Different cultures have different ways of declaring that Spring has finally sprung, whether it is daffodils sprouting on your lawn and trees blooming, or holidays such as Holi in India and Qingming in China.
This weekend in China is the official start of spring and it is being rung in with the celebration of QingMing (清明) or the Tomb Sweeping Festival. While it isn't one of the biggest holidays in China, we still get off work/school so that is a good enough reason to celebrate in my book!
This holiday originated from the Cold Food Festival (寒食節), dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-470BCE). It was a festival to honor and remember the life and work of Jie Zitui. Jie was the guard and confidant of Chong'er, Duke Wen of Jin. He was so loyal, he stayed with Duke Wen throughout his years of exile and, according to legend, even cut off a bit of his thigh to make sure the Duke had meat in his soup. Once Duke Wen was returned to the throne, Jie retired from his duties and hid in the forest with his mother. Duke Wen, desperate to continue to have Jie's guidance, decided to burn the forest in order to force Jie out... We all know how that ends.
Sadly, Jie and his mother were both burnt to death in the fire. Duke Wen, overcome with guilt and grief, ordered three days of no fire in honor of Jie (hence "cold food" festival). While this is an ancient tale and could very well be more legend than historical fact, you can still find evidence of it's truth--the place where the fire took place is now called Jiexiu which means Jie's Rest.
Duke Wen reigned from 636-628BCE
But if we look at Qingming, today, it is not in honor of a Duke's advisor and confidant who died tragically over 2,000 years ago. The version of the holiday we celebrate today was created over a thousand years later by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Emperor Ming for short). At this time in Chinese history there was an extremely wide gap between the wealthy and the poor of China and nobles enjoyed spending enormous amounts of money on celebrations and festivals to honor their ancestors. Emperor Ming, hoping to put a stop to the frivolous spending, declared that there would be a holiday dedicated to remembering and honoring one's ancestors and that would be the only time in the year that anyone--nobleman or farmer--could honor their ancestors in such a way. Today, we call it Qingming or the Tomb Sweeping Festival.
Emperor Ming... my, what a guy! Thanks for the day off!
The name gives everything away--Tomb Sweeping. Chinese--both mainland and those living overseas--visit the tombs of their ancestors: whether they died last year or a hundred years ago. They clean the tomb (shock shock!), decorate it with flowers, burn incense and fake paper money, and they also offer food to their ancestors. Many people also purchase willow branches to carry around in order to ward off evil spirits that might also be wandering around on Qingming.
Fake money to burn for your ancestors--sometimes they are modern day bills with Mao on them and other times they are more traditional.
Here we can see food offerings for the ancestors as well as the beautiful decorations left in their honor.
For a country that is moving forward and developing so quickly, it's nice to know that at least once a year, many still return to their family tomb and remember their ancestors and show respect and love for their family.
And of, course a Chinese holiday would be incomplete without a special food you're supposed to eat. Mid-Autumn Festival has moon cakes and Dragon Boat Festival has zhongzi. For Qingming, we eat qingtuan which are green dumplings made of glutinous rice and either Chinese mugwort or barley grass. Sadly, I have not managed to find these yet.
While Qingming may not be the most popular holiday in China (let's be honest, it's no Spring Festival), it is still important... so much so that you can find similar customs in different cultures all over the world. It's so similar to our Halloween and Mexico's Día de Muertos with the idea that the veil between Here and There is thin enough for the spirits of our loved ones and ancestors to return and visit us. Halloween has definitely taken on a much more secular, fun path while Día de Muertos is still very much about honoring those who have already journeyed on ahead of us. We see so many other similar festivals made to honor and remember those we love who are gone too soon. All Soul's Day is still practiced in Catholic parts of Europe. The Bon Festival (お盆) in Japan is held in August as a part of the Ghost Month. And there's Gaijatra (गाई जात्रा) in Nepal, Chuseok (추석) in Korea, Pitru Paksha (पितृ पक्ष) in India. One of the more interesting ones takes place in Madagascar. Every seven years in winter (which is actually June to September down under), the people of Madagascar take part in Famadihana, or the festival of Turning the Bones. Family members return to the family tomb and pull out the bodies of their dead relatives. With music and dancing they rewrap the bodies in silk scarves and spray perfume on them before parading around the tomb and being placed back inside. This may seem morbid to some of us, but it comes from the Malagasy belief that a person's spirit cannot enter the afterlife until their body is completely decomposed.
Sorry... I really like the macabre...
Anyway!
We are now off school until Tuesday (which is actually my usual schedule each week but I'll still take it). Yesterday, we wandered downtown... not to get qingtuan but a pizza buffet instead (no judging). While walking around we were able to see the difference in street vendors as the Tomb Sweeping Festival crept closer and closer. There are carts lining the sidewalk, selling incense and paper money for you to burn at altars and tombs. Old ladies sell beautiful paper flowers to decorate gravesites. We even saw a few men selling palm branches (at the time, we didn't know it was anything special--but remember: if you carry around a palm branch on the day of Qingming, you can protect yourself from any evil spirit that might cross your path).
This is on our street corner across from the super market.
I have to say it's interesting, being on this side of a death. In the past I would see Qingming as a romantic holiday, thinking back to all the love that led to you. Don't get me wrong--I'm not a stranger to people I know and love dying. My best friend died in a tragic accident when I was only nine. I lost three of my grandparents when I was nineteen. For years, I've encountered death and moved on... But my brother's death last April is one of those moments in your life that both haunts you and shapes you for the rest of your days. Sadly, being a member of the cancer community now, your life is filled with bad news and deaths far too soon--just two months ago now (how has it only been two months?) Jed's best friend's dad and our family friend, Dan Hughes, passed away after his epic battle with cancer. Because of how prevalent death has now become in my life, I see Qingming in a very different way than I did my first year in China. It's not a romantic holiday... if anything, people are grieving and it should be respected as it is celebrated.
I do think it's interesting that Qingming--a holiday intended to remember and honor family members who have died--falls in the same week as the one year mark of Jed passing away. I get a sort of Twilight Zone, are you f***ing kidding me feeling right about now (but not as much as the fact that Hong Kong Disneyland's Pin Trading Fun Day falls exactly on April 8th... one of Jed's favorite things to collect and do).
So even though I have no tomb to sweep, no money to burn, and no qingtuan to eat, I am joining the Chinese as they remember, mourn, and honor their family who have journeyed on, whether it was a thousand years ago or just one painfully long year ago...
Have you seen the trailer to the new movie Pan? Well if you know me and you know how excited I am about it, you can probably put together that this is a Peter Pan movie ::happy dance:: Now, this blog post is not about my pathetic and sometimes disturbing obsession with Peter Pan (seriously, I planned on marrying him when I was a little girl) even into my twenties, but rather the theme song from that movie. It's called "I Believe" by Christina Perri and maybe it was popular in America, maybe not (even if I was in the country, I wouldn't know) but ever since I heard the line, "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning" as the Jolly Roger flies through the clouds towards Never Neverland, I loved the song and it has become my theme for the coming year... My mantra even.
Did you ever want to go to Neverland? As a young girl, I sat by my window every night from my 12th birthday to my 13th birthday trying to find that second star to the right and searching the heavens for the shadow of a young boy flying down to earth--flying down to my window--to take me away from my boring life where I felt sad, lonely, and troubled. Of course, the troubles of a 12 year old are different from those of a 24 year old or a 33 year old or a 50 year old--but troubles are troubles and sometimes you still want to go away, disappear... fly away.
Maybe you've been sick this year. Or your heart was broken. Maybe you lost your job or you lost a loved one. Maybe your relationship fell apart or maybe you are just drowning in doubts and fears and you feel like you can't make it through the storm. But it is the dark moments that reveal the light to us, the phoenix rises up right after it bursts painfully into flames, the caterpillar turns into a butterfly, the sun sets in a fiery burst only to return just as bright. So even if you are at a crossroads or you are hurting, if you think that you are knocked down as low as you can possibly go, consider this blog post the hand reaching out to you, pulling you back up to your feet, and cheering you on!
It could be very easy for me to throw 2014 away, toss it into the locked box that hides 2009. 2014 was a rough year. Anytime cancer pops up in anyone's life, it is rough. My baby brother--the only brother I ever had and the only one I ever want--is under attack from an enemy that cheats and plays dirty. I have watched him fight and struggle. I have watched him cry, lose his hair, grow thinner (which is saying something). I have had to sit back while he is cut open, bleeding, in pain, and attached to wires and machines. I am his big sister. I've always looked out for him, stood up for him, and protected him... and I have been made helpless, forced to sit back, unable to fight for him. From August 6, 2014 until this very moment, a football sized tumor dubbed Henry has tried to take over the year of 2014, trying to poison it and taint it but I have not allowed it to do that, Jed has not allowed it, NO ONE has allowed it.
So, yes--2014 SUCKED because of the attack on my brother.... I will not belittle the battle he is still fighting even as I type these words, but I will not let this be what I remember 2014 for... So many other amazing things happened this year. I've made a Top 10 Best Moments of 2014 to remember this year by.
And so, without further adieu...
#10. Working at HNU
This might be surprising. Not many people claim to love their job. It's true there are a lot of things that I HATE about working in China but my students make it all worthwhile. They think I am a rock star and I like to treat them as my friends rather than a rabble I have to babysit for two hours a week. I've been their therapist, their tutor, their ambassador, and their friend. They come to me with questions about English and relationships. I teach them about Halloween and table manners. They give me dried squid (at least I think it was squid) and I give them Reese's. I help them carve jack-o-lanterns and they fold origami for me. I was able to teach them for a year and a half and when I left them a few weeks ago, I got movies, gifts, letters, postcards, a Tshirt, and movies of the kids. I hope and pray that I can return in the spring but if not, the last year and a half has been a blessing.
#9. Kids With Sass
These kids are crazy and made my life in China a happy one. From games of Cards Against Humanity and Settlers to nights sitting in the street, eating BBQ and drinking cheap Chinese beer, we bonded over our crazy lives in China, my dirty jokes, and deep conversations where we poured our hearts out to each other. We went on adventures with each other all over the world... laughing along the way.
#8. Mom's visit to China
Not only did I get to go to China but I got to show it and explore it with my mother too! I've been to the Great Wall... but I got to go back with my mom and how many people can say that?! From smelling stinky tofu, walking around West Lake, climbing through the tea fields, eating dog, drinking nasty Chinese liquor, and seeing Shanghai and Beijing... It was empowering to know that I could do this all myself and it was a once in a lifetime trip for a mother and a daughter.
#7. Summer Adventures in America
Originally, I didn't plan on coming back to America for the summer holiday but after realizing that literally EVERYONE I knew was leaving, I decided to head back too, and I got to spend time with Adam and his family and the lucky dog got to spend time with my family as well. Minnesota and Wisconsin (and Chicago)--two states I never thought I would go visit--and New York where Adam got to try legit chicken wings... It wasn't the ideal summer visit and it certainly didn't go according to plan, but we still managed to have a great time!
#6. National Holiday in Xi'an
One of the best things about living in China is the amount of holiday time that we get--a week in October and then five weeks in February. This National Holiday, Adam and I decided to head out west to Xi'an, home of the Silk Road, Hua Shan, and the Terracotta Warriors. We reveled in the delicious food, rich history, magnitude of the warriors, and thrived up on Mount Hua. I have found my love, my friend, my partner in crime, and an ideal travel companion. BOOM.
#5. Getting professionally published
It has been a dream of mine since I started writing hardcore in 2001 to get published one day... to have something that I wrote read by someone other than my mother. Of course, my dream is to be the author of at least a halfway decent book series but in November, I got my first shot at a real publication--an article I wrote about Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) was published in a magazine called "That's China." It came at a time when I was seriously doubting my abilities--that, along with Adam's belief in me was my life raft. Exciting news! FIVE more articles will be published in the January issue!!
#4. Red for Jed
How can I even begin to talk about this? In a moment of great sadness and tragedy you find out just how much good there is in the world? When you fall, you realize people are there to pick you up? When you are busy fighting a battle, you find that there is a legion of friends watching your back for you? Yup, that about sums it up... Whether it is leaving dinners for us, wearing red, donating money, or attending benefits--trust me--your kindness has not gone by unnoticed (even in China!!). Thank you... one and all.
#3. Spring Festival
This might be a little selfish, putting this so far down the list, but I seriously felt so alive on this trip. From riding on an e-bike through the cooky hills of Yangshuo to climbing the freakin' Himalayas and looking out onto Mount Everest, I went to places and saw sites that I only ever dreamed of. I won't get to travel around Asia this Spring Festival, and because of that, I am so thankful for how much life I sucked out of last year's Spring Festival--Yangshuo, Hong Kong, Nepal, and Malaysia. Not too shabby...
#2. Jed's Graduation
There are a few moments in your life that are those "road marker" type of moments and I think graduating high school is one of them (even if it is lower on the list). My family and I had concocted a plan and I was able to come back to America without Jed knowing. The day of his graduation, I hid backstage before walking across the stage to present him with a scholarship. Watching him run across the stage and pick me up in the best hug ever with tears in his eyes is a moment I will never, ever forget.
#1. A Little Christmas Surprise
I like surprising my brother, I suppose. A few weeks before Christmas, I decided that I didn't want to be away from my family for the holidays after the year we had been experiencing. So, a week before Christmas, I sadly bade farewell to Adam and hopped on a plane back to New York where I surprised Jed, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins. I like surprises!!
And I have one more moment I would like to include... because I like to go above and beyond what is expected:
The best moment of the year:
As if there was any doubt. I have fallen in love and I feel as though my life has gone to another level that I never expected it to go! The self proclaimed crazy cat lady has found herself an amazing young man to share the rest of her life with and take care of all her cats for her! Getting to know him and learning to fall in love was quite the adventure... Onto the next adventure on August 8th!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So, every year, I like to give little honorable mentions to different things. So without further ado...
Favorite Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation (both of which I am reading right now)
Favorite Movie:(ironically) The Fault in our Stars
Favorite TV Show: Outlander
NaNoWriMo: Robyn (76,150 words)
Things completed from the Life List:
1. Go to the fish doctor (#201): My first day in Yangshuo and again in Xi'an, the little fish nibble the dead skin off your feet... So much fun!!
2. Cruise down the Li River (#233): A crazy day of hiking, we were forced to take the bamboo boat because the path ended at the river!
3. See the largest seated Buddha (#52): A beautiful, tranquil place in Hong Kong where tourists, monks, and pilgrims come together at the feet of the Buddha.
4. Make my own Buffalo chicken wings and eat them (#139): As a girl from Buffalo, this needs no explanation.
5. Make pottery (#160): I've always wanted to be crafty and a small workshop in Hangzhou made my dream come true!
6. Leave a letter at the Lake Harriet Elf House (#223): And I got a letter back in return!
7. Hike the Cliffside Plank Park (#129): Almost died and it was AWESOME!!
Places Visited:
-China
-Yangshuo
-Shenzhen
-Beijing
-Shanghai
-ZhangJiaJie
-HuangShan
-Xi'an
-HuaShan
-Hong Kong
-Nepal
-Kathmandu
-Lukla
-Namche Bazaar
-Malaysia
-Kuala Lumpur
-Langkawi
-Minnesota
-Wisconsin
-Chicago
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This New Year's Eve will be very different--I will not be in Shanghai with my fiance and I will not get that beloved midnight kiss under the mistletoe... But I get to be with my family. This has been a year of "equivalent exchange." Do you know the anime Fullmetal Alchemist? Well, I'm a nerd and that is one of my favorite shows. In the opening of almost every single episode, it says, "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return--to obtain, something of equal value must be lost..." (I totally did that from memory and--don't lie--you read it in Al's voice). But I'm finding this to be bizarrely true this year: I had an amazing adventure over Spring Festival but my phone got stolen. Adam got to meet my family but we spent most of our time in the hospital. I got engaged to Adam but we missed our trip to Xinjiang. I got to spend Christmas with my brother but not with Adam. I'm starting to see where Ed and Al were coming from--equivalent exchange sucks!
So you can see--even in the face of great sadness and hardship, there were many good things that happened to me in 2014. I will not choose to label 2014 as the "worst year of my life" because so many wonderful things happened as well. Bad things did happen (as bad things tend to happen in life) but I choose to not dwell on them, bitch and moan about them, and ask, "Why me?" I will not let the sadness win. I choose happiness... and I hope you do too.
The beginning of a new year is always scary. You don't know the
potential of the year. Will it be good to you or will you be happy to
see it leave at the stroke of midnight? Will you lose family members?
Will you fall in love? Will you be healthy? Will you be happy? Will you
be sad? Maybe a new job or a new home? No one--not even the wisest
people in your life--can possibly know what tomorrow brings, much less
the next 365 days.
I hope 2014 was kind to you... and if it was not, do not dwell on the
past ("Hakuna Matata!" as some might say). Learn from your mistakes and
painful experiences. Grow. Forgive. Love. Be happy. Be healthy. Try new
things. Smile to strangers. Laugh often and love even more. Make 2015
the best year of your life... because nobody has that power except YOU.
"I believe that tomorrow is stronger than yesterday"... I hope you give life a chance to dazzle you.
I admit: since I have come to China, I have become a mountain nut. The first mountain I ever climbed was Mount Blue when I was spending the summer in Maine in 2005. I was tired, wore the wrong shoes, was not prepared, and hated every moment of it (I was also a super moody teenager at that time and, therefore, hated everything). At that time, it would have been safe to say that I would probably never set foot on a mountain (or outside in the wilderness) ever again. Looking back today, I cannot believe that I could have ever felt that way! Throughout college and beyond, I grew to once more adore the outdoors--camping, hiking, and (most recently), mountain climbing. My first mountain that I attempted was not in China, but in Nepal (go big or go home, I suppose... catch up on that adventure here!). I hiked through the Himalayas with my girlfriend and made it up to 2,440m (that's 11,290ft) and found that I loved the way my body felt after an intense day of hiking. Back in China, I visited Zhang Jia Jie in May with the one and only Big Four adventure (check it out!) and Yellow Mountain with Adam just last month (right over here!!). I have definitely tried to make up for lost time when it comes to traversing one of God and nature's greatest creations so when I knew we were going to Xi'an for National Holiday, there was something else, just 75 miles outside the city that I wanted to do.
Hua Shan (华山) is a little different from the other mountains that I have climbed in China. Like so many beautiful places in nature, Hua Shan has been given a role of spiritual and religious importance (even in the atheist country of China). As early as the second century BC, there have been Taoist temples on top of the mountain due to it's immense natural beauty. Taoists actually believe that the god of the Underworld lives beneath the mountain and the mediums at the temples communicate with the god. Equally interesting, Hua Shan has also always been a beacon for immortality seekers due to the rare and coveted herbs that grow on the peaks... some of them believed to give you eternal life. Today, the China Taoist Association helps to run and maintain the peaks, discouraging poaching and logging and keeping the mountain a holy place even today in the secular 2014.
It's importance in the Taoist faith can be seen in it's title--it is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. Originally I thought that Yellow Mountain must also be included and maybe even Zhang Jia Jie... but in truth, I don't know if I have heard of any of the other mountains. Tai Shan (泰山)the "Tranquil Mountain" in the east, Hua Shan (华山)the "Splendid Mountain" in the west, Heng Shan (衡山)the "Balancing Mountain" in the south, Heng Shan (恒山)the "Permanent Mountain" in the north (yes they have the same name), and the great central mountain, Song Shan (嵩山), the "Lofty Mountain." The five mountains are arranged according to the traditional cardinal directions in geomancy (divination using markings in the ground) and their fame grew during the reign of Emperor Wudi in 140BC (so their title of being sacred has definitely been around for awhile now).
Of course, geologists and scientists know that the mountains are millions of years old, standing through the tests of time, earthquakes, and a modernization of a nation. But legend has a very different origin to these five sacred mountains...
According the legend, the five sacred mountains originated from the body of Pangu, the first being and the creator of the world. It is believed that in the beginning, the chaos of the universe formed an egg where yin and yang were perfectly balanced together until Pangu hatched from the egg and split yin and yang with his great axe. He formed the earth (yin) and the heavens (yang) and to keep them separated, he continued to stand between the two, pushing up the sky. This took 18,000 years and after Pangu placed the heavens where he wanted them to be, he laid down and died. His breath became the wind; his voice, thunder; his left eye, the sun; his right eye, the moon; his blood, the rivers; his facial hair, the stars and Milky Way; his bone marrow, sacred diamonds; his sweat, rain. On top of all this, his body also helped to form the five sacred mountains (and I'm assuming all the other mountains in China, too): Tai Shan was his head, Heng Shan was his right arm, the other Heng Shan was his left arm, Song Shan was his belly, and Hua Shan was his feet.
Pangu is kind of giving me a Yeti vibe...
Enough history lesson!
Hua Shan is one of the tourist attractions in the Xi'an area; it's a bit further out but definitely worth the trip and a nice way to get outside of a big city, even if it is just for a few days.
We got our train tickets (standing room only but we managed to nab seats anyway!) and took the two hour train ride from Xi'an to the village of Hua Shan where (after a bit of difficulty), we found our hostel, Bao Lian She, which was literally two blocks from the base of the mountain.
There is a wonderful vibe in the village of Hua Shan--a feeling of adventure! I haven't felt anything like it since I was in Kathmandu; a sort of feeling like everyone is sharing the same amazing adventure together. Everyone who is in that village will climb, is about to climb, or just finished climbing Hua Shan. There are stores selling back packs, walking sticks, head lamps, gloves, and maps. It is actually super popular to start your hike at twilight, climb all through the night to the East Peak, and watch the sun rise. I don't know about you, but that sounds dangerous. So instead, Adam and I woke up right before dawn to start our trek up Hua Shan.
Baozi at 5am... Champion level reached.
Hiking in China is very different from hiking in America, or really anywhere else I have been in the past. Where you hike through winding dirt paths through a dense forest in America or Sweden, in China, there are rarely ever forests and the paths are always one of two things: concrete slopes or stairs. Yeah. Stairs. Let's just say that climbing a mountain up thousands of flights of stairs SUCKS.
We started our hike at about 6am, just as the sun was starting to rise. It was quiet (which is hard to say in China) and there were only a few other hikers on the trail. We hiked uphill, up countless steps, the cold Autumn air keeping us cool and upbeat. The stairs were so steep at some points that they resembled a ladder where we had to cling to the rusty chains to try and pull ourselves up, not thinking of the dangerous fall behind us.
I'll be honest: Hua Shan was really nothing special. I had already been to Zhang Jia Jie that was so expansive and massive and Yellow Mountain that was so unique and tall being hidden in the clouds. Hua Shan was the same shade as Yellow Mountain but lacked the impressive peaks and sights. If I had to recommend a mountain for you to go visit, it would not be Hua Shan.
EXCEPT!
The Plank Path in the Sky.
If you have ever seen one of those slideshows on random websites like "20 Unknown Travel Destinations" or "Craziest Hiking Paths" you have probably seen photos of the plank path. I saw photos of it years ago and instantly added it to My Life List. When Adam and I decided to go to Xi'an for National Holiday, THIS was the reason why I wanted to go to Hua Shan... The Plank Path and to cross it off the bucket list.
It is (technically) the deadliest hiking path in the world but if you are smart and calm, it is a walk in the park (1,000 feet in the air).
We waited in line for about an hour because of the holiday traffic but it was well worth the wait and I would do it all over again, getting pushed and bumped by hundreds of strangers.
We paid the 30元 for the safety harness (yes, we were safe the whole time) and we slowly made our descent to the side of the mountain.
You walk along this path until it ends at a rock face. The wind whipping around you and blasting your hair in your face, you look down to see a small hole, just big enough for a person to fit through. Ever so slowly, you lower yourself down into the hole and grab onto the iron bars that act as a makeshift ladder, leading you lower and lower down the side of the mountain. I tried to see if going backwards or forward would be better. I prefer to look Death in the face so I went down the ladder forward, the wind biting at my cheeks and putting the biggest smile on my face.
