China - Huangshan Mountains, Eastern Steps

After our brief stay in Tunxi, we spent two days at the Huangshan Mountains (we slept on the top). The walk up was seriously tough (it's 1,800m high) - it only took a few hours, but the entire way is steep steps and it took its toll. We had to stop every ten minutes or so, both to catch our breath and to stand in awe at the porters/coolies who were carrying kilos of food and linen up to the ten or so hotels at the top. We found out that they get about 20UScents per kilo, and they were carrying about 50kilos each.

Huangshan ('yellow mountains') is famous for its high jagged peaks, plunging cliffs, mist covered mountains and insurmountable beauty. It's been in lots of movies (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for one), and it lived up to our expectations.