Hua Shan

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Hua Shan day 2 (14th Sept)

6:30am, I crawl out of bed and climb up Sunrise Terrace. I have a bad luck history of watching sunrise in China's great mountains.

There is no exception here in Hua. It's windy and total black sky all night. I know it's gonna be clouds instead of a brilliant rising sun. But lucky enough, I get to see a corner of the sun for 30 seconds.

7:30, chilly and very windy, I head off to the S Peak, the highest peak of Hua.

Goooooooood morning Hua.
Before reaching the S Peak, there is THE most precipitous spot of Hua - the Sky Footway. On such a very windy day, and with a backpack and 2 bags dangling on me, I confess I don't have the guts to walk it. My inside thigh still contracts involuntarily when I try to visualize the footway and the height. No kidding.	The first part of the footway the on the right. Chains on both sides.	Then you have to climb down this ladder. The difference between this ladder and the ladders we came across earlier is that you will turn into baby power if you fall on this one.	Then you continue on a footway that's made up of 3 pieces of wood (middle of PIC), chains on the right, and 6,000 ft. on the left. According to description, there is still a 8 ft. footway that extends into the air at the end of the wooden path. But it's not for me to find out. Sorry.
I am not crazy about I've-been-here PICs but I have to do one after a tough hike.	Pine tree flying on the S Peak.	A run-down Tao temple below the S Peak.	If it hasn't fallen in a million years, it wouldn't fall in this second, right?
Up W Peak. And then heads downhill.	Tourists like to put locks on the chains along the way. To lock lovers' heart maybe. At Golden Lock Gate.	On the way down, still on the main ridge, I am not expecting much for food. Then comes the pleasantly surprising lunch.	And how about eating perfect food in a perfect setting? Life rarely comes into such harmony.
	Ok, pork on the left is so-so. Refreshing cold noodle on the right topped with sesame sauce is perfect. Relief to a sweating body and pleasure to the taste buds.	A "cake" of cold noodle. Scratch the spoon with holes on the cake and you get noodles.	Yum yum yum!

Near noon, before reaching the N Peak, I see the branch off point to the old trail. Maybe I should give up my cable car plan altogether and push my body's limit again. Let's drop to zero on foot.

Here we go branching off to the old trail. The steps on the beginning section are so narrow, sometimes as narrow as 4 inches, that I have to walk sidewards like a crab.	Look left ...	Look right ...	And fall ...
An example of human touch of Hua - but I think that they should leave the mountain alone.	This hiker is going down, not up. He is not the only one to walk backwards because looking down is too scary.	An abandoned house. This lady is not living here. She is just a tourist who has just taken a peek at the house.	Antique!

The lifters

In all the mountains of China, where transportation is not available, all materials have to be carried uphill by lifters.

While we are doing this 7,128 ft. hike for fun, they are doing it for a living, and they have to do it everyday. What they get though is a mere 4 cents per pound for carrying things up 6-7 thousand feet. Lifters here have an average loading of 100+ pounds.

A PIC I took for the lifters yesterday. It's Bo on the left.

While they were writing down their addresses so I can mail the PICs to them, I was glad because they are able to write in spite of growing up in poorer areas of China.

I run into a few lifters again on the way down while they are having lunch.

After sharing their rice buns (Yellowish compared to the rice bun made from high grade flour. Slightly sour. Very unpretentious taste ), I ask them if it's tough to go round trip everyday. "For a living", Bo says, with a big hearty smile.

In their smile, I see no worries. Because they don't have to chase after color TV, a big house nor a nice car? While lots of city folks own these material, I don't see lots of them having such big hearty smile. So what is missing?

It's time to admit me and Bo are from different worlds. I can try to understand his feeling and share his joy but I can never live his life.

Bid farewell and his inspiring simpleness will always be with me.

Back in Xi'an feeling my legs are breaking apart from my body. I am lucky to be able to find a hotel that doesn't block my internet roaming account. I stay indoor all night to catch up on news and answering emails.