Day 16 , May 23

On May 23 we flew from Shanghai to Huangshan……so from a city of 24 million to a city of 200,000, which is relatively small by Chinese standards.  It is at the foothills of the Yellow Mountains. Huangshan is also the name of the mountain range.  We arrived in the rain but went for a walk anyway.   The city was a major port because of its location at the fork of 2 rivers.  This bridge is over 900 years old and the “old city” stretches along the river banks now, much like it did then.

This region is very different from the big cities we have visited.  There are no high rise apartments. It is green and lush with very clean air and water.  The area  surrounding the city is agricultural.  The major crops are black tea, chrysanthemums for herbal tea, and bamboo.  The farms are very prosperous and families live in private homes with large vegetable gardens.

The restaurants here serve local specialties which are difficult for us to appreciate……donkey meat, pigs tail, hairy tofu etc.  They love it.  However, they also have more  “western Chinese “ food.  The roast chicken was fabulous but we had to get past the eyes staring at us.

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We have to pack a small backpack tonight to take up the mountain on Wednesday to spend a night at the top.