Back from the Mountains~~~

Yay! Back from the Wu Dang Mountains! I think now that we’ve climbed so many staircases, I’m a little immune to it now. XP

But seriously, the mountains were really beautiful. And cold. And really high up.

We started the journey there with a five hour bus ride. Really. I think my butt is a little sore from all that sitting because the ride was bumpy. We watched a Hong Kong movie on the trip there and it was really funny but a little (actually more than a little) confusing. On the way there, we saw many plantations near the expressway, and there were oxen that were ploughing the fields. There a like little plots of different kinds of plants and the different colours of the different plants makes the entire patch of field look like a patchwork quilt. It’s charming. I like it. J

When we got there, it was cold. The wind was quite strong and we were in the warm bus for five hours. Got a real shock when we stepped out. We ate our lunch there. It would mark the first of the same meals we will eat there. We started our climb right after we lunched. The mountains are sacred land for the Taoists. They built many temples and shrines dedicated to their Taoist deities and many of them are still pretty well preserved.

We went up the Prince’s Slope first. It was named that way because the prince went up to the mountains to study and train and he always went to the same slope that’s why they named it the Prince’s slope. The architecture there is simply amazing. Even though it was at the base of the mountain, it must’ve been such a huge task building it. It is pretty well kept preserved over so many years, and the history with it. The guide says there are buildings built as early as before the 10^th century. The buildings are more than a thousand years old!

Then we went to the Purple Cloud Palace. It was the first palace we’ve been to in the mountains. This was really well preserved. It was the most well preserved temple in the Wu Dang Mountains we’ve visited. The palace used to house the royal families of the different Dynasties. In the front of the palace is the royal receiving hall that only high ranking officials can enter the palace to consult with the emperor. There are three staircases leading to the hall. The two at the sides are meant for the officials to walk as the one in the middle and directly facing the entrance is meant for the deities. The rest of the palace is really cool. There are, of course, more shrines in the palace. But each temple is unique in its own ways. The temples also worship different deities, and we learn a little something about the many different deities, such as their legends and history.

After we visited the palace, went to take the bus up to our hotel. The bus ride was horrible. There were so many hairpin turns and sudden brakes. I had a headache, so the dizziness makes everything worst. T.T But I ate some headache meds, and I think it worked, so it could’ve been worse.

 

After a bit, we had our dinner. And the fare was the same as what we ate for lunch. I think that’s the usual dishes they have on Wu Dang. But I think the one we had at the hotel was better than the one we had in the restaurant for lunch. At night, me and Xenia watched Night At The Museum! We were surfing the channel and we saw it when it was starting not long ago. In the end, we finished the movie after 1 a.m. and we had to wake up at 7 in the morning.  

The second day we went up further into the mountains. I remember going to the Nan Yan Palace. We bought lockets. These lockets are for safety. You engrave your’s and your family’s names on the locket and find a place to lock it. These lockets do not have any keys to them, so we had to be careful not to lock them before we find a place to lock them at. We also went further into the temple. The temple was really cramped but it was really beautiful inside. I changed some coins and threw them at a drum. When the coins strike the drum, it will have a loud sound generated by the drums. It’s said that hitting the drums can bring safety to the person. We took lots of pictures and even ate an ice cream on our way up to the Nan Yan Palace(though it was really cold). J

After going to the Nan Yan Palace, we had lunch, then we went up the mountains. We took the cable car up(the ride was steep) and climbed the rest of the way to the peak. We went to Tian Zhu peak, where the Golden Hall is located at. It wasn’t an easy climb, I tell you. the stiars are all uneven, and the steps differ in their widths as well. I almost tripped once when I was making my way down the steps because the steps were too narrow! On the peak, there are a lot of people. It is very crowded, and people are coming at a steady stream. The Golden Hall is at the top of the peak, and we stuck our hands in through the bars and touched the wall. I think it’s for luck. It was really cold, but the view. You can see the surrounding mountains of the Wu Dang Mountain Range, and the peaks of the other mountains. Some has buildings on the mountains, some have sheer cliff faces. But you can look across the whole mountain range. It is so high up, and paths narrow. But it was interesting to look, touch, and experience all this ancient history for myself. The Tian Zhu peak is the first mountain peak I’ve made it to, I can’t help but feel proud that I’ve climbed (at the least, some of it) to the peak.

When we finally made our way down from the peak, the guide told us there is a shrine nearby and that we could go in and make a round to turn our luck. We were curious, and also a little kiasu, so we went ahead. It was really cramped, and we had to slide between a very narrow space between the alter and the walls of the shrine. We entered through the right side of the altar and made our round, with our hands on the wall. It was really, really dark inside. I was blind in there, with only the walls to guide me. It was a really interesting experience, and I was glad I did it. :D

Finally when we made it back down the cable car, it is time to go back to the university. We took the tour shuttle bus straight down the mountain, and the turns and brakes didn’t affect me as much as it did when we went up. I hope this means I’m cured of car sickness…

We said bye to our mountain guide and took the bus back to the university. Another five hour ride, I was bored stiff and wanted to stretch my legs. We got down for dinner (cup noodles) and went back on for another three to four hour ride without any more stops. We finished another movie. It was really funny. The screen played a very familir scene at first. It was the first movie we watched the day before! Everyone was groaning and after some effort from the bus driver (he sure can multi task!) and our local guide, a new movie was played. It was Yip Man, the Prologue. It was so interesting, and Donny Yen is sooooo cute in the show. The action scenes especially caught my attention. This coming from a tom boy who loves to watch Kung Fu(especially Jet Li ones) movies and shows. We reached the school a little after eleven at night. It was cold as well, but after the mountains, I’m a little used to the cold.

Today, we had our first Interdisciplinary Studies module. We are, of course, taking the Chinese Culture module. The lecture was longer than expected, but it was interesting. I’ve always been interested about ancient Chinese history, and this module do talk about some of it, so I’m glad. J the teacher is really nice and polite, though she said we could just call her Caroline, but here in China, I don’t feel comfortable doing that. No matter how young she is, I feel it’s better to call her Miss Caroline, rather than just her name. I don’t know, but that seems better and more appropriate.

We talked about the interesting facts of the county of Hubei, which is where we are now. We are in one of the three cities of Hubei, Wu Chang. We learned that some of the most famous figures hail from Hubei. The politician and strategist Zhu Ge Liang, one of the four Great Beauties, Zhao Jun, and the poet Qu Yuan. The same Qu Yuan that was the cause of the making of rice dumplings we eat during the Dragon Boat Festiva, or Duan Wu  Festival. We also talked about food. Oh the food. We talked about different types of snacks for different meals. Just looking at the pictures makes me hungry. Especially when my breakfast was two little bread, a few mouthful of ChocoPie, some crackers and cold coffee. But we ended school early (no tutorial!) and went for lunch. It was cold! The wind was pretty strong (but definitely nowhere as near as the ones in the mountains). Lunch was good, and then it was back to our apartment. Ahh, nice and comfy.

We planned our crime for our Forensic Science project, and we are going to start on the actual stuff tomorrow after morning lecture. Which starts later, at 10 a.m.! Yay! More sleep. My feet are still a little sore from all that climbing, but I’m back in the room and lazing on the bed. XP

Tomorrow will be our last lecture with Miss Mikia and Dr. Sujit, and it’s about Firearms! It’s gonna be fun! :D :D :D