Mount Mingyue Hiking (Nov 27, 2024)

Mount Wugong is in Pingxiang, while Mount Mingyue is in Yichun. The two places are only about 40 km apart, but there is no bus service. Luckily, I managed to get a ride on Didi for CNY 44, which took me to the entrance of the scenic area. There are many homestays and small restaurants around the scenic area, and the prices are cheap. I had dinner at Menlou Tucaiguan, where I ordered a local chicken. I only ate half of it and packed the rest for the next day. I woke up naturally the next day and opened the curtains to see the mountain view. I had a bowl of vegetable and shredded pork noodles for breakfast at the restaurant for CNY 15, and then started my journey. I was a little tired from climbing Mount Wugong yesterday, so I chose to take the cable car up the mountain today. The top of Mount Mingyue is relatively flat, so there are many elderly tour groups. There is a scenic area shuttle bus from the cable car station to the Moon Lake Service Center, which costs CNY 10. It takes 30 minutes to walk, and I chose to walk. There are large patches of cedar trees along the way, all standing straight. Moon Lake is not big, and the resort on the lakeside is still under construction. It takes about an hour and a half to walk around the Qingyun Walkway. Then I took the scenic area shuttle bus back to the cable car station. I started hiking down the mountain from here, and there are five waterfalls along the way. I rarely encountered any hiking tourists on the way, and I was most surprised to meet two elderly couples, with an average age of over 70. They walked all the way up the mountain. Although their hair was gray, they were full of energy. They must be people who like to exercise regularly. Yungu Waterfall is the highest of them all, at 116 meters, and is worth seeing. The stairs to the five waterfalls are narrow and steep, and it feels like going down is hard on the knees. I walked slowly because of my knee discomfort, and it took me two and a half hours to get down the mountain. It was already 2:30 pm when I got down the mountain, and I didn't feel hungry on the mountain, so I didn't eat the chicken. I went to Menlou Tucaiguan and asked the owner to heat it up, and ordered a vegetable dish. The owner only charged me CNY 15. The owner didn't even charge me for the rice, which was very kind. Although Mount Mingyue is not stunning, the people I met were very simple and honest.