How to Sneak into Moganshan

I’d had Moganshan in the back of my head for a while, and finally got to check it out by the end of the summer.  Me being a frugal kind of guy, I naturally wanted to enjoy the area while spending as little as possible.  Unfortunately, I didn’t find much information on the internet about how to get the most out of my trip.  The Wikitravels page is pretty curt, and a useless TimeOut Shanghai post on how to “do Moganshan on the cheap” only offered ideas like not staying at Naked Retreats.  Here’s how to do it like a badass:

DaTang Farm Stay:  Pretty much exactly like the picture on Ctrip.

1.   Book train tickets.  We went from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Deqing Station directly.  It takes about 2-3 hours and costs 93 RMB. 

The view from our roof.

2.  Book a place to stay.  Our group booked three rooms for five people at DaTang Farm Stay in the quaint town of HouWu (后坞).  My girlfriend and I stayed in the more expensive room (hard but comfy beds, wifi, TV and a bathroom) and spent 460 RMB for two nights, reserved via Ctrip and paid for in cash at check-out.  We paid extra for two breakfasts (50 RMB for a hefty five-person morning meal), a great dinner and a pickup and drop-off at Deqing train station.  HouWu has tons of other places to stay, but I can vouch for the Tang family's spot.  

Red M's guide the way up the trail.

3.  Sneak into Moganshan.  Entrance tickets cost 80 RMB a pop.  Nature should be free, so no thanks.  Instead our host showed us how to go in the back way.  We hiked along a trail at the base of the mountain, following the red “M” signs.  They start by the tree of love, which you can get to if you walk up the hill past DaTang Farm Stay After an hour we found ourselves on more developed trails which indicated that we were in the park.  Paved roads crisscross with dirt paths inside the park.  We only saw one spot that was checking tickets, and it was the entrance to an attraction flooded by tourists.  Not the kind of place we wanted to be anyway.

We got a ride to the reservoir, swam there, then walked back to HouWu.

4.  Swim.  The second day we visited this awesome reservoir.  A sign said “No Swimming,” but it was most likely a suggestion for people who don’t know how to jump into water without drowning.  The water was perfect, tinted turquoise from the limestone.  

I admit, you could probably do it cheaper still if not absolutely free by hitchhiking and camping instead of riding trains and sleeping in beds.  But things being what they were, we were happy to do it all for less than 600 RMB a person. 

Essentials on our packing list were:  Bug spray, a rain jacket and/or hoodie (it gets chilly up there), sneakers or boots for hiking (sneakers were fine, flip flops probably wouldn’t have cut it), decent Chinese skills definitely helped, wine, corkscrew, candles (which can really make a bare room feel romantic) and coffee for the a.m.