Emerald mountain revisited

• Source: Global Times
• [09:38 July 16 2010]
• Comments

Weird stones: abandoned then found

Compared to the overdeveloped trails festooned with hawkers that you'll find at many other Chinese scenic spots, the trails on Moganshan are pleasantly underdeveloped. One hike worth devoting some time to is the Weird Stone Corner. Cropped on the western edge of the mountain, this series of rock formations contains a number of odd messages written in seemingly inscrutable ancient Chinese.

Another series of interesting sites are the older remnants of a summer vacation colony including a manicured park (Reed Catkin Marsh Park), overgrown tennis courts and an abandoned church.

Other, more tourist-oriented attractions abound: the Baiyun Hotel, where Chiang Kai Shek once pow-wowed with Zhou Enlai; Sword Pond, where a statue of Gan Jing and his wife Mo Ye stands by a waterfall; and the Mao Museum, where Mao Zedong once allegedly stayed.

Bamboo shoots and fixed dinners

For a meal on the mountain, it's best to sample the local cuisine including the prominent use of bamboo shoots and a thin, soft version of celery. The Green Grass Soup Tea Plantation is one of the best places on the mountain to enjoy a spectacular view of the rolling green mountains below while dining on local food. Their bamboo shoots with braised pork (38 yuan) is a hearty and simple dish that you shouldn't pass up. The best part of all is that the yellow-sprout tea (huangyacha) is picked directly from the tea fields behind you.

Another option for dining is the Yong Li Restaurant on Yinshan Jie. The restaurant is known for their potato pancankes (18 yuan), which are actually freshly made potato chips flavored with spring onion, paprika and salt. Of course, one of the most well known dining options is the Moganshan Lodge. Owned by Mark Kitto, a member of the Moganshan community involved in the mountain's resurgence, the lodge offers breakfast, lunch and dinner five days a week from Thursday to Monday. According to its website, a treasure trove of information on Moganshan (www. moganshanlodge.com), "dinners are one meal for everyone. First to choose the main course, that's what everyone else eats, and by everyone else we mean the entire restaurant." It's 125 yuan and 145 yuan for two and three course meals respectively.

Getting there

A pickup can be arranged by one of the hotels to make the three-hour trip from Shanghai for around 900 yuan per car (four people). A bus is also available from Shanghai South Railway Station to Wukang/Deqing for 60 yuan. From there, you'll have to grab a taxi for the 30-minute trip up to the top of the mountain for another 60 yuan.

Moganshan can also be reached via Hangzhou. Taking one of the dongche (D-trains) to Hangzhou takes about an hour and a half and costs about 60 yuan. Once in Hangzhou, unless you want to book a car through the hotel at 250 yuan per car, you'll have to take a bus out to Wukang from Hangzhou's Northern Bus Station. Be aware that Hangzhou's Northern Bus Station is nowhere near the train station, and costs about 40 yuan to get to by taxi.