Down a few steps, passed some yellow wild flowers, there was a small
coy pond. I took a seat on a stone bench and snapped a few photos. That is when
I looked up and saw a bright blue sky for the first time in almost a month. The
color made me laugh. Shanghai gets blue sky from time to time, but it is more
of a blue-ish, gray. This was a true blue sky, and the brilliant deep blue color—which
I’ve seen thousands of times back home—looked fake and out of place.
This is
definitely one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been, I thought.
It might even rival Switzerland.
I found my hotel and got checked in. The building looked like some
sort of blend between a temple and a castle. The inside was huge too. There
were halls filled with shops selling perfume, liquor, and basic groceries.
There was a café and a full service restaurant as well as a spa and health
club. I was staying in one of the bunk rooms on the ground floor. It was a nice
enough enough room with three, two tier bunk-beds, each with purple sheets. The
bathroom was huge with a circular, glass shower in the middle of it.
I stowed my things under my bed and laid down for a few seconds. Once
again, I started laughing. I did it!!! I
thought! I really did it!
I didn’t want to waste anytime, so I took my fried rice from the
hostel and went outside to eat it. It was some of the best fried rice I’ve ever
had, but that could have just been because I was really hungry from hiking. As
I ate, I saw Elder, Junior, and Grandfather walking by and they came over to
say “hi.” Once they left and I started exploring.
The entire summit was a large network of paths that meandered through
the jungle and up various cliff sides to the peaks. Various look out points
were designated both on the map and on the trail with some of the best views.
Small bridges spanned some of the canyons and ravines so people could walk out
and get a better view.
It really was insanely beautiful. The twisted trees looked like something
out of a Dr. Seuss illustration. As clouds blew across the summit, the mist
seemed to swirl around me in all directions. It would cloak the cliff sides
making them look ominous and majestic. It felt like something out of a fairy
tale, but not in the royal prince and princess sense; this was more so the type
of setting you’d expect to find a dragon or some sort of wizard’s lair. In
fact, some of the larger trees were hollowed out and looked like the perfect
place to house a few hobbits.
The Chinese/English signs did provide some information about the local
botany. I read one that explained a particular tree was called a “blue dragon
tree” because of it’s blue “leaves” scaley bark, and claw-like roots. I looked
at the “leaves” and realized they were more like needles…the blue dragon tree
was definitely a blue spruce….which seemed really out of place with all the ferns,
grasses, flowers, and canopy trees.
The first peak I stopped had a name that translated to “Beginning to
Believe Peak.” I crossed a small foot bridge over a little canyon to get it and
then climbed up a boulder that had stairs carved into the side. From the top,
it looked like heaven. Clouds blew
across my face and all around me the mist shrouded the views of the other
peaks. As the fog changed, the view seemed to change with each passing minute.
If there is magic in this world, I have to believe there is a bit of it on top
of Huangshan…it’s that beautiful and mysterious.
Beginning to Believe was one of the lower peaks and as a result, not
quite as crowded. I enjoyed the silence and breathed in the smells of the fresh
air. It smelled so clean up here. The fragrant wild flower odors all blended
together with the natural smells of dirt and nature. It felt relaxing. It felt
like home.
I also felt like a celebrity. Everyone who joined me on the peak would
take pictures of me. Some tried to be subtle while others were a bit more
obvious. I practiced my Chinese, asking some of them if they’d like to take
pictures together. One man was elated saying that his boss would be excited to
see my photo, while another group of teenagers went nuts and told me they
wanted to look like me someday. (I’ve never really considered myself to have an
enviable physique…but I’ll take it!)
Walking over to Lion’s peak was a totally different experience. The
plants seemed more tropical and the steps up to the top were crazy steep. There
was a fork in the road at one point with a sign that gave four options…one to
the nunnery, one to the cable car, and one to the terrace, and one to the peak.
I kept climbing.
This peak was a lot more crowded. It was chaotic as people pushed and
shoved to take photos. I noticed a small crevice in the rock and saw that down
below, it led to a ledge that over looked the valley.
I wonder, I thought, if I get down there, will I be able to get
back out. I figured I’d find out, so sitting down and hanging my legs over
the edge, I wedged my feet against the two sides of the groove in the rock.
Supporting myself on my arms, I shimmied down between the rocks to the small
outcropping below.The view was awesome. There was a single peak in the distance that looked like a rocky pillar sticking out of the clouds. A twisted tree sat on top, as the mist blew through its branches. Off to the right was Beginning to Believe peak, still covered in dancing fog. To the left, there was nothing. The clouds were thick as a soupy void. Even looking straight down, I seemed like I was standing on the edge of the world…as if just beyond that mountain pillar, nothing existed anymore.
