026-01-03: Started at 6 am for Shixin Peak, watched sunrise over the sea of clouds, visited Monkey Watching the Sea, took the Yungu cableway down, and drove back to Hangzhou.

Huangshan hiking route

Snow Scenery

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Sunrise at Shixin Peak

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Sunset at Danxia Peak

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Thoughts

The two-day Huangshan trip was quite relaxed. We did not have to rush, and because of the weather we had to take cableways both up and down, so the physical intensity was not high.

We were lucky enough to see rime, sunrise, and sunset. The scenery was stunning. Even if I go again next time, I may not see the same view.

Next time, I would like to visit around late spring or early summer and explore the other peaks that are only open seasonally.