Yellow Mountain Stair Climbing - I'm the King of the World!

The forecast was for more rain. So was I content to just hang out at Starbucks and go to the movies? Nope. I figured "why not climb a mountain."

Huang Shan, means Yellow Mountain. It's not really known for sure why the mountains are called that. They are made of granite and aren't particulary yellowy. Also they are almost perpetually covered in mist or clouds (so some people also refer to them as "misty mountains" and by some people I mean me) so it can be difficult to even see them in the first place especially in the winter when it rains a lot.

Whatever the reason these mountains are a renowned Chinese landmark. Now, you may have noticed from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics that the Chinese do have a slight tendency to go all out or even overboard sometimes. This "nothing is impossible" mentality has nothing to do with communism or other political ideology and everything to do with the fact that manual labour has been an abundant natural resource in China for thousands of years.

With this in mind the some Emperor must have once said "Hey these misty, yellowy mountains are pretty cool. We should build a temple up top".


And when someone said "How are we going to get the thousands of granite building blocks to the top?The emperor said "How do you think? We're going to carry them up to the top one by one?"
And the conversation must have continued like this:

Lackey: "Won't that take a long time?"

Emperor:"Only a couple hundred years. But that's nothing. We spent 900 years on the Great Wall after all and it didn't even work. But you're right it would probably be better if we built 50,000 or so steps to the top to facilitate transportation. That way it will be much easier for my great-great-great-great grandson Emperor to be carried to the temple."

Lackey: "Um...are you on crack? That will take even longer."

Emperor: "I guess you'd better get started then."

Even though I was prepared for a rainy day mountain hike with my by now trusty and well used raincoat, along with a fresh pair of dry socks (wet feet are not pleasant), I was rewarded for this preparation with a beautiful sunny (or at least not rainy) day.

This really made the day (and the resulting photos memorable.) The day was memorable for other reasons as well though.

As I was applying my well practiced trekking skills by power climbing the stairs, I passed a lot of other tourists. A small group had caught up to me and much to my surprise started talking to me in English.As I was applying my well honed trekking skills by power climbing the stairs I passed a lot of other tourists. Unlike South-East Asia where you encounter lots of native English speakers, I found the opposite to be true of China.

In general, standing out from the crowd for no reason other than appearance can either make you feel like a rock star, like when people approach you out of the blue and ask to have their photo taken with you,* or the opposite when they just stand and stare from point blank range on the platform at the train station. Either way English speakers are hard to come by so it can be hard to interact with the locals. So when a small group of 3 students struck up a conversation in English I was pretty surprised.

James, Sunny and Susan** were taking time to see some sights in China that they had never seen before. James quickly suggested that we climb the mountain (ie walk up the stairs) as a team and it was great to make some local friends and learn about life in China.

I was also grateful for their hospitality as they not only shared their company and photo taking/modelling skills but also their generosity in sharing their snacks and lunch since though I had come prepared with many layers of clothing and lots of water I hadn't remembered to bring food.In reference to my powering up the stiars much faster than them and on my own Susan mentioned that I was very brave. She then went on to say that I was very handsome and reminded her of her favourite western movie star Leonardo DiCaprio.*** As nice as that was to hear it was a bit unrealistic as, although we are about the same age, Leo and I don't really look that much alike. That and he has questionable beard growing abilities. Still a compliment is a compliment and as they go being compared to a huge leading man, heartthrob movie star is always good.****

It is really difficult to capture the scale of a stone staircase to the top of a mountain range in photos or in words except to say that it very very impressive. I was expecting to be impressed by the trees and mountains and mist and general atmosphere but the man made staircase and temples at the top of a mountain range was a really historically fascinating element. I'm always fascinated by engineering marvels so if this was impressive I can't wait to see the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall.
Photos: 1-2) The famous trees, mist and mountain landscape near the top of Huangshan. 3) One of the many temples 4) Old school method of transporting building materials to the top. Presumably because it is cheaper. And I thought hauling a 30kg pack around Madagascar was hard work! 5-6) DG taking in the vistas. Rainjacket completely unneccessary for a change. 7) Just-going-to-take-a-quick-break-from...huh...huh...powering up the stairs. 8) Sunny, Susan and James. 9) The climbing team. 10) My new admirer Susan. 11) Look at all those stairs!

*This happened at least 10 times in my slightly more than a week in China. The staring bit happened much much more unfortunately.
**They all either chose their English names or were assigned them by their English teachers. James in particular chose his because he likes James Bond. A pretty good reason if I ever heard one.
***This was awesome!!!!!!!
****Being compared to legendary bearded karate master while in Madagascar was slightly better is all. No offense Leo.