Day 9 : old hanging rocks
Xiao Wei got us all places with a tour group to Heng Shan - one of the 5 holy Taoist mountains - and the Hanging Temple about an hours drive from Datong.
Stepping onto the bus was an adventure it itself - it was a Chinese tour. And all eyes were on us, once again. We're not quite sure what the guide was saying but she seemed to be ranting about something for most of the ride to the mountain. The bus somehow managed to make it up the hills, to the base of the mountain without tipping over or falling off a cliff. Keep in mind that there are no guard rails and road rules don't apply in China.
At the foot of the mountain, the guide yelled at us not to look at the souvenirs and then we started walking up the staircase that led to the monastery which looked like it was was sitting in the middle of nowhere. Along the way, there were red Taoist inscriptions carved into the mountain and red ribbons tied around the trees (we didn't understand why of course). We finally got to the monastery which turned out to be a multi-level complex of temples and halls. The most impressive temple was up a steep 105 stairway - so steep that we were practically climbing on all fours. We opted for the cable car to get back down the mountain. Half way down, we heard "hello. how are you?" from a car going up the mountain. It was the little girl who Jerome took a picture with the previous day. By the way, Bo is terrified of cable cars and his fingers must still hurt from holding on so tight.
Then it was back down the mountain for lunch at a rather crappy tourist place where we got our first look at the Hanging Temple. The temple looked like it would be a disapointment, but only from the bottom of the cliff. Our tour guide gave us an explanation of something - Bo gave us the basics. And then we climbed up some stairs and into the first level of the temple. It turns out it doesn't actually hang from the cliff face; there are wooden beams anchored in the rock and some poles (that seem not to do much) supporting it and keeping it from falling into what was once the Yellow River below (now dammed up).
As we climbed, there seemed to be more and more people and less and less space. The walkways became more narrow as we got higher. At the very top, it was barely wide enough for one person. Rebecca and Bo were hanging onto the walls, trying to get as far from the railing as possible, as Jerome and Yaya were busy hanging their heads over the edge and taking pictures. We weren't disappointed ...
Back in town, we met Xiao Wei's mother for "huo guo" or hot pot (Chinese fondue?). Rebecca was chopstick challenged and managed to burn our hostess. But the food was great - all sorts of veggies, meats and seafood were cooked in a spicy or a flavorful broth. And as things cooked, we fished them out. The waitress was on hand to add more water, turn down the heat and skim the broth as neccessary.
Then it was onto our first night train - we were panicked at the set up. Each section had 6 couchettes and they all opened into the same corridor. We thought that it'd be impossible to sleep but it turned out to be better than night trains we'd taken in France. It seems like China has mastered the art of night trains and people sleep peacefully. We arrived in Beijing at 6:30AM and fought our way out of the station to Yaya's mother's flat...
Stepping onto the bus was an adventure it itself - it was a Chinese tour. And all eyes were on us, once again. We're not quite sure what the guide was saying but she seemed to be ranting about something for most of the ride to the mountain. The bus somehow managed to make it up the hills, to the base of the mountain without tipping over or falling off a cliff. Keep in mind that there are no guard rails and road rules don't apply in China.
At the foot of the mountain, the guide yelled at us not to look at the souvenirs and then we started walking up the staircase that led to the monastery which looked like it was was sitting in the middle of nowhere. Along the way, there were red Taoist inscriptions carved into the mountain and red ribbons tied around the trees (we didn't understand why of course). We finally got to the monastery which turned out to be a multi-level complex of temples and halls. The most impressive temple was up a steep 105 stairway - so steep that we were practically climbing on all fours. We opted for the cable car to get back down the mountain. Half way down, we heard "hello. how are you?" from a car going up the mountain. It was the little girl who Jerome took a picture with the previous day. By the way, Bo is terrified of cable cars and his fingers must still hurt from holding on so tight.
Then it was back down the mountain for lunch at a rather crappy tourist place where we got our first look at the Hanging Temple. The temple looked like it would be a disapointment, but only from the bottom of the cliff. Our tour guide gave us an explanation of something - Bo gave us the basics. And then we climbed up some stairs and into the first level of the temple. It turns out it doesn't actually hang from the cliff face; there are wooden beams anchored in the rock and some poles (that seem not to do much) supporting it and keeping it from falling into what was once the Yellow River below (now dammed up).
As we climbed, there seemed to be more and more people and less and less space. The walkways became more narrow as we got higher. At the very top, it was barely wide enough for one person. Rebecca and Bo were hanging onto the walls, trying to get as far from the railing as possible, as Jerome and Yaya were busy hanging their heads over the edge and taking pictures. We weren't disappointed ...
Back in town, we met Xiao Wei's mother for "huo guo" or hot pot (Chinese fondue?). Rebecca was chopstick challenged and managed to burn our hostess. But the food was great - all sorts of veggies, meats and seafood were cooked in a spicy or a flavorful broth. And as things cooked, we fished them out. The waitress was on hand to add more water, turn down the heat and skim the broth as neccessary.
Then it was onto our first night train - we were panicked at the set up. Each section had 6 couchettes and they all opened into the same corridor. We thought that it'd be impossible to sleep but it turned out to be better than night trains we'd taken in France. It seems like China has mastered the art of night trains and people sleep peacefully. We arrived in Beijing at 6:30AM and fought our way out of the station to Yaya's mother's flat...
posted by Gros Joe at
4:29 PM
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