My Week of Adventures, Part 7: 华山

The next day of our vacation (I've forgotten which day exactly) we decided to conquer Mount Hua (华山 Hua Shan, literally Flower Mountain). The mountain is a 2 hour bus ride from Xi'an and is described by many as "the most perilous mountain in China!" Find out more about its long history here.

All of our students suggested that we climb the mountain at night, because "you can't fear what you don't see!" Also, by starting the climb around 11pm, we would reach the eastern summit just in time for sunrise. My Frommer's China guide simply said "This is not sensible." Well, sorry Mr. Frommer but we had to experience it like the locals do, even if it meant accidentally stumbling off a cliff in the dark (which some of my students warned me had happened in the past).We arrived at the base of the mountain far around 8pm and far too early to start our ascent, so we enjoyed some dishes (and beer!) at one the many restaurants catering to the hikers. The whole street reminded me of some prospectors town from the gold rush. Everyone was selling last minute necessities to climbers, like maps, white gloves, and red ties emblazoned with the words 华山. (You can see one draped around David's neck - for only 2 kuai!)

We stopped in this park to play some charades before starting on our climb.

With our hiking shoes and bags filled with water and snacks, we looked about ready for a month-long excursion into the Amazon compared to the other climbers. Most of the Chinese people were wearing their normal, everyday clothes. We even saw one guy in dress shoes and a suit coat. Here is us and a few of our compatriots in front of the entrance to the mountain.

We must have looked pretty stupid for carrying our own water and food onto the mountain when we could have just bought it there. The path was lined with little shops selling beverages and snacks to tired climbers.

National Day vacation rears its ugly head again. The mountain was filled with like-minded tourists making their way to the top. Here is the line of people winding down the mountain behind us. At this point, we were literally at a stand-still, waiting in line to climb further up the slope.

In the end, it was well worth it. Here is the view from the eastern peak around 6:15 am, right before sunrise.

The red head ties everyone buys at the base of the mountain get clipped to the railings along with little locks inscribed with a few words (wishing good health for the family or to commemorate a romance). It makes for a beautiful picture with the mountains in the background.

A friendly reminder to step carefully.

The thought of climbing back down the mountain was too painful after a sleepless night and with very tired legs, so we decided to spring for the cable cars which took a cool 5 minutes to bring us to the bottom.

Thus concludes my blog about the National Day vacation (finally). Click here to see more pictures from the week.