Huashan 华山

Huashan (Mount Hua) is one of many historically significant peaks in China. It is grouped as part of the Five Great Mountains (representing four directions/ seasons plus a central anchoring point) – not to be confused with the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, which is different from the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism!  (China is huge and its history stretches for 5,000+ years; there’s something for everyone, as far as mountain ranges and ancient capitals are concerned)

Tim, Denver and I set out on a weekend trip to Xi’An to take the HSK Mandarin Exam, and decided to throw in a trip to Huashan as a sweet bonus for all our hard studying 🙂 Huashan is one of those places that’s probably best done in an overnight trip- the logistics of getting in and out can be time consuming, despite the superfast bullet trains.

In Xi’An we woke up before 5 AM to get a cab to the train station for a 6:30 train- and once arriving near Huashan, it was another cab ride, a detour to purchase tickets, getting through the main ticketing area, and then another 40 minute bus ride from the main entrance to the cable car access point. By the time we actually stepped onto the mountain it was close to 9 AM!

Initially I was bummed at what seemed to be poor weather – the morning was cloudy and slightly drizzly, and I feared we spent all that money for nothing. But halfway into our costly cable car ride, we rose above the clouds and were rewarded with a stunning view of the mountains peeking through the mist:

The moment called for a sleep-deprived, but excited, selfie

I don’t think I’ve ever been on a more dramatic or beautiful cable car ride up a mountain – the landscape was ever-changing, and as the clouds drifted to and fro, hidden peaks emerged just as visible peaks disappeared into dense fog. It’s easy to see why ancient Daoists believed the gods lived under the mountains, and elixirs of immortality could be produced in this realm

Due to poor planning on my part, I only had maybe 4 hours total on the mountain (I realized it took an hour longer than anticipated to get onto the mountain, so I needed an extra hour getting back down). But I was still able to visit the West and South peaks, climbing thousands of slippery, wet steps up and down steep hills, clinging to rusty iron chain fences for support.

These chains are burdened with locks and red ribbons that were sold everywhere on the mountain- for 20 or 30 RMB you could have your name engraved on a lock and fastened anywhere on the mountain, as proof of your adventure. cute, but now instead of gripping onto a solid chain of iron, I’m gingerly grasping at flimsy locks and shreds of red fabric… dangerous…

The South Peak in particular had astonishing views of several thin, Stegosaurus plate-like mountains that were bathed in a dreamy, white cloud bath.

My elementary school teachers would be proud that I connected land formations to dinosaur fossils, but I do think that’s the most fitting description for these jagged, pressed cliffs:

After enjoying the view I bid farewell to Denver and Tim, and head back on my very early train back to Xi’An. I’m sure they had time to visit the remaining East and North Peaks… but I’ll pretend they saw nothing but fog from those vantage points, to keep myself from being too jealous 🙂 

Side note: Huashan was also shockingly expensive, close to Disney World prices. Between the park entrance ticket, roundtrip park bus tickets, roundtrip cable car tickets, etc I spent almost $100 USD. It’s hard to fathom how middle class Chinese families could casually do a trip to Huashan; nature, it seems, is a luxury in the Middle Kingdom.

Longmen Grottos (龙门石窟) and FutureLearn

In early December I took the high speed rail to Luoyang in Henan Province to see the famous Longmen Grottoes. This was one of the furthest weekend trips for me so far, one that required spending the night in Xi’An first, before heading further east to Luoyang the following morning.

Luoyang is one of China’s four great ancient capitols- the others being Xi’An, Nanjing, and Beijing. Interestingly, Luoyang itself doesn’t have massive city walls, palaces, and temples that could still be seen today in the other three. The capital was likely burned to the ground several times in the past millennium, and hit particularly hard during the Cultural Revolution. However, it is home to some splendid rock carvings, collectively known as the Longmen (Dragon’s Gate) Grottoes.

