I was fortunate enough to embark on the charming land of Anhui a second time on June 21, 2010 (my first trip to Anhui was made only a month ago), participating in the 1st National Web Media Anhui Travel Trip.

During my week in Anhui, I not only got the chances to view the province’s picturesque natural beauty, sample the fragrant local tea, taste the delicious Hui cuisine, and enjoy magnificent dance show “Picturesque Huizhou” and melodious Huangmei Opera, but was also able to experience for the first time how to pay respect to Buddha on Jiuhua Mountain. Most importantly, I was able to witness the hospitability of the Anhui people. On the trip, I also got to meet a group of young and vigorous web professionals.

In retrospect, the first thing about the trip which is still vivid in my mind was my first experience of burning joss sticks in a Buddhist Temple on the famous Jiuhua Mountain, a sacred place for Buddhist pilgrims and is dotted with temples.

We arrived at Jiuhua Mountain on a clear and foggy afternoon. The fog gave the mountain a sense of mystery. It is where Ksitigarbha (translated as “Earth Treasury”) Buddha dwelled during his lifetime. He is also known as a bodhisattva and protector of souls in hell. It is well known throughout Asia that praying on Jiuhua Mountain is quite efficacious.

We arrived at Jiuhua Mountain on a clear and foggy afternoon.

My first “pilgrimage” was conducted in front of the famous Incarnation Hall, where Ksitigarbha’s body is enshrined. I was brought up in a family where we don’t believe in religion, so I was never involved in any religious activity or wanted to bow to Buddha. However, the moment I set foot on Jiuhua Mountain, I was absorbed by its misty peaks and drifted smoke of burned joss sticks, which collectively added to the mountain’s majesty and mystery. The procedure of paying respect to Buddha was a bit complicated but awe-inspiring. While I was lighting the joss sticks and bowing to the Buddha, I suddenly realized that what really mattered wasn’t the formality of praying, but our sweet wishes to our beloved ones and our lives.

The Incarnation Hall on Jiuhua Mountain attracts tons of pilgrims every day.

The trip to Anhui also brought me both visual and auditory enjoyment. In Anqing, the birth place of Huangmei Opera, I, for the first time as well, sit at the front seat watching how the Emperor’s Female Son-in-Law told her newly-wed wife (a daughter of the emperor) that she was actually a woman, and joyously witnessed how the Seventh Fairy Maiden (the youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor) ran into her love of her own choosing—Dong Yong, an honest and kind-hearted serf. The opera’s lyrical rhythm and the performers’ vivid facial expressions almost made me believe I was part of these stories.

In Anqing, the famous excerpt Emperor’s Female Son-in-Law is staged.

Meeting a group of young and vigorous web professionals was the biggest treasure I came across during the trip. I love going out and meeting people but ever since I started working, the only interaction I have eight hours a day is with my computer. However, the trip to Anhui not only gave me the opportunity to meet other people, but also gave me the chance to broaden my horizons as I talked and shared notes with thirty over talented web peers. The contact and friendship we’ve established transcended the meaning of any natural landscape. I feel grateful for this trip. It is an experience I will treasure forever.

I Met a group of young and vigorous web professionals.

By Li Jing (Chinadaily.com.cn)