In the last year we have had the opportunity to see a range of China's most famous sites... from Man Made to Natural! We have traveled from Beijing's Great Wall of China, to Xian's Terracotta Warriors to the Guilin's Picturesque Mountains... to now the infamous Yellow Mountain which has motivated and inspired hundreds of artisans and poets in their works.
Again in all honestly... when taking our photos, it was really disappointing, they simply do not do the sights justice. You will just have to one day, come and visit this place for yourself, and see the majestic views. I only wish we could have captured the essence of the famous sunrise over the peak of the mountain at 1800 meters above sea level. For you to feel the crisp cold air… and hear the murmurs of excitement and energy from all the people up there... witnessing this phenomenal sight.
Yellow Mountain also known as Huangshan is one of China's top 10 must see's. There are only two methods up... by cable car or by foot. There is no cars, no trucks, no roads, no nothing leading up the mountain.
What was interesting to Felix and I, was that along the way, we saw scores and scores of men with a stick of bamboo on their shoulder balanced on either side with anything from fresh yams, to bedding/sheets, to bottles of beer. We even saw some men lugging up lead pipes that were 3 meters long, to a whole engine motor! Felix and I even asked to try to carry one of these motors... and very nearly crippled ourselves. I have such respect for these men, who make their living, as human mules.
Because there is no mode of transportation up, and the cable car is strictly for tourist, the businesses at the top employ these men at 80 cents RMB a kilo,(You read correctly 80 cents!!!) to lug up these supplies! The hike up is by far no easy feat, 3-4 hours up... on a steep incline of steps. Let’s say that these men can carry 150 pounds, approx 70 kilos, which equals to 56 RMB. $7 CAD for this backbreaking type of work, day after day, I am reinforced in the belief that we are truly truly lucky!
Needless to say, everything at the peak of the mountain is sold at a premium, but I have absolutely no qualms in paying, knowing the effort it takes to bring all these necessities to the peak.
Felix and I took the cable car up to the middle of the mountain, and then proceeded to hike to the peak. Unfortunately, we got to witness the infamous fog and mist, and even despite the grueling hike up, we got to see nothing. In the photos, some of the mountain pics look like we shot them in black and white, however in fact they are in color.
We also got to tour Hongcun, a charming little traditional Chinese village, within Anhui. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed here, and it was very different from the village that we visited in Longsheng. You can tell it’s a wealthier village, the people are more educated, and the details of the architecture are more intricate and elaborate. A completely different perspective and feel.
Of course we learned something else in our travels… and that is hotels in China, really skimp on the wall material. The walls were paper thin and we could hear EVERYTHING next door. The couple next door was a ‘much’ older couple who had some fun both at night and at the crack of dawn. I turned on the TV to its full capacity, and still did not succeed in drowning out the sounds! EEK!
Needless to say… as most of you may know… I am a modest kinda gal… and had a LOT of difficulty keeping a straight face the next day when speaking to this couple! =)
Good eats... well on this trip, we didn’t try anything too exotic, but we did have the best street vendor wontons, Chinese Dragonbeard Candy, purple corn and Felix’s all time favorite of freshly fried Chinese roti! Although we did have a VERY long wait, cause he has not learned the fine art of cutting the queue, like the dozens that cut in front of us! ;) We really are Canadian’s at heart!
Alright… that’s all folks for now… we will be in HK until Friday and will be off to Malaysia and Singapore. I can’t wait to eat! Felix said that what he’s learned in these last couple weeks of travel, is that my mind is always on food!!! =) That’s me!
We miss you guys… I miss Mao and Tim Hortons, and Felix misses his hockey! (He’s online every chance he gets to read the hockey forums.)
Keep the comments and emails coming!