I sat down and thought, How
can this exist in the same world as Shanghai? Or even as China? Or even on the
same planet I’ve grown up on? It is just so surreal looking.
And as I sat and watched as the mist blew in and the view
morphed and changed in front of me, I thought about my trip so far. I thought about
the questions my parents had asked me—did I like Europe better?—and how I felt
about Shanghai. I think one of the differences is that I went into Europe
terrified, not really sure if I could pull it off or what would happen once I
got there. The excitement came in discovering how much I could do. China was a
totally different experience; I went into it knowing I could do it, and in a
lot of ways, it’s been very easy. I love all the people I’ve met—from the recruiting
staff and the other interns, to my co-workers everyone has been so helpful and
friendly. The culture is fascinating, and I’m really starting to understand
some of the thought processes behind life in China.
And travelling is just plain fun. It’s exciting trying new
food (although here it is occasionally terrifying) and seeing new places is
awesome. There isn’t as much visible history here as there was in Europe, but
the architecture is fascinating in its own way.
When I think about the things that have frustrated me, it’s
actually a pretty short list. I don’t like humidity and it is unbelievably hot
here. It is hard being so far from home, and the time difference makes Skyping
a little bit harder. I also do not like bones in my meat (although they are
starting to grow on me.) I have to chuckle a little bit…the list of
frustrations really is pretty short and pretty uninteresting.
I looked out into the valley and thought about all of the
cool experiences I’ve had in college. My freshmen year working for the Boy
Scouts was truly unforgettable and has really shaped my thought process and
approach as I’ve worked through my degree and thought about what I want to do
in the future. After that, going to Europe was life changing as I realized how
much I can do on my own, and how exciting different parts of the world can be. I’ve
loved how my relationship with my parents has grown and changed. I’ve been
blessed by some great work experiences at the SCUBA shop, the Study Abroad office,
and most recently the BBB—and I have some co-workers I know are going to be
lifelong friends. They say college is all about finding yourself and figuring
out who you are…I can honestly say I’ve done that. While I still don’t know
what I want to do next, I know who I am and who I want to be going forward.
All of a sudden I heard a voice. “Sir, are you okay.”
I looked up through the groove in the rock that I had
climbed through to get down here.
“Yes,” I said and smiled. “I am okay!”
After all the adventures I’ve taken, all of the places I
went that I didn’t know what I was doing, and all of the times I was scared to
get on the plane, or the train, or the bus…I did it…it made me stronger…and I
can honestly say…I am okay!
There was a lot more mountain to see, so I hoped up and
climbed my way back up the crevice. I’ve never been much of a rock climber, and
I was a little surprised at how naturally and easy it came to me.
My next stop was an area translated to “Cloud Dispelling
Terrace.” It was a kilometer away, and I followed the signs passed more awesome
views. This time, the path did seem a bit more forested. The sandy cobblestones
kind of looked like the yellow brick road, and each crooked sign made me think
of the Scarecrow’s line that “some people go that way…others go that way…and
some go both ways.” But once again, the mist and the twisted trees felt more
like the haunted forest than the fields of poppies.
I realized as I was hiking that I was doing a lot of down.
Being a boy scout, I knew that meant I was going to be doing a lot of up on my
way back to my hotel.
When I came to a courtyard of another hotel, it wasn’t obvious
which direction I kept going. Asking one of the police officers—who looked like
he was about twelve—he offered to take me to the terrace. We walked across a
little street, up through a dark section of trail, passed another hotel, and to
a fork in the road where he pointed the way. I thanked him and carried on.
This view was awesome as well. After seeing Beginning to
Believe, Lion’s Peak, and now this, it’s going to be hard to decide where to
watch that sunrise tomorrow morning. This site was definitely the most touristy
one. There was a guy selling fake gold metals with the Huangshan National Park
logo on the front. On the back, he was engraving them for people to take home
bragging rights of having summited the mountain.
The true high point of the mountain is “Bright Top Peak.” It
is the real “Summit” of Huangshan, and certainly the most famous. My book had
said it was the best view, but for the sake of catching the sunrise, it was
also supposed to be the most crowded. I decided I should go see it tonight and
then I could skip it in the morning.
But as I started up the trail, I realized it was a 3
kilometer climb to the top. That would probably take an hour, which meant it
would be an hour back here, and then maybe 20 minutes back to my hotel. It was
already getting dark, and the bottom of my left foot feels bruised. I decided
to call it an evening and head back to my hotel for dinner.
