Though remote from major transport centres 60km south of the Yangzi, getting to Jiuhua Shan is straightforward, with direct buses at least from Hefei, Tangkou (Huang Shan), Tongling and Guichi. Other traffic might drop you 25km short at QINGYANG , from where mountain minibuses leave when full throughout the day; if you get stuck here there's a hotel (¥75-100) attached to Qingyang's bus station. The twisting Jiuhua Shan road passes villages scattered through the moist green of rice fields and bamboo stands, white-walled houses built of bricks interlocked in a "herringbone" pattern, with some inspiring views of bald, spiky peaks above and valleys below.

 

The road ends at JIUHUA SHAN village , where you'll find all of the mountain's accommodation, and the most famous temples, grouped around a couple of cobbled streets and squares, from where paths ascend into the hills. Buses stop at the village gates for visitors to pay Jiuhua Shan's entry fee (Nov-March ¥35; April-Oct ¥45); from here the road runs up past a host of market stalls selling everything from food to ornamental knives and bamboo roots carved into faces, as well as waterproof maps and umbrellas for the frequently sodden weather. The road divides sharply about 100m along; carry straight on here for the rest of the village and walking tracks, or turn right for the vehicle road up to the cable car.

You'll be grabbed on arrival and offered all manner of accommodation . The most upmarket facilities belong to the pompous Julong Dajiudian (tel 0566/5011368, fax 5011022; ¥150-200) to the right of the village gates behind an illuminated fountain, although rooms are damp. Directly opposite, there's a hotel attached to Zhiyuan Si (¥75-100), and the monastery itself has extremely bare beds (up to ¥30) designed for itinerant monks, though these may be available to tourists. A few minutes' walk up the main street, after the junction but just before the road bends, you'll find clean mid-range rooms and plenty of Chinese tourists at Longquan Fandian (tel 0566/5011320; ¥75-100) on a corner on the right. Numerous places to eat offer everything from cheap buns to expensive game dishes, but if you want to splurge try Sucai Guan, a superb (and pricey) vegetarian restaurant just before the Longquan and directly opposite Jiuhua Shan's police station - look for the wooden Guanyin statue in the doorway. Massively popular with Chinese tourists and even the occasional monk, you can eat stylishly presented vegetables, as well as vegetarian versions of prawns, fish, chicken and eel.

Leaving , long-distance transport off the mountain congregates first thing in the morning at this junction - there's a ticket office about 50m along the cable car road - or you can pick up frequent minibuses to Qingyang and look for connections there. Note that if you're Huang Shan bound, the nearest place to aim for is Taiping , though there are also direct buses to Tangkou.