Mountain Monkeys

We took the cable car down the mountain. There were lots of local people carrying large, heavy bags with them and we followed them down the mountain. People carry incredible loads up and down the mountain.

We returned to the bus stop and while waiting for the bus to leave a troop of monkeys made an appearance. Monkeys (macaques) are common in this area and will accost you for food if you are on the trails. If they do come up to you you're supposed to hold your hands open to show that you don't have any food. I managed to get a quick picture of a monkey in the parking lot before we left.

Top Right: Hannah Czehatowski walking down the mountain. Local people are in front of her carrying heavy bags.

Top Left: An Emei Shan macaque. Our guide told me was about a medium sized one.

Emei Shan: Sunrise on The Golden Summit

We went to bed late and got up early for the sunrise. At first we thought we would have to get up around 4:30 am but then we were reminded that there are no time zones in China. We got to sleep in until around 6:00 am instead and were treated to a beautiful sunrise. I thought how lucky we were since the tour books say the fog is often so thick you can barely see over the edge of the mountain.

Top Right: Sunrise on Emei Shan.

Middle: Mark Van Loan contemplating the sunrise.

Top Left: Another view of sunrise.

Bottom: An early morning view of the Temple on the ridge.

Emei Shan: Sunset at the Golden Summit

We had arrived late in the evening but it couldn't have been a better time. We were treated to a spectacular, rapidly changing, sunset as rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated the mountain tops far away.

Top Right: sunset on another Emei temple off in the distance.

Top Left: Sunset viewed from Emei Shan.

Bottom: (left to right) Michel Czehatowski, Guide Li Ying Ying, Mark Van Loan, and Hannah Czehatowski with the sunset to our backs.

Golden Summit Video

This video, taken by Mark Van Loan, gives you a better idea of the amazing views at the Golden Summit.

Views from The Golden Summit

Top right: Close up of Puxian Bodhisattva. Notice the Ruyi in her hands. A Ruyi is an "S" Shaped ornamental object used for good luck in ancient times.

For more information on Ruyi's see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi

Top Left: The Golden Temple located behind the Puxian statue

Middle: The Silver Temple that is located across from the Gold Temple.

Bottom: Mark Van Loan contemplating the beautiful view. A view like this helps you understand the traditional paintings of cloud shrouded mountains.

Emei Shan: The Golden Summit (Jinding Si)

We left the hotel and started walking up hill when suddenly we caught sight of a beautiful statue.
We continued on to the entrance and were enthralled by what we saw. At the summit of the mountain is a huge gilded statue of Puxian Bodhisattva under a clearing sky.
I have read the Lonely Planet tour book on China and here is what they write about the Golden Summit:
"It's constantly overrun with tourists, pilgrims and monks, and you'll be continuously bumped and jostled. The sun rarely forces its way through the mists up here and the result is that it is usually impossible to see very far past your own nose."
It was just the opposite for us. The sun came out, there were few tourists (mainly because of the May 12th earthquake), and the views were spectacular. Hannah and I both agreed that it was a photographers dream.

Top Right: There's always stairs to the top!

Middle: Spectacular views.

Top Left: Our first view of the Puxian statue.

Bottom: The Puxian statue.

For more information on Puxian, click on this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puxian

Emei Cable Car

Taking the cable car of Emei Shan gave us tremendous views. Normally the cable car should have been packed with people but due to the earthquake tourism was down and very few people were on the cable car. Mark Van Loan took this video with his camera on the ride up.