More of Emei Shan

We headed down the mountain in the bus full speed. At least that's what it seemed like to us. We were hanging on pretty tight. To the driver I think it was just another day on the job. The driver's wife sat in the front seat and their little boy sat on the motor cover between them. As we headed into curves full speed and braked heavily the boy would slide back and forth or sideways depending on which way we were turning. There wasn't much for him to hang onto and I think it was fun for him. The mother finally grabbed him though and had him sit on her lap until they got off the bus at one of the stops.

We made another temple stop. While waiting to get tickets we were observing the activity below us when a donkey came walking, by itself, up the road. It was loaded down with two heavy baskets of bricks. Apparently it knew where it was going. A lady finally came running up to catch it and continued in the same direction with it.

There's always steps going up to mountain temples and our legs were developing calves of steel from all the uphill walking. The walk is always worth it though. The temples and the artwork is fascinating.

Top Right: Boy in the front of the bus.

Top Left: Donkey carrying bricks.

Middle: More Stairs - empty but they should have been packed with people. The May 12th earthquake really hurt the local tourist industry.

Bottom: Another Emei Shan temple

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