China Guide
Jiangsu and Zhejiang
Moganshan
The hill station of MOGANSHAN, 60km north of Huangzhou, was popular before World War II with the fast foreign set and has recently reprised its former role as a resort to escape the stifling summer heat. The old European-style villas and po-faced communist-style sanatoriums are being restored and turned into guesthouses, bars and cafes. There's little to do here but wander the incongruously European-looking village, hike in the bamboo woods and enjoy the views. It's lovely; but get here sooner rather than later, before it all gets overdeveloped.
You can get here by bus from Hangzhou's north bus station, which will drop you off at the base of the mountain in Wukang; a taxi the rest of the way costs around ¥30, and there's a fee of ¥80 for entering the resort.
Moganshan has a surfeit of faded, Chinese-style two-star accommodation, fine if you just want a bed, from ¥150; try the Songliang Shanzhuang, at the south end of the main road, Yinshan Jie ( 
0572/803381) or the higher Baiyun Hotel ( 0572/8033382; 
www.mogan-mountain.com . The Du Yuesheng Villa, once owned by the notorious, eponymous gangster, and now operated by the Radisson chain ( 0572/3033601; Price: ¥1100) is upmarket but a little overpriced. For food, Yinshan Jie is lined with restaurants offering local specialities such as wild game; recommended is the bar-cum-restaurant at the Moganshan Lodge ( 0572/8033011; www.moganshanlodge.com ) in a wing of the Songliang Shanzhuang. The helpful owners will point you in the right direction for good local walks. Note that there are no ATMs in town, so arrive with enough money to last your stay.