Moganshan - Escape to bamboo forest

Summer has finally taken over the city. With every day temperatures raising above 30°C and 80%+ humidity you start to look for alternative places than bars to cool off. Last weekend we decided to try out Moganshan nature park which is a good 3-4hrs travel south west of Shanghai. It is the closest mountain regin to the city and therefore perfectly suited for a weekend break (providing you know how to cheat yourself a train ticket - see last post).

The beauty of this area was discovered more than 100 years ago by European expatriates who chose it already back than as their cooling oasis in summer. They built stone villas and mansions right amongst bamboo forest about 400-500 meters above sea level. You therefore find a lot of 1920´s European architecture giving the place a very colonial and for us homely atmosphere.

During the cultural revolution many of those houses were abandoned. Some were taken over by Chinese officials and many of them today belong still to the government.
But several of the old buildings have been converted into Bed and Breakfasts or Hotels and therefore make this area a increasingly popular hideaway for Chinese and Foreign citizens again.

Unfortunately when we went the weather was not the greatest.  We had hoped for some clear blue skys which recently seems to be unheard and -seen of in the humidity of Shanghai. Still, it did not stop us having a great time wondering  through bamboo forests, tea plantations and exploring buildings of past times.

Here some impressions

Abandoned place:

View over Moganshan National Park:

Believe it or not, but we have never
seen as many and as large butterflies as here:

With all this green we almost forgot that we lived in China
Until we came across those signs:

Not sure what they exactly mean by pummeling..
And we did not quite figure out our duty...

The best thing about the trip was our stay in House #2 where we had a room (#9) with a great roof top terrace. And to be honest with you - this is where we spent most of the time. Just relaxing, breathing fresh air,  looking into green and enjoying a good read:

At least until they decided to dig up the market square with a hammerdrill on sunday...:-)

Want to know more about Moganshan?

About Moganshan Nature Park: Wiki (English) ; Bericht im Spiegel (Deutsch)
Where to eat?  Moganshan Lodge - .. and forget about time.
Where to stay?  Moganshan House #23 .. house #2 is a true jewel
Where we try next: Naked Retreat  ... who want´s to get naked with us?