'''Tongzha''' is a city in Hainan's central highlands. It is rather confusingly known as "Wuzhishan" (___w_R_jas well, and that is what your bus ticket will say when you buy it in Sanya. However, Wuzhishan is actually a dusty little town some ways from Tongzha, and even more confusingly, the real town of Wuzhishan is also called Shuimanxiang (__??). Anyway, Tongzha is a scenic town with very few tourists, lively markets and exceedingly cheap food.

Get in

Take the bus from Sanya or Haikou. The Tongzha bus station is located more or less in the city center.

Get around

Motorcycle taxis are ubiquitous and easy to flag down. None of them are licensed. They will take you most places in the city for about \2. Auto taxis hang about by the bus station, and most don't have meters. They seem to charge about \10 or less for a trip within the city.

See

Just walk around the town and its surroundings. The scenery is beautiful, and the town has an interesting market section, though it does resemble market sections in a lot of other small Chinese towns. Walking or motorbiking on the road past the Wuzhishan Shanguan (see below) takes you quickly into quite rustic quarters. You can then deviate off the road onto one of the small footpaths that leads out into the jungle. Try to get back to the main road before dark, as it can be easy to get lost on these paths.

As of February 2008, the Hainan Nationalities Museum (Hainan Minzu Bowuguan) in Wuzhishan City is closed. According to staff, it may reopen in May 2008. The museum's office can be contacted at 8662-2336.

  • [http://www.sanyaweb.com/sight_wuzhi_mountain_five_finger_mountains_wuzhishan.html Wuzhishan(Five Finger Mountains)]-Introduction of Wuzhishan(Five Finger Mountains)
  • Do

    The adventuresome (and fit), might try climbing the 1868m peak of Wuzhishan (Five Fingers Mountain) itself. To do this, take a bus from the Tongzha/Wuzhishan bus station to Shuimanxiang (__??)(\7). Buses start at 08:00, and also run at 09:00, 10:00 and 12:00. They will pick up other passengers, vegetables and dead chickens on the way to Shuimanxiang. At the terminus, take a moto-taxi to the trailhead (\5). Make sure to get a cell number from the driver so he can pick you up on your way down (or try 138-7650-0626) because otherwise you will have an extra two miles to walk on your way back. From the trailhead, hike up to the archway, and hang a left (either before or after you go through it - as long as the trail leads uphill you are probably going the right direction). The hike to the top is a grueling 2.5 to 3.5 hours. You will be climbing up ladders and roots, as the trail is extremely steep. You will probably have the whole mountain to yourself unless you go on one of the holy days of the local minorities. On these days, the trail is apparently quite crowded. Whatever they celebrate, it causes them to leave a lot of trash and firecracker wrappers lying about. Buses leave Shuimanxiang back to Tongzha at 13:00, 14:30, 16:30, 17:30 and 18:40.

    Make sure to take A LOT of food and water, Dehydration could even be fatal. Don't do this unless you are in pretty good shape and have some experience hiking.

    The area is officially a nature reserve with an entrance fee of 50 yuan, which includes a bus ride to the start of the rainforest trail. Staff discourage using the tropical trail on the grounds that you may get lost. This is true, as the trail branches off in many directions and does not conform to the map. The tropical trail is almost completely free of visitors and garbage.

    Near the start of the tropical trail (on the rainforest trail, by the bridge) there is a very small outdoor restaurant.

    This is the contact information for the Wuzhishan Tourism Development Company Ltd.

    Haikou office: 0898-88272965 Sanya office: 0898-66733381 Website: www.wzs.cc Address: Shuiman County, Wuzhishan, Hainan

    Buy

    Eat

    Tongzha abounds with ridiculously cheap noodle and dumpling shops. Even the "upscale" dining at the hotels is quite inexpensive.

    Drink

    Sleep

    The Wuzhishan Resort Hotel (___w_R_____R__) is a beautiful hotel with well appointed and comfortable rooms and nice staff. It costs well under \200 per night for a double. It is quiet and affords very nice views of the town and surrounding mountains. Tel: 8662-3188, 8662-3560, 3563.

    There is a guest house at the foot of the mountain, right next to the archway. It looks pretty basic, cheap and not particularly busy. You probably don't need a reservation. In fact, you might not be able to get one at all.

    As of February 2008, there is no accommodation available at the foot of the mountain. There are inexpensive hotels in Shuiman within walking distance of the bus station, as well as the Shuimanyuan Hotel (Shuimanyuan Jiudian), with pleasant architecture and idyllic pastoral views. The phone number for the Shuimanyuan Hotel is 8655-0333.

    Get out

    The Tongzha bus station has more or less hourly buses to Haikou, and at least two morning buses to Sanya.