Two hours and 50km from Tunxi, TANGKOU is an expanding jumble of narrow lanes, hotels and restaurants on the Taohua Gully where roads from Wuhu, Tunxi and Jiuhua Shan meet. Most Huang Shan buses terminate here, though another road runs up the mountain to further accommodation 3km along at Wenquan , where it divides and continues to the two trail heads.

 

Minibuses from Tunxi and Jiuhua Shan collect and drop off at the central bridge, while the long-distance bus stop is 1km up the Wenquan road by Huang Shan's official entrance. Tangkou's places to stay are of most interest to cheapskates and late arrivals; down in the gully, the gloomy facade of the Xiaoyao Binguan (tel 0559/5562571; dorm beds up to ¥30, doubles with bathroom ¥150-200) hides shabby rooms and bored, English-speaking staff, but there are plenty of newer Chinese-oriented guesthouses with better facilities up at bridge level - ask around to find the Dacong Fandian (tel 0559/5562453; dorms ¥30-75, doubles ¥100-150) or Fuxing Lou Jiudian (tel 0559/5563588; ¥150-200).

The cheapest places to eat a filling noodle or baozi breakfast are at tables under the bridge, with a host of cheaper canteens all around the town, whose owners will drag you in as you walk past. In the same street as the Xiaoyao Binguan, you'll also find several places with bilingual menus, offering arresting delights such as squirrel hotpot and scrambled mountain frog, and more conventional soya-braised bamboo shoots and fungi - check prices first. You can also pick up umbrellas, walking sticks and mountain maps from hawkers and stalls around Tangkou. Heading up the mountain , minibuses to Wenquan, the hiking tracks and cable car stations wait on the Wenquan road, where you'll have to bargain hard for reasonable fares.