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Day 11, Tai Shan, The Heavenly Mountain
Special correspondents: Michael Kahn and Josh Orol
So today was cool. The area we’re in, Ji Nan, is much cleaner than the other areas we’ve been in (at least pollution wise). You can see the sky almost all of the time! We awoke to sunlight that actually hurt our eyes, strapped on backpacks, and headed out the front door to climb one of the five famous mountains in China (our second and last climb of our foreign escapade). The mountain is called Tai Shan: The Heavenly Mountain.
The mountain was, as expected, gorgeous. Mind blowing, some would say. The bus driver took us around some crazy curves to get to the foot hills, and we probably, almost, maybe got in an accident eight times, but we made it in one piece. Our exit onto solid ground was short lived, (though quite appreciated) because to get to the part of the mountain we wanted to climb we had to enter another, slightly more daunting vehicle. The cable cars could be thought of as a safe, well monitored, and quite swift way to reach the top of the mountain. We didn’t think so. The single cable that held our little moving box about 800 feet off the ground looked a bit too thin to hold up our car, or our entire group’s cars for that matter.
When we reached the departure point, we realized that we weren’t really climbing this mountain. The cable car deposited us about ½ a mile from the peak, and our planned, strenuous climb turned out to be more of a stroll. Nonetheless, the scenery was still gorgeous. Mind blowing, some might say.
The mountain, according to Lao Shi, is a very Chinese mountain. We have no idea what that means. We do know some cool facts about it though. The mountain is approximately 1555 meters high, and while not the highest in China, holds the most historical importance. The name clearly alludes to its religious importance, and tons of ancient emperors climbed this mountain to make sacrifices to their gods. It is home to many religious inscriptions, and remains a modern day sight for prayer. At the highest peak is a temple, which is mainly used for baby making. Religious Chinese take red cloth and tie it near the temple, which will hopefully increase their chances of getting each other pregnant.
The mountain is also famous for three foods, which are made into an excellent soup (we had it at lunch). The three foods are tofu, cabbage, and water. While it is debatable whether water should actually count as a famous food or not, we thought it was quite sweet (actually, we can’t drink the water in China, so we didn’t taste it… oh well!) The food did taste exceptional at lunch, though.
After the descent (again in the cable car), we walked around a temple. It looked a lot like all the other temples in China. In fact, Nathaniel took a picture of the main building in the temple we visited yesterday, and it looked exactly like the main building we toured today. We think they just picked up the temple and moved it a bit. Or maybe the bus driver took us to the same temple and told us it was different. We wouldn’t know the difference.
Now we’re at the hotel. We’re going to get more than 6 hours of sleep tonight! Who’s excited?
Lovey Dovey Smoochy Smooches that taste like China
- Michael and Josh
Special correspondents: Michael Kahn and Josh Orol
So today was cool. The area we’re in, Ji Nan, is much cleaner than the other areas we’ve been in (at least pollution wise). You can see the sky almost all of the time! We awoke to sunlight that actually hurt our eyes, strapped on backpacks, and headed out the front door to climb one of the five famous mountains in China (our second and last climb of our foreign escapade). The mountain is called Tai Shan: The Heavenly Mountain.
The mountain was, as expected, gorgeous. Mind blowing, some would say. The bus driver took us around some crazy curves to get to the foot hills, and we probably, almost, maybe got in an accident eight times, but we made it in one piece. Our exit onto solid ground was short lived, (though quite appreciated) because to get to the part of the mountain we wanted to climb we had to enter another, slightly more daunting vehicle. The cable cars could be thought of as a safe, well monitored, and quite swift way to reach the top of the mountain. We didn’t think so. The single cable that held our little moving box about 800 feet off the ground looked a bit too thin to hold up our car, or our entire group’s cars for that matter.
When we reached the departure point, we realized that we weren’t really climbing this mountain. The cable car deposited us about ½ a mile from the peak, and our planned, strenuous climb turned out to be more of a stroll. Nonetheless, the scenery was still gorgeous. Mind blowing, some might say.
The mountain, according to Lao Shi, is a very Chinese mountain. We have no idea what that means. We do know some cool facts about it though. The mountain is approximately 1555 meters high, and while not the highest in China, holds the most historical importance. The name clearly alludes to its religious importance, and tons of ancient emperors climbed this mountain to make sacrifices to their gods. It is home to many religious inscriptions, and remains a modern day sight for prayer. At the highest peak is a temple, which is mainly used for baby making. Religious Chinese take red cloth and tie it near the temple, which will hopefully increase their chances of getting each other pregnant.
The mountain is also famous for three foods, which are made into an excellent soup (we had it at lunch). The three foods are tofu, cabbage, and water. While it is debatable whether water should actually count as a famous food or not, we thought it was quite sweet (actually, we can’t drink the water in China, so we didn’t taste it… oh well!) The food did taste exceptional at lunch, though.
After the descent (again in the cable car), we walked around a temple. It looked a lot like all the other temples in China. In fact, Nathaniel took a picture of the main building in the temple we visited yesterday, and it looked exactly like the main building we toured today. We think they just picked up the temple and moved it a bit. Or maybe the bus driver took us to the same temple and told us it was different. We wouldn’t know the difference.
Now we’re at the hotel. We’re going to get more than 6 hours of sleep tonight! Who’s excited?
Lovey Dovey Smoochy Smooches that taste like China
- Michael and Josh
