China > Hiking in the Weibao Mountains

The day starts in the bathroom with a water ballet. The showers are generally fine, but the drainage sometimes leaves something to be desired. Today is no exception. It’s a good thing there’s a threshold to the hotel room, because the entire floor floods after showering. While shaving, the water drains slowly. For breakfast, I have yogurt and coffee. Today we are going hiking in the Weibao Mountains, a nature reserve about fifteen kilometers outside Weishan. At nine o’clock, we stand by the road where the public bus passes. The first bus turns out to be full. The electric minibuses are also small, with only fifteen seats. According to the official schedule, a bus runs every forty-five minutes, but because of the Chinese holiday period, more buses are running. After about ten minutes, the next bus arrives. Almost all seats are taken, but our entire group can just stand. Two of us are allowed to sit in the cabin with the driver. At the next stops, the driver has to disappoint people: full is full. Outside Weishan, the minibus heads into the mountains. The winding road takes us higher and higher. I have to hold on tight in the bends to avoid falling. After half an hour, we arrive at the parking lot of the Weibao Mountains. Judging by the number of cars, many Chinese tourists are here too. The ticket costs forty yuan, but Frank manages to arrange that we only have to pay twenty as a group. Why, is unclear, but it’s always good news.

China - The Taoist temples in the Waibao Mountains

The Weibao Mountains are full of Taoist temples. Many people come here to worship the gods. I follow the locals into the park. The first temple I come across is the Nanzhao Tuzhu Temple, a Taoist temple originating from the Nanzhao period. In the main temple, there are images of Taoist gods. People come here to pray. The offerings, as we have seen earlier at Tibetan Buddhist temples, are less common here. Along the path lie various temples and colorful pavilions. In one courtyard, a school class is writing wishes on paper. I get a heart-shaped yellow paper too. The children point out where I should hang my wish on the wishing tree. We also take a group photo together. The path climbs upward via stone steps. Sometimes it’s quite a climb. We pass several temples but decide not to visit them all. Around noon, we reach the Doulao Temple at the very top of the Weibao Mountains. Through the trees, I see deep valleys. The Doulao Temple seems more like a Buddhist temple. A large image of Buddha stands in the main building. This temple also looks very old. On the other side of the mountain, the path goes back down. Hundreds of steps lead back down. When we are about 1,200 meters from the exit, there is a chance to visit the Changchun Cave. We won’t make the one o’clock bus anyway; the next one is over an hour later. We descend to the cave. Along the way, it starts raining—a short, heavy shower. I put on my raincoat. The Changchun Cave turns out to be one of the oldest temples on the Weibao Mountain. I think this might be the most beautiful temple of the day.

China - The courtyard of the Nanzhao Temple on Waibao Mountain

Unfortunately, after visiting this temple, I have to climb back up the same way. The path is slippery in places because of the rain. I proceed cautiously. When we reach the parking lot again, we are half an hour early for the bus. Just as we consider taking a taxi with three people, a minibus arrives. Probably because we hesitate too long about whether it’s the right bus, all seats are already taken—mostly by Chinese children. In half an hour, standing, we return to Weishan. In the afternoon, I take a walk into town alone. I first visit the Weishan Nanzhao Museum, a museum about the history of the Nanzhou civilization. I can enter without a ticket; the guard at the scanner nods kindly. Upon entering the first hall, it quickly becomes clear that all information is in Chinese. I can’t make much of it. I wander through the different rooms and mainly look at the former temple buildings. At the exit, the guard points out that I haven’t visited the left side yet. What he says in Chinese I don’t understand. I follow his directions. Here the exhibition about the Nanzhou civilization is, with some panels in English. I learn that the Kingdom of Nanzhou played an important role in the region and had thirteen kings over more than three hundred years. I also see the different traditional costumes associated with Nanzhou. After the museum, I look for a terrace and order a beer. Several times, I get gestured at as if to ask if I really only want one. On the way back to the hotel, I buy some sandwiches and noodles for tomorrow’s travel day. Towards the end of the afternoon, the weather turns cloudy. It starts raining heavily, and thunder rumbles. I get inside just in time. It is still raining in the evening.

China - Eating in a local restaurant in Weishan

A small group and I look for a restaurant. Since it’s still pouring, we choose the restaurant where we ate yesterday. Unfortunately, there is no table available. Diagonally across, there is a local restaurant. The food is prepared on a small stove on the street. We get some strange looks for wanting to eat here. We order two dishes and three beers. When we pay, the whole meal costs less than five euros for three people. Further along, we select some meat and vegetable skewers, which are cooked on a barbecue. Finally, I buy a sausage at a stall. While watching, a Chinese girl offers me some of her tofu dish. She insists I try it. It tastes quite good. We end the evening with a beer. The owner wants to give us Todour beer instead of Dali. We prefer the Dali beer. The reason quickly becomes clear: he has no bottle opener, and the Todour beer has pull-tabs. Using his key, he carefully opens the Dali bottles for us.