Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain: 2026 Tickets, Cableways, Hongcun and How Many Days

Huangshan (黄山), the Yellow Mountain, is a range of granite peaks in Anhui Province that has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1990. In 2026 the entry ticket is RMB 190, and a cableway costs RMB 80 to 100 each way. Most visitors enter from Tangkou at the South Gate, ride a cableway up, walk the summit paths and stay one night on the mountain for sunrise. Add a day for Hongcun, the World Heritage village 11 km from the Yixian county town.

What is Huangshan?

UNESCO calls Huangshan “the loveliest mountain of China”: many granite peaks over 1,000 m, twisted pines and oddly shaped rocks rising out of a sea of clouds. It took the name Huangshan, Yellow Mountain, by imperial order in 747, and its scenery shaped the Chinese “mountain and water” school of landscape painting. Chinese visitors speak of four wonders: the pines, the rocks, the clouds and the hot springs. The name also belongs to the city that administers the area, so check whether a booking means the mountain or the city.

2026 ticket and cableway prices

• These figures come from the 2026 price policy issued by the Huangshan city government and reported by Anhui Daily on 19 December 2025. The winter period then ran from 20 December 2025 to 20 January 2026; the next winter’s dates and prices are announced in December.
• One ticket can cover several entries: it is valid for three consecutive days from your first check-in, with unlimited entries. Choose the multi-entry ticket (多次进山门票) on the mini program 黄山旅游官方平台 and check in on the first day, or the extra entries are not activated.
• Concessions listed: children aged 6 and under or up to 1.2 m free; ages 6–18, full-time students and ages 60–64 half price. Ask whether a passport is accepted as proof.
• Budget for it: one adult going up and down by cableway pays about RMB 350 to 370 before the shuttle bus from Tangkou.

Gates, cableways and what is at the top

• A cableway removes the climb, not the stairs. The summit paths are stone steps, so pack light and send large bags ahead.
• Sunrise and the sea of clouds depend on the day. Staying one night on the mountain gives you an evening and a morning to try.
• On 11 October 2026 the listed opening hours were 08:00–16:40. Cableway hours change with the season, so check the day before.

Hongcun and Xidi: the villages below the mountain

Hongcun and Xidi were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000 as the Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui. UNESCO singles out their street plans, their architecture and the way houses are tied into a water system. Hongcun was founded in the Southern Song dynasty, between 1131 and 1162, and from the early 15th century grew into the shape of an ox: Moon Pond is the stomach, South Lake the belly, and the channels that run past every door are the intestines. The village is open all day; the listed ticket is RMB 104 for each village, with platform prices from RMB 94.

Getting there

• Huangshan North is the main high-speed station. It is in the city, not at the mountain, so allow for the road transfer to Tangkou.
• The Nanchang–Jingdezhen–Huangshan high-speed line, opened on 27 December 2023, also stops at Yixian East, the station for Hongcun’s county, and at Jingdezhen North. Check 12306 for trains on your date.
• Tangkou, at the South Gate, is the town where most people sleep the night before. From there the scenic-area shuttle bus runs to the two cableway stations.
• Where to sleep, on the summit or at the foot, changes the whole plan. Our base guide compares the four options.

How many days for Huangshan

• Two days and one night on the mountain is the standard: up by cableway on day one, sunrise and down on day two.
• A day trip works with cableways both ways, but you give up sunrise and sunset.
• Add one day for Hongcun, and a second if you want Xidi and the quieter villages.
• Four or five days covers the mountain and the villages without rushing.