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A huge Chinese character 翠 (meaning jade green), about 10 meters high, is inscribed intothe cliff at Dicui Pool.[Photo/www.baidu.com]
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Mountain hideaway trips for summer chill are all the rage as the summer heat lingers on. For Shanghainese, Mogan Mountain in neighboring Zhejiang Province has always been an ideal hideout, about a two-hour drive away.
In the 1900s, merchants, foreign missionaries and celebrities, such as the mafia kingpin Du Yuesheng (nicknamed Big-eared Du), flock to build villas among the verdant bamboo forests on the mountain. Many of them remain.
Despite the mountain seclusion, Deqing County, at the foot of Mogan Mountain, has lots to offer. The ancient water town of Xinshi slows down the pace of life. The vast Xiazhu Lake is a heaven for birds.
By the end of 2013, more than 5 million tourists had flocked to Deqing, about half from Shanghai, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, county Party secretary of Deqing.
“Private cars with Shanghai plates often cram the highway to Deqing on weekends. The two places are intertwined, with even some roads in Shanghai named after places in Deqing, like Wukang and Moganshan roads,” he said in an interview with Shanghai Daily. “The laid-back simplicity and ecology in Deqing is a nice complement to Shanghai’s fast-spinning urban life, and a short getaway to relax or even just daydream,” Zhang said.
While some of the colonial-style villas have been turned into posh hotels, a handful of secluded boutique hotels have been built by expats. There are more than 50 hotels and guesthouses of this kind run by expats from 18 countries at Mogan Mountain, also known as Moganshan.
The number continues to balloon as the local government intends to help boost the tourism industry by involving more locals in efforts such as renting out houses or supplying local produce to hotels. Zhang said the government plans to expand roads and set up bilingual road signs, as well as expand the sewage-treatment system.
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