Our second day in Anshan took us to Qianshan National Park. According to the brochure "there is no peak that is not marvelous, no stone that is not precipitous, no temple that is not ancient, or any place that is not quiet in Mountain Qian." (Giggle, giggle! I find such pleasure in the English translations.) I think what they wanted to get across was that it's a very majestic, quiet place...but "not quiet" really was more like it this weekend! It was National Day and the crowds were plentiful. It surely was a beautiful, majestic place though!
I'll let the English translation in the brochure tell the story:
"Mountain Qian has long and rich historical, religious cultures, and a mar- velous scene, where Buddhist and Taoist co-live in the same mountain. That's why there is a poem describing this harmony. It reads as 'In the woods do Buddhist temples hide, and along the vales sit Taoist ones in sight.' There are more that 40 temples, including nine palaces, eight temples, five large Buddhist temples and twelve nunneries, which, like bright pearls, are embedded among grotesque (hehehe) peaks and green valleys, forming an endless landscape. The miracle, mystery, sacredness of the Great Buddha have been attracting tourists ever since the ancient times."
"The scenery in Mountain Qian is very pleasing in four seasons. In the spring, white as snow, the pear blossoms are all over the valleys, their fragrance flying in the air. In summer, streams babble over, everything green in the mountain, which is changeably reflected in the lake. In autumn, leaves redden all trees and the mountains like flaming and burning clouds, and in winter, everything is very northern, the trees waving with snow." It reads like a poetry! : )
Ok, I am in love with this Laughing Buddha!
He has got to be my favorite part of this experience to date...
Hehehe!! Buddha's Toes : )
Whenever I'm feeling down,
all I have to do is look at this picture...
My all time favorite picture...
Rubbing Buddha's toes for good luck. : )
Snack time!!
After exploring the temples, we wanted to head up the mountain to see the famous rock formations in the shape of the Great Buddha. We had two choices: the walking road (the steep trail heading up the mountain) or the cableway.
We decided upon "Taking the Huge Buddha cable car" after seeing this sign.
The queue (I say "queue" very loosely here, because there is no such thing as a queue in China) for the cable car was packed with people. And when I say packed, I mean in the most literal sense of the word. My gut told me to turn around and hike up the trail and meet Claire and Nancy at the top, but did I listen to my ever wise gut? No... and once I stepped into the queue and started moving with the masses there was no turning back. I have never experienced anything like it in my life! Literally, wall to wall people moving as one mass with shuffling feet. If you want to get from point A to point B in a mass of people in China, it is survival of the fittest. It's called push your way up to the front so you can get to your destination, be the one who gets on a train, or in this case get on a tram that only transports 18 people up the mountain at a time with a five to ten minute wait in between. What surprised me the most was that no one got upset and accepted the pressure of so many people with ease. This is simply the way it is done in China because there are so many people (1,353,707,696 to be exact).
At one point, even though the line was not moving and there was nowhere to go, I had a gentleman behind me who had his elbow shoved into my back, pushing me into the people in front of me so he could get ahead. Here I was, trapped in from all sides and this man was shoving me to who knows where. I kept repeating in my head, "You're in China and this is how it's done. Go with the flow. Stay calm. You're in China and this is how it's done. Go with the flow. Stay calm." Well, this mantra wasn't working for this American girl who is used to her 2 to 3 foot circumference of personal space. I felt trapped and scared and found myself sinking into a fight or flight mode. I needed to get out, but I was pinned in from all sides and flight was in no way an option, so I found myself turning my head (it was the only part of my body that could turn around) and in a voice that was not my own came the most venomous "STOP" I have ever heard come out of my mouth. I think I shocked myself more than this man! And even though he didn't speak English, he got the picture! His elbow stayed where it was supposed to (out of my back!) for the rest of the long journey up a flight of stairs and across the platform to the cable cars. Wish I had taken a picture of the masses, but there was no way I could even get to my camera.
After about an hour, we finally made it to the fast-moving, don't-slow-down-to-let-passengers-on cable car. All I wanted was to be one of the 18 people to get in one of those cars! But no, I was number 19 and there was not a single seat left in the cars for me! I watched Claire and Nancy zoom away and I was left standing on the platform with people still trying to cut in front of me to get in a car. Let me tell ya, it was an experience!
I must say, I learned a few very good lessons! I'm not at all timid anymore, I really need to listen to my gut, and I need to stay away from massive crowds while living in China!
Here's the funny thing....
When I finally sat down in the safety of the cable car,
guess who hopped in and sat down next to me?
Yep...Elbow Man!!!
Ah, the Universe works in wondrous ways!
More info from the brochure: "Out of providence was created the Great Naturally-made Buddha. The Great Maitreya, one of the world wonders, is 70 meters high, 46 meters wide between two shoulders. The height and width of His head is 9.9 meters and 11.8 meters separately. His ears are 4.8 meters long. He has very clear facial features and sound arms and legs."
A view from inside Maitreya Buddha Pagoda out towards Nature's Great Buddha.
Can you make out the head and body?
Inside the Pagoda
I took a hike even farther up the mountain.
Nature's Great Buddha
Not exactly sure where the above mentioned body parts are...
Temple at the top of Mountain Qian
Side view of Nature's Great Buddha
Breathtaking views
This area of the trail reminded me of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. Steep drop offs on either side of the trail, and in this case, steps.
Steep stairs
Beautiful pagodas nested in the mountain
Nancy and Claire braved the cable car back down, but there was no way I was getting back in that queue!
So I chose the hiking path down instead...
...and experienced many beautiful views without an elbow in my back!! : )
It was a long day and we were awfully tired when we got back to the Futian Hotel in Anshan and none of us wanted to get dressed and go out to dinner. Luckily there was a Pizza Hut around the corner and beer in the hotel bar!
Ketchup on pizza?
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