I've finally completed my visit to Huashan, one of the Five Great Mountains. I strongly advise against the north-to-west route. I booked a west-to-north route, and even after taking every available cable car, I still felt exhausted. For my middle age, I'm in pretty good physical shape, especially as an amateur soccer player, so climbing isn't too tiring. But the challenge is, even in downtown Xi'an, fitness is essential, and even more so at Huashan. While climbing isn't tiring, my legs and knees are severely strained from the long hours. For the sheer joy of climbing, it's not worth it. On our way back up, many people heading north asked how far it was to the West Peak. I lied to them it would be a quick trip, but it actually took at least a few hours, fearing they'd be too frustrated and give up, missing out on the beauty of Huashan. There are some fixed pits on Huashan that you should avoid. First, there were the photos of the Huashan Sword Contest, which were everywhere, but the photos I took weren't particularly memorable. Everyone was posing in the same poses, with the same backgrounds, and nothing memorable. Second, the photos from the slides. I didn't want to take them for 30 yuan per photo after exiting, but I eventually bargained them down to 5 yuan per photo because the photos weren't very good. Of course, now I think it doesn't really matter whether I ride the slide or not; I thought it was long, but it's actually quite short. In general, if you really want to climb Huashan, you need to get up early, because around 9 a.m., during peak hours, the lines can take hours to get on the cable car. Next time you visit Huashan, I recommend bringing a tent and sleeping bag. Climb as much as you can during the day, stay overnight, and watch the sunrise the next day—that's the perfect way to spend your time there.