When we first chugged into Huayin City by train, we realized we had pulled up in the bad part. The taxicabs tried to rip us off and out of the three taxis our group had gotten, only one was legit. The other two charged 15 or 20 kuai per person, when the entire trip had only been 20 kuai total. However, once we got away from the bad part of the city, I realized that Huayin City was another one of ‘those’ cities, rather than a quaint rural village. The main street was lined with empty high rises (you can tell by the lack of lights), and many vacant shops. The only indication that it was a rural village was the large spanses of corn left out to dry. We later realized that this was because the corn was meant for animal feed, rather than for human consumption. There was a decent amount of taxis and rickshaws and human activity for a rural village, but placed in Huayin City, which seemed so forced, it was just sparse.
We went out the first night to look for a restaurant. Many locals tried to help, but we just couldn’t find a restaurant that was open. The more we walked around, the more depressed I got. There was this large empty city, with barely any life in it. All the shops were empty, and only a few restaurants open. We finally found a decent one, but afterwards we all just went home and went to sleep because there was nothing else to do in the town.
People usually avoid Huayin City. The way tour groups get to Huashan is by sleeping over night in Xi’an, and riding the buses an hour to Huashan. That we stayed in the town was a rarity for the denizens.
I probably wouldn’t come back to this city (although I probably have to, my family wants to climb Huashan!). I still can’t decide if this city just has lost its rural charm, or it has gained a new sort of personality because it’s just so unique.
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