This time I took China Eastern Airlines (CEA) from Taipei to Hefei airport, Anhui. I searched for the best price from Skyscanner then booked the ticket directly from CEA’s official website. There will be discounts from time to time on their website.
(For ticket searching tips, please read: Your China Travel Guide for Everything!)
China Eastern Airline
It was my first time taking CEA. It was a small plane without TV on each seat. There weren’t many passengers this time, so it didn’t take too much time to board. The cabin door closed on time at 12:05. After drinks came the meal. I seriously think that Chinese airline’s in-flight meals are pretty nice.
Hefei International Airtport
We arrived in Hefei arrived after 2..5 hrs. There was only one terminal at Hefei Xinqiao Airport. At that time, there were not many flights, so it only took me 15 mins to past customs and security check after lending! I had to head straight to Huangshan, and the information desk said there were two ways to get there:
- Take bus to Tongling then transfer.
- Take the airport bus to the train station or bus station, then transfer
Well, as I totally had no idea where Tongling, I couldn’t predict what would happen there, so I choose the second option: go to downtown Hefei first, and then transfer the high-speed rail.
Go out of the gate and turn right, you will see the airport bus sign. The ticket to downtown was ¥ 25. The bus was nice and clean. It would depart after the seats are full.
By the way, our driver was quite tough, not just that he kept pressing the horn. On the way, there was a passenger who forgot to get off the bus at the stop. The driver lashed at him (or maybe it was just that his voice was really loud) “Why didn’t you get off when I told you to?! Now are you getting off or not?! If not, SIT DOWN!” —–then the whole car fell into a silence.
The airport is 31.8 km away from DT Hefei. It took about an hour to reach Hefei High-speed Railway Station, and then transfer to Huangshan.
(Read more: Transportation from Hefei to Huangshan)
Hefei Downtown to Airport
There were quite a few bus sites to the airport in DT Hefe. The hotel I stayed at this time was very close to one of the pick-up sites. (Map of pick-up sites)
I came to this pick-up spot, which was a travel agency, in the afternoon before my departure day, to buy the bus ticket. But the staff said I would buy right before taking the bus.
It hadn’t reached 5 am on the day I was returning to Taipei, the sky and street were still dark. It only took me 6 minutes walk from my hotel to the pick-up spot. There was a “black driver”(taxi driver without official permission) here who was looking for passengers who were heading to the airport. But given my terrible experience in Hongcun, I refused right away. He didn’t bother me and turned away. Later, some mid-aged couples accepted his offer, then the car was suddenly fully seated and left for the airport.
Suddenly, I was left on the street with a street cleaner who had been sweeping the floor for a long while, and a young man who also seemed to be waiting for a bus. I walked into the 24-hour convenience store beside to kill time, browsing the shelf slowly, and bought milk. But there was still a bunch of time to wait while I came out.
As the time was getting closer, there was no sign that the travel agency was to open. I started to wonder what happened. But as there was someone else waiting, too, I suddenly felt relieved.
With only a few minutes left to 5:30, suddenly, a noise broke the silence of the dark street. As the sound approached, a motorcycle came and stopped by the sidewalk. A woman got down from the car and took out a thick stack of paper. Her face seemed a bit familiar, maybe I’d seen her in the travel agency yesterday, not so sure though, so I didn’t walk toward her.
Then, the young man stood next to him said to me, “Are you going to the airport?”
All of a sudden, I didn’t know how to react but nodded instinctively, “Ah, um.”
“Then buy tickets.” He pointed at the woman.
After buying the ticket, I asked him where he came from, but then the bus came, I didn’t catch him clearly saying it was Lanzhou or Xinjiang.
The sky turned dim. We arrived at the airport in 50 minutes and the airport was almost empty this moment, and the gate to international flight had not even opened yet. My flight was 8:50, and the gate didn’t open until 7:30. The flight meal provided this time was breakfast, which couldn’t be described as good…
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