These Buddhist grottoes were carved from the Northern Wei period 493 AD onward, and work ceased at some point in the Song Dynasty (around 1127 AD). Over the 600+ years, some 2,300 caves and 100,000 (!) Buddhist figures were dug out of the cliffs in various scale- many minuscule, and some enormous.

The one cave everyone comes here to see is the Fengxian Cave, the true masterpiece of the Tang dynasty. In this expansive, open-air grotto, there are nine carved statues, with Vairocana Buddha seated in the center. The five central figures are serene and calm- the outer four guardians are clearly ferocious warriors. This is a political work of art as well; all power radiates from the Emperor and Emperor only!

It was during the reign of the enormously powerful and wealthy Wu ZeTian – the only female emperor in all of China’s history (crazy mother-in-laws don’t count!!) – that this set of statues was carved. The effortlessly beautiful central Buddha was modeled in her image, and has distinctly feminine features – the high eyebrows, slender nose, pursed lips, etc. Her earlobes are 2 meters in length, so I would still come up 10 cm short if I were to miraculously levitate and stand next to her ears

From across the river you can get a better sense of scale for the Fengxian cave, and you can also see the many, many stairs I had to climb to enjoy this World Heritage Site.

Back in Xi’An, I revisited the Wild Goose Pagoda which was much more impressive this time around, with clear blue skies instead of a polluted grey backdrop. I got someone to take a photo of me pinching the tip of the pagoda, as if I were lifting the precious lid off a seven-tiered dessert platter.

Later I came across a group of old men playing chess, just outside the Ming city walls. This sort of hobby – chess, and the crowd of back-seat chess drivers that gather – is common across all of China, especially on a lazy weekend afternoon.

A moment like this warrants its own sketch:

I also witnessed a blazing sunset while waiting at the platform for my train back to Lanzhou the following evening, a sure reminder that another weekend trip has come to an end.

FutureLearn: The European Discovery of China

I’m taking full advantage of my free time by traveling through China, but to gain a deeper understanding of many of these sites and how they are connected, I needed more background information than what was provided in brochures, audio-guides, and WikiTravel.

There are several sites offering free online courses on almost any subject you can think of – and after some digging, I found “The European Discovery of China” through FutureLearn.

This is an eight week course (each course requires the learner to finish viewing a dozen or so short videos and an optional quiz at the end – all videos can be downloaded as PDF text as well) that explains interactions between the East and West for the past two thousand years.

The course has a heavy emphasis on the analysis of ancient maps, paintings, and letters, all of which I enjoy. Did you know life in the royal harem was boring as fuck for most of the young women living behind palace gates, many of whom might never even see the emperor in their entire lives?

It also clears up some rumors “Did Marco Polo ever reach China?” (Answer: yes, but it is strange he never mentioned the use of chopsticks, or the complex writing system!)

Usually I will download all the videos of a course onto my tablet and then watch them on the train rides during weekend trips- this is an efficient way to make use of time, on the already efficient high-speed rail!

The European Discovery of China has really added depth and context to all of the traveling I’ve done in the past year and a half, and I’m always pleasantly surprised to see Lanzhou/ Gansu pop up every now and then in a lesson.

 

The Ancient Capital: Xi’An

The great thing about being a Peace Corps China volunteer in 2017 is we get to take full advantage of the growth of high speed rails across the country. Last year, a visit to Xi’An would have taken 9 or 10 hours by train. Now, it’s a quick 3 hour trip – which makes for the perfect weekend getaway!

Xi’An (pronounced shee-an) is one of the ancient capitals of China- 1,500 years ago, when Beijing was a backwater nobodyville, Xi’An was already a bustling metropolis. In the Tang dynasty it was the largest city in the world by population, with over a million inhabitants inside the city walls and another 2 million outside.

The later Ming Dynasty walls remain today, creating a massive, rectangular 14km perimeter around the city center. Visitors can climb to the top and walk or bike around, getting great views of the interior and exterior city. The sky was rather polluted the day I went, but it was still a contemplative experience, nonetheless.

