Huangshan mountain is one of the world’s most beautiful places to hike and photograph, even in the middle of winter.

This photo features a temple at the bottom of the mountain, right near the car park.

I made the photo moments before leaving the area after spending an amazing three days photographing and hiking across the various peaks that are commonly referred to as Huangshan.

It was an exhausting and awe inspiring experience. Truly one of the best and most rewarding adventures of my life.

Memories of Huangshan Mountain

There’s plenty of texture in this photo which, in my workflow, usually marks it as a potential candidate for rendering into black and white.

However, in this case, I liked the muted, understated colors within the scene and decided they were worth exploring.

A little bit of a tickle on the desktop moved the color palette towards a more sombre, vintage look.

I think that very much suits the mood I felt when leaving this most beautiful place.

When to Visit Huangshan Mountain

I visited either side of my birthday in late January which, as you can see, is the middle of winter in China.

It’s very different weather to what I’d normally be experiencing, at that time of year, back in Melbourne where I currently reside.

As is the case with many famous landscape locations Huangshan receives literally millions of tourists every year.

That makes tripod based photography from steep and narrow mountain pathways problematic.

Hike Huangshan Mountain In Winter

It was the lack of crowds and the ability to set up my tripod, without causing inconvenience to other tourists, that was behind my decision to visit Huangshan Mountain very much off season.

While some paths were closed, due to heavy snow cover, most remained open and hardy workers swept the paths clean of ice and snow during the day.

I had to be careful hiking on some of the higher passes very early in the morning as they were quite slippery.

But I managed just fine and the only inconvenience was that, on a few occasions, I had to make my way down a few steps on my backside.

I plan to return and, while it makes sense to explore Huangshan at a different time of year, I’m not against another winter visit.

As in all things, time will tell.

In Chinese Huang translates as yellow and shan as mountain.

Given that the color yellow signifies happiness in Chinese culture I think Yellow Mountain is the perfect name for this glorious natural wonder in Eastern China.

What’s more as Huang is the seventh most common surname in China it’s clear that the notion of happiness is highly valued in Chinese culture.

What to Photograph on Huangshan

This image is typical of the scenery you can expect to see on one of the long, lonely paths that take you across Huanghsan Mountain.

Notice the muted color palette and the following three dominant geographical elements on Huangshan.

• Trees

• Rock

• Snow and mist

During the three days I spent on Huangshan Mountain I only glimpsed a blue sky on a few occasions.

But the soft quality of light produced by the dense cloud cover greatly reduced the density of shadows and made it easy to achieve good exposures.

Despite the lack of blue skies, and the muted color palette that resulted, the awesome landscapes on Huanghsan Mountain still provided me with opportunities for fantastic photography around each and every corner.

Will I Return To Huangshan Mountain?

I can’t wait for my next Huangshan adventure. While it would be great to visit any time of year I can testify that, without the crowds, exploring Huangshan Mountain during winter is great fun.

If you’re in Melbourne, Australia and planning a winter holiday you should consider hooking up with me for a private photography class before you adventure begins.

If you’re interested feel free to contact me directly to discuss the options.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru