Lushan is a very important cultural/historical/political collection of 99 mountain peaks. Numerous important philosopher, poets, monks, artists, and political leaders (including Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong) have had residences or spent considerable time here. Today it is a national park and a popular tourist destination for the Chinese.
Lushan is known for being somewhat enigmatic, usually hidden behind a shroud of cloud and mist. Our visit was no exception. The early part of the day was misty with light rain, which became significant rain for the latter part of the day. However it was not cold or windy, and the weather did not seem to deter the crowds. We hired our China guide and driver for this special trip (not part of the usual adoption visitors itinerary).
It took about 90 minutes to reach Lushan from where we are staying in Nanchang. It's interesting riding the highways here because every so often everyone has to stop to pass through another toll booth and security check. A picture is taken of the van through every checkpoint. The road into the mountains becomes really twisted, which is when the fun begins. Chinese drivers don't seem to have much patience for one another. To navigate around slower traffic they take seemingly insane risks. It's common for other drivers to just start honking, merge into oncoming traffic with blind curves and pass six cars and a bus. Our driver isn't quite that impatient, but it's still a wild ride. The interesting thing is that I call it "impatience", but really it's some kind of mutual understanding drivers all have. I never see anyone loose their cool or get angry, but everyone constantly cuts each other off, honks constantly, and pulls stunts I would never do in the States.
Our first stop is at the former residence (one of many) of Mao Zedong. He only lived here very occasionally, but it's still a major deal to the Chinese. His personal belongings are enshrined, and his bedroom and bathroom are kept exactly as they were when he used them.
Next we visited an awesome vista of one of the valleys. Our observation deck / pagoda thing was on a SHEER cliff, dropping hundreds of feed straight down. The swirling mists rising and falling over the ridges was surreal! We met a guy there who walks up to that spot every weekend from one of the towns at the base of Lushan. He was cooking a backpacking-style lunch in the pagoda using a camp stove, and was dressed in western-style Gore-tex rain gear. He was pretty excited to meet Americans, so we all posed for a group picture with him.
We had lunch at a "humble restaurant". Being a tourist destination, our guide explained, many of the lunch spots were rather expensive. We were led upstairs to a long hall with numerous rooms...like a college dormitory. Our guide started opening random doors, looking for a suitable room for us. After checking several, we came upon on room that was actually some guy's bedroom. Awkward! So we backed up one room and entered in. It was a private room with a couple of large round tables. We were provided eating "kits", with plates, glass, and bowl all shrink wrapped together. Our guide explained that it's common for some restaurants to do this to give the impression that the utensils are extra-clean. She pulled out a glass, held it to the light, and proved her point. We were brought sever entrees, including tofu/pork, some kind of celery stif-fry (really good, but it's some kind of plant I've never tasted before), and a mushroom dish. It was a real experience eating "humble-style" for sure!
After lunch we visited the Flower Path, made famous by an ancient poet. It was really nice, with rock inscriptions made by the Poet himself hundreds of years ago. After that we hit the restroom (another real experience) and then one of the popular mountain trails.
This trail was outstanding! It was a narrow cobblestone walkway that meandered on the sheer sides of one of the mountains. There were numerous vista points, commemorative pagodas and shrines, and MONKEYS. We were totally caught off-guard by a small troupe of monkeys, begging cookies off the hikers. Knowing how bitey monkeys can be when food is on the line, I was a little unnerved. There were some baby monkeys, too, which was fun. The trail was super-crowded. People walked this trail and hit the points of interest at a breakneck speed. It was hard to stop walking ever, because there was a never-ending line of fast-walking tourists and umbrellas right behind you, being led by really loud squawking tour guides with loud speakers. Even though it was raining hard the whole time, nobody seemed to mind. I was surprised that so many tourists dressed-to-the-nines to hike in the rain, high heels, dresses, and umbrellas decorated with rhinestones walking on slick, steep, cobblestone trails.
The thought of it makes me laugh as I write this! It does surprise me how lightly and rapid everyone was visiting the shrines and locations that had supposedly deep and heavy cultural significance. Nobody seemed to stop to even think for a minute. It was all about getting through the trail rapidly without much consideration for the destinations or meaning along the way. I mention this because I realized later that this experience was very symbolic of how much of people's lives are lived here in Nanchang (and most cities I suspect). China is charging ahead at a breakneck pace, but I wonder if some things are being lost or missed along the way.
We were soaked and plenty tired after that, but took the public bus and hiked to one last hike to a famous vista. It was totally cloudy, rainy, and windy. It was a bust, and confirmation that it was time to go.
We had some oatmeal in our rooms and called it a day. Tomorrow...Brielle!
[I'm writing this a couple days after the fact, and we actually already have Brielle. Don't let the timestamp on the blog post confuse you.]
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