I had some major problems booking the hotel that we stayed in, considering we are all on a tight budget, and this time is one of the most popular times to travel, and Huangshan one of the most popular destinations. Imagine 1.3 billion people with work off for a week, and try to get yourself a hotel room for 3 people. So I ended up having to book 3 different beds in 3 different rooms at a hostel for 3 nights. All seemed well, that I was even able to get the beds at such late notice, and for so cheap. (About 40 yuan per bed per night, or $6.) However, a couple days later I received notice from the hotel that it had changed ownership, so we would have to pay 190 yuan for each bed, and would all stay in one room. Needless to say, I refused to go for that, and sent an e-mail back explaining my predicament, and using my constant argument that “we are only English teachers who don’t make much money!” After a few correspondences with hostesses from the hotel, the owner finally sent me an email back, both in Chinese and in English. The English one basically just said that he apologized and that we could pay a fairer price, 260 yuan per night, for all three of us. Still more expensive than our initial booking, but doable. The Chinese version, however, was extremely polite, expressed that he was tremendously sorry for the confusion, and said he hoped we could be good friends. Friends we would be, and it turns out he had used an internet translator to send me the English version, but that’s later in this story…
After an eye-opening ordeal at the train station, in which I had to physically block people from cutting in front of me in the ticket line, we were set on our plans to get out of the big metropolis of Shanghai. The soft-bed seats in private compartments had all sold out, so we begrudgingly bought hard beds, and I thought the worst. Despite my generally optimistic outlook on various situations, I have had bad experiences with sleeper trains in the past, and was expecting a plank of wood “bed” over a dirty floor. No pillows, no blankets, extreme heat, crying children, etc. However, the reality could not have been more polar opposite. The clean beds had freshly washed sheets and pillows, there were seats and tables in the corridor where 高瑞(Garrett’s new Chinese name!) taught me how to play 象棋, Chinese Chess. The 15 hours passed by in no time as we read, laughed, slept, and ate our way to HuangShan.
Upon arrival into Tunxi, as expected there was some confusion with our reservation. I told the hostesses the price we were meant to pay, and they looked astounded. Finally, I had never felt so V.I.P. as when I simply mentioned my name and a look of complete recognition came over their faces and they immediately showed us to our quaint and comfortable room.
We perused Old Town for a bit, with tons of shops selling art, toys, jewelry, tea, and other Anhui specialty goods. Then I ordered some sugar cane to gnaw on from a man with a cart, some canes, and a machete, and we enjoyed the sweet juice while we hiked up to a hilly park. 
Later, we had some delicious Anhui food for dinner, and walked around Old Town to enjoy the Moon Festival celebrations. We gazed at the moon on its brightest night of the year, and excitedly hopped in bed early to prepare for the upcoming long day of hiking on the mountain.
Huangshan was an absolutely miraculous place. It is so incredibly beautiful, and was the perfect temporary escape from the hubbub of downtown Shanghai. Our initial hike led us to 九龙瀑, 9 Dragon Falls, which although was a narrow and fairly gentle fall, spouted from such great heights that it was magnificent. We spent some time watching the falls and chatting with some old Chinese women who led us to the next leg of our journey.
We hiked back down the mountain to another entrance gate in order to taste some Huangshan teas. On the way down, we got a glimpse of what life was like for Chinese residents of Huangshan, in old-style concrete houses, where they grow their grains and vegetables in fields in their backyards. After trying some of the local teas, our taste for hiking still had not been satiated, so we hopped back on a bus, then a gondola, to head closer to the peaks we wanted to summit.
Throughout our serene hike to 9 Dragon Falls, I had wondered where all the crowds that we were supposed to run into could be. It looks like our initial trail was not the most popular, but we definitely found the more prevalent route after alighting from the gondola. We squeezed by the everlasting yellow-hat tour groups to try to find a more challenging hike, but to no avail. The trail to the highest peak, which stands at 1864 meters above sea level, was closed. Our time was closing in on us, but we decided to risk the chance of not getting down the mountain before sunset in order to climb up to the peak that is known not as the highest summit, but as the most dangerous (sorry, Mom). After an hour or so of grueling and perilous work for my thighs, calves, and nerves, I found myself atop Celestial Capital Peak, at 1810 meters above sera level. We spent some time enjoying the impressive sights of the mountain range from where we stood, and I felt in-tune with the lizards I saw that day while I laid on a boulder and let the sun beat down on me. We began our challenging descent away from the peak, and back into the reality of the city.
On our potentially lethal ride back to Tunxi, Chen, the hotel owner, text messaged me to extend an invitation for the three of us to have dinner with him and a friend that night. We hungrily accepted, and rushed to get ready when we arrived back to the hotel. When we finally met him in person, I realized that he spoke no English whatsoever—this was when I finally found out of his translator trick in e-mailing me. I readapted my old name from my Chinese II class at USC, and became 爱美(Aimei – Love Beautiful) to Chen and my other new Chinese friends. Likewise, Gianmarco became his Chinese persona 宇宙(Yuzhou- Outer Space), while Garrett was dubbed 高瑞(Gaorui- Tall Luck) in order to make it easier for non-English speakers to remember our names. What was nerve-racking at first, however, became much more comfortable the more I kept talking and the more beer I drank. As 高瑞pointed out, the relationship between beer consumed and utterances of “听不懂” (I don’t understand) was an inverse one. I have never learned so much Chinese and gained so much confidence in a language so quickly as in spending a couple days drinking, eating, and playing 象棋with a wealthy Chinese man and his wife and friends. He treated us to two fantastic dinners, and spent a lot of other time chatting with us, as we taught each other English/Chinese phrases.
高瑞，王， 陈，爱美，宇宙; Garrett, Wang, Chen, Emma, Gianmarco
After a 5 hour bus ride back to the city, (I know—why does the train take three times as long??) I feel that I have definitely enriched my knowledge of what else this country has to offer, and once again, reassured myself that I am in the right place.
Rock it.爱美
Currently Reading: Out of Mao's Shadow
Currently Listening To: Blue Foundation
