GUY RUBIN – "Huang Shan, or Yellow Mountain, is in the province of Anhui, west of Shanghai. I first climbed it in late October. Clouds glided across the granite tusks; it was overwhelmingly beautiful. I later asked the contemporary artist Zheng Zai Dong why he had never painted the mountain. He shook his head. 'How could you be equal to the task?'" Rubin creates ultra-luxe itineraries for travelers in search of the trip of a lifetime (Imperial Tours; 888/888-1970; imperialtours.net).

©August 2008 TRAVEL + LEISURE