As I worked my way back, I saw two teenage girls pointing at
me and whispering to each other. I smiled and them and they immediately blushed
and giggled. On the inside, I did too. It’s a flattering feeling having
everyone admire how you look. Their father however scolded them but they
continued to watch me walk away.
Back the hotel, I went to my room. When I opened the door, I
was surprised to find three of those little Sherpa dudes in the room watching
the world cup. Feeling like Goldilocks, I realized one of them was in my bed.
I tried the stifle my look of surprise as I pulled my
backpack out from under the bunk and through it onto the top bunk. Stowing my
jacket inside of it, I went out to the restaurant down the hall.
When I walked in, the hostess informed that they had a
buffet option. I asked how much it was and she said 140RMB (the most expensive
price I’ve heard for a meal…anywhere!) I asked to see the menu and she led me
to a table by the window. I sat down and she opened the menu to the dinner
specials. Everything ranged in price from 80RMB to 130RMB (basically
10USD-15USD.) I flipped through several pages before spotting a way to beat the
system. They had baozi rolls—little bread rolls with meat and vegetables inside—for
4RMB each. In Shanghai they are 1RMB each, but this was still the cheapest option
I saw, so I ordered four.
The dining hall was quite nice with crystal chandeliers, fake
gold plated walls, and wooden chairs with pink silk covers over them—which matched
the pink silk table clothes. I stared out the window and again was just
awestruck by the beauty of it all. It almost makes you emotional to look at it—it’s
that pretty. As I waited for my food, I wished my family was there with me to
see it.
The food was good, although not really enough. I paid and started
walking back to my room. As I passed the health club, I stepped inside to look
at their price lists for massages. The 60 minute massage was pretty expensive,
but the 30 minute back massage was pretty reasonable—less than anything on that
dinner menu at least. I pointed to it on the sheet and a masseuse led me back to
her work station.
When we got there, she negotiated with me that she would do the full
body massage for just a little more. It wasn’t as good a deal, but it sounded
nice so I agreed. This whole thing however turned out to be a terrible idea. It
turns out when you massage muscles that have been hiking all day, the muscles,
in turn, hate you, and start to cramp up like crazy. It was the worst massage I
ever got. When I was done and paid the woman asked for a tip. I gave her 30RMB,
which she gawked was not enough…but it was honestly all that I had left in my
pockets.
I felt a little jilted but it was still less than the money Luke owed
me for his bus ticket and hotel reservation so I justified it as sort of
breaking even by the time he pays me back. And my shoulders did feel a little better
now.
When I got back to my room, I walked in to find the little Sherpa
dudes sitting in their underwear, smoking and playing cards. They had some how
managed to find some…”working women”…on top of the mountain who were supplying
them with alcohol and looked dressed to provide additional services as the
evening went on.
I pulled my pack off the top bunk and pretended to rummage through it.
I hated to be “that guy” at the hostel who makes a scene at the front desk but…I
was tired…I was sore…and I paid a lot of money to stay here…I was going to be
that guy.
Going to the front desk I decided to play the asthma card. Pulling my
inhaler out of my pocket, I said, “Hi, I have asthma and my roommates smoke. It
makes me cough. Is there any way I could change rooms?”
“Change rooms?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Are there non-smoking rooms?”
The lady who was checking in next to me turned and started translating
what I had said. The girl behind the counter typed into the computer and said
something back.
“A private room is 700RMB,” the lady said for me. “I think it is too
expensive.”
“I think so too,” I said. The woman said something to the girl and the
girl picked up the phone.
When she hung up, she gave me a business card with another room number
on it. “This is another room,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said. I also thanked the lady who had translated. Going
back to my room, I went to grab my pack. I went back to the front desk to
return my key to the first room. They explained the new room did not have a key
but the concierge took me back to let me in. This room was really in the bowels
of the building but it was just as clean and totally Sherpa-free (not that I have
anything against Sherpas…I’m just very anti-smoking.) It also had the odd
feature of having the toilet in the shower—now that is a novel idea.
I needed to figure out my plan for tomorrow. I’m supposed to catch the
bus back to Tunxi at 3:30, but I might skip the caves and go down a little
earlier. I’m not too keen on hiking around the summit with my pack on, much
less spelunking with it on. If I can get down earlier, I might even be able to
get back to Shanghai tomorrow.
I do wish that I had more time here. It’d be nice to wander and spend
a few nights at the different hotels, but for a quick trip, it is exhausting. I’m
super tired and need to get some sleep for that sunrise. Besides, whatever
happens, I have the ability to be flexible and make a great adventure out of
it. 
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