Hike through the Huashan Mountains and take the cable car down the West Peak

After deciding to hike the Huashan peaks, I kept paying attention to the weather forecast, worried that I would not be able to go up the mountain due to rain after arriving at Huashan. Only after confirming the latest weather forecast did I book a homestay and train tickets next to Huashan Yuquanyuan. I climbed up the mountain in the dark early in the morning and finally set foot on the long-awaited Huashan Mountain (ticket price ￥160). However, I haven't climbed a mountain for a long time in a long time, and I was worried that I couldn't handle the whole hike (about 15 hours). I decided to hike to the North Peak of Huashan Mountain, walk through the peaks, and then go down the mountain by the West Peak Cableway (one-way ticket ￥140, bus back to the tourist center ￥40), and also take a look at the scenery of the West Peak Cableway. After walking to the North Peak from Huashan Gate, we walked to the East Peak, South Peak and West Peak in sequence. We didn't go up the Central Peak because there was a sign on the corner stairs saying that it was under renovation and no traffic was allowed. The whole hike was about 11~12k, which took about 10 hours. The steep mountain was almost a straight climb up the stone steps. There were some narrow and steep stone steps along the way that required wearing gloves and pulling iron chains for assistance. My thighs were almost cramped the whole time, which was actually a bit hard, but the scenery was really special and I felt a sense of accomplishment after finishing the walk. Only after walking through the peaks of Mount Huashan can you understand why Jin Yong praised the North Peak as the most beautiful and left the inscription "Swordsmanship at Mount Huashan". I originally thought it was because it was easily accessible via a cable car, but only after walking through it did I realize that the magnificence of the main peak of Mount Huashan can be best felt at the North Peak. My route: Huashan Gate (Yuquanyuan) - North Peak (1612 meters above sea level) - East Peak (2096 meters above sea level) - South Peak (2154 meters above sea level) - West Peak (2082 meters above sea level) Descending the Xifeng Mountain by cable car #AprilGoodDestinations2025