It’s Saturday, the second weekend in Hangzhou. From the endearing HR lady we receive the monthly newsletter also including travel tips. It states that a place called Mogan mountain should be a welcoming opportunity to cool off one’s heads. But hey, who needs that with 7 degrees outside? Hot Springs would be more appealing.

Anyway, the weekend will be quite warm and so Ray and I decide to do the trip to that, literally, cool place. In the newsletter it says the mountains wouldn’t be that far. “Gonna be an easy trip”. At the end of the day we think slightly different.
With the cab from the South of Hangzhou’s to the bus station in the North takes forever due to traffic jam. Surprisingly it also costs as much as two bus ticket to Wukang, 70 kilometers away. 1.5 hours later we are in Wukang. “This looks like Hangzhou” we are horsing around.

A taxi driver offers his services for overpriced 100 Yuan. We politely refuse, take a taxi for 10 Yuan, take a bus for 4 Yuan more and after another half an hour we stand somewhere in the countryside . Only the signs suggest that we seemingly have arrived. “The last bus departs 16.20″says a nice woman selling fruits. A glance at the clock tells us, that we actually could directly head back to where we came. Instead we are looking for a driver who brings us to the hilltop. He leaves us phone number and instructions to call him as soon as we are back down.
Except for us, not many seem to need a cool off and so we discover the huge area alone. Bamboo forest (bamboozle!!!), former residences of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping as well as idyllic waterfalls make the mountain a wonderful place to relax and enjoy. A fantastic place.

Hours later we arrive in the small town we call the driver. He tells us the story of the French man running a luxury hotel with his wife and children on the mountain. It seems that in summer this place is not as calm as we got to know it that day.