Once you are down on solid ground (I use that term lightly), it is onward along the side of the mountain. There is a thick, rusty chain that you can hold onto as you slowly make your way along the plank path. The path is about two feet wide and slippery from years of adventurers going ahead of you and just one step the wrong way will send you plummeting thousands of feet into certain death (but a pretty cool way to go... even if it would be considered a stupid mistake). The first few steps are small ledges carved into the rock face but soon you are safely on the crudely made path making your way along the world's most dangerous hiking trail.
We hiked along the narrow plank for about fifteen minutes before we reached another makeshift ladder but this time without the crude metal bars--just some holes dug into the rock. Trying to ignore the fact that slipping and falling would probably be a bad idea, we slowly made our way up the crowded ladder, trying to work together with the people around us (trying doing that without speaking the same language). Our blood pumping, our hearts pounding, and our muscles shaking, we pulled ourselves up that final step of the ladder, quickly bopped along the cutout openings along the rock wall once more and landed on (legit) solid ground. We had made it to our destination!
Now you might think at the end of all this there might be something that is actually worthwhile--worth the 30元, worth the terror, and worth the whole ordeal. Maybe an ancient Taoist temple? Or better yet! A restaurant selling beer?! How about C). None of the above.
At the end of the road, was a very small altar built into the wall of the side of the mountain and a large carving in the rock that read, "Congrats, loser! You didn't die!" (Not really... I honestly have no clue what it says...). I think it was at this point that Adam thought of divorcing me before we even said, "I do." Not exactly the exciting destination that websites make you think resides at the end of the dangerous and mysterious plank path...
But you know what? I'm okay with it just being an altar and not a restaurant selling ice cold beer (seriously, I'm not bitter). It reminded me of just exactly where I was. This amazing experience didn't end at a restaurant or a gift shop but rather an altar--an altar on one of the holiest mountains in all of China. It was sobering--you feel like you had just conquered this great thing (whether it was death, a fear of heights, or the mountain, itself) and suddenly you are taken down off of your high horse and once again reminded just how small you are in the shade of Hua Shan.
We turned around for the return trip and this time we were a bit braver actually looking down and stopping to pose for a picture or two(thousand).
I was thrilled to be able to do this for so many reasons. First of all, it was on My Life List (#129... CROSS IT OFF!!) and I always get this amazing high when I can cross something off my List (sadly, I left the actual list in my apartment in Hangzhou so I couldn't cross it off on the mountain). But another reason why I loved this was that it pushed myself once more. It might not have been in the same way as hiking through the Himalayas and pushing my body physically but it was a similar sensation. As I was climbing down to the plank for the first time, the sun was beating down on me, the sky was blue, the mountains were laid out beneath me like a cooky carpet, the wind kept me cool and messed my hair up at the same time. Nature was all around me, coursing through me, enveloping me in its grasp. As I danced with death (even just the slightest bit), I felt so connected to the world around me and that was one of the times in my life that I have felt the most alive (that and the feeling of my heart pounding so rapidly that I could hear it in my ears).
I think, in the end, Adam enjoyed it too... Even though I forced him into it!!
Feeling like we could fly, there was a new bounce in our step as we decided to keep going just a bit further to the summit of the mountain--the South Peak. It's not nearly as high as I was in the Himalayas but it is the highest peak I have climbed to in China (Zhang Jia Jie was 1128m and Yellow Mountain was 1860m). At around 3pm, we made it to the summit of the South Peak at 2155m.
Add our medals to the collection!!
Once again, nature has dazzled me with it's beauty and greatness. The stairs that I had to climb in order to experience both nature and adventure were nearly impossible (and showed me that I need to try and get into shape). Adam and I managed to weave our way through the sea of humanity, safely navigate the paths of Hua Shan, and had a once in a lifetime experience on the side of a mountain, thousands of feet in the air... If that is not living, then I don't know what is!
“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my
ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where
