Thinking back, the last time I visited Qiandao Lake was twelve years ago. It was the same InterContinental One Thousand Island Lake Hotel, but because transportation was so inconvenient, after taking the hotel shuttle there, I never left the property once. This time, driving myself was much more convenient, though getting in and out of the hotel requires navigating a roughly 10km road, so heading out for a trip isn’t exactly easy.
Aside from feeling like not much has changed, both the facilities and the scenery are just as they were on my last visit. The decor is a bit dated, but it’s still fairly well maintained. It feels like the hotel has become more family-friendly now, and with current promotional packages, the prices are quite reasonable.
Huangshanjian is one of the scenic spots within the Qiandao Lake Scenic Area. There are many attractions at Qiandao Lake, and the official cruise routes are divided into the Central Lake Area (Meifeng Island, Yule Island, Longshan Island, Moonlight Island) and the Southeast Lake Area (Guihua Island, Tianchi Island, Huangshanjian), making for a complex and lengthy itinerary. There is a boat directly to Huangshanjian from the hotel’s pier, which saves a lot of travel; otherwise, you’d have to drive to the scenic area first before boarding a boat.
The hotel is actually very close to Huangshanjian—only about a 20-minute boat ride away. Once you arrive, you take the cable car up and down the mountain, reaching the summit quickly with almost no stairs to climb. There is an observation deck at the top; it’s not very large, but the advantage of taking the hotel’s boat is that you can get there before the crowds arrive, so there are fewer people… The view from above is indeed beautiful—you can see the famous “Tianxia Wei Gong” formation—but other than that, there’s really nothing else. Honestly, if this is all you get for over 300 yuan per person, it is somewhat disappointing.
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