BIANG BIANG Noodles

One of the famous dishes in Xi’An is biang biang noodles, named after the thwacking noise the dough makes when it is repeatedly slapped onto the table and stretched over and over again. The noodles are as wide as a belt, but at the same time very thin, and remind me Lanzhou’s da-kuan noodles.

The character for Biang Biang is extremely complex (see below) with 57 strokes needed before it can be written out. It is essentially total artistic nonsense, and never made it into the great, definitive Kangxi Dictionary. There are over 47,000 recognized characters in the dictionary and biang biang is not one of them. Case closed!

 

Wild Goose Pagodas

A short bike ride south outside of the city walls will bring you to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, built in the Tang Dynasty. Originally the structure was 10 stories in height, but subsequent earthquakes and rebuildings have left it at its current 7 stories.In 627 AD, the famous monk Xuangzang left China on a 17 year, road-trip journey to India, in an effort to gain a more enlightened understanding of Buddhism and bring back hundreds of original Sanskrit texts.

The Wild Goose Pagoda was constructed to house the texts and related translations, and also to honor his journey and spirit. Across town the Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built a short while later in 707 AD. As more and more pilgrims returned from India with Buddhist texts, the two pagodas (and Xi’An as a whole) became a symbol for the spread of Buddhism throughout China.

Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts

This is a museum that is not to be missed! The Qujiang Museum is a private (AKA pricey admissions) museum, but absolutely worth it. The highlight is several rooms displaying works of pure gold through several dynasties. The gold work is mostly filigree- fine gold threads that are then woven together to form baskets, headpieces/ crowns, and (my favorite) vases.

Precious gems- rubies, pearls, jades – are securely embedded into most of the pieces, and little animal figurines can be spotted throughout. There were gold phoenixes, dragons, bats, and elks that were easily identifiable, all thought to bring good luck to the very fortunate and wealthy owner of the piece.

I’ve seen some of the most exclusive works of gold housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the National Palace Museum in Taipei- this collection easily rivals the best in the world.

Muslim Bazaar

No Chinese city is complete without a night market- and in the heart of Xi’an there is the wonderful, energetic Muslim Bazaar. This is one of the larger night markets I’ve experienced in mainland China, and it was a surprising amount of fun.

It’s absolutely packed on the weekends with all sorts of snacks to savor and trinkets to buy. There was a refreshing variety of goods for sale – I drank several cups of fresh squeezed pomegranate/ coconut/ sugar cane juice, and found myself running to the bathroom to relieve my bladder on several occasions. Xi’An is also famous for Yang Rou Pao Mo 羊肉泡馍  (Mutton and soaked bread) which I obviously had to try.

This is a three step meal:

• You’re first given an empty bowl with some very firm, round bread.
• This then needs to be shredded by hand into small pieces (mine were massive chunks but the locals could break the bread down to a much more refined size).
• The bowl is handed back to the waiter, who will take it to the chef, who then pours a boiling mutton broth over the bread. Some sliced lamb and other condiments are added, before the bowl is return to you. Slurp quickly!

It’s all quite enjoyable, and quickly warmed me up as I was sitting outside in the chilly November night. The soup congeals though as it cools- so it must be finished ASAP

There’s something for everyone at the market- carnivores will delight in skeletons of sheep and other animals, purposely hung to be gawked at by visitors. Vendors cut the flesh off the carcass and skewer them into kebabs for roasting.

Vegans can find something delicious too- including fresh jackfruit, sliced on request. Is it just me, or does this giant fruit eerily resemble the leg of a lamb, or maybe Spanish iberico ham displayed at a banquet??

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This trip to Xi’An was one of my most interesting and rewarding weekends yet. Luxury malls and high rises dominate the noisy central roads, but one or two side-streets away, the atmosphere is completely serene.

Biking around on those one lane streets, I could hear the dry leaves scraping the ground in circular patterns below me, and songbirds confined to their cages chirping in the trees above. In some ways, Xi’An has not changed at all after 1,500 years