There is a Chinese saying: Smart people
enjoy rivers while kindhearted people love mountains more.
Privately, I
think I am both smart and kindhearted, but when it comes to travel, I like
rivers more than mountains. The reason is simple - climbing a mountain is such
an energy-consuming experience. But the charm of mountains attracts me
nevertheless. When my friends called to ask me to climb Sanqing Mountain with
them, with its view supposedly comparable to that of Huangshan Mountain, I
immediately agreed, forgetting all the tiring experiences of the past.
Sanqing Mountain, located in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province, is
famous for its great peaks and strangely-shaped rocks. It is also a holy place
for Taoism.
Taoism began here in AD357 when Taoist sage Ge Hong lived on the mountain,
researching into longevity pills.
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Taoism was officially proclaimed the
"national religion." Since then, several emperors in Song Dynasty (960-1279),
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were devoted to Taoism and
more Taoist buildings were constructed on the mountain. The historical records
show during the major Taoist festivals in August and September, thousands of
people would turn up to light candles and sacrifice animals.
These days, however, the Sanqing Taoism Palace located on the northern part
of the mountain is being refurbished, so we were unable to visit it. The palace,
with more than 1,600 years of history, has various halls, pools, bridges,
catacombs and towers, making it an incarnated museum of Taoism.
The height of Sanqing Mountain is 1,800 metres. If you don't have the energy
of an athlete, it is probably better for you to take a cable car from the foot
of the mountain which will take you halfway up.
The 40-minute cable car ride, covering a distance of 1,426 metres, is a lot
of fun. You can enjoy a birds-eye view of the valley below and take a close look
at the rocks and trees on the mountain, soaking yourself in its tranquillity. As
the cable route is far away from the climbers below, all you hear are birds
singing and the murmuring of the foliage - a pleasant change for someone from a
giant throbbing metropolis.
