So back on track with my original plans to visit Emeishan mountain and climb to the Golden Summit for a chance to see a magical sunrise, we made an early departure from Chengdu, after the traditional steamed bun breakfast of course. We also wanted to check out the Giant Buddha statue in Leshan (not that I needed to see any more Buddha's after Myanmar) and our 2 hour drive was significantly delayed by a truck rolling over on the highway in front of us, luckily only my first road delay which is a common problem in China.
The Buddha really was large, towering 71 metres in a big rock crevice overlooking the river. We opted for the boat view as you get to see the whole statue at an appropriate angle for photos, rather than a path which leads down and around the statue, packed with spectator. I had to laugh when some persistent elderly staff member (that I doubt had ever been swimming in her life) was insisting I wear my life jacket, she didn't seem to understand when I gave it to her saying she would have more use for it than me. I was then introduced to Chinese small watermelon's which were the perfect addition to a hot afternoon.
Back en route we reach Emishan by late afternoon and checked in to the Teddy Bear hostel. The owner spoke English quite well and outlined the various route options on a map. Chen was feeling rather energetic and opted or the 14 hour climb and leaving the hostel at 5am, Amy and I were happy to wait until 8am and stick to the commendable 10 hour climb. The name of the game is steps and plenty of them. Its by no means a traditional 'trek' as the Chinese have carved a stone path (mostly steps) up the side of the mountain. It was a daunting task as you must keep focused on pushing on, as I kept reminding Amy who wanted a break every 10 minutes and was not looking like making the summit. There is of course the easy option where a bus taken you almost to the top and a quick exchange to a cable car sees you reach the peak with little to none exertion at all. I must gice credit to some of the Chinese girls who attempt the hike up wanting to look good in their summer dresses and high heels!
Unfortunately the air was quite thick with smog and left landscape photos looking rather washed out. The walk itself was still beautiful amongst the forest and numerous temples dotted along the mountain side. Wild monkeys travel in gangs, trained up by the local shop owners to demand food (which can be purchased along the way), with this kind of training and irresponsible tourists teasing the monkeys, they will jump on your backpack and rummage for themselves if you do not meet their demands. I kept my large bamboo walking pole posed for action after my last monkey episode, copping nothing more than a few snarls from the bigger monkeys.
Nine long hours of steps later we reached Jielin Monastery which is about 2 hours hike from the top, checking in with one of the most unenthusiastic people I have ever met. Allen who shared my room and was having a solo travel trip before staring university, jumped on board to hike up with us in the morning. After all the hard work walking around 50km and too many steps to count, it was a bit disappointing to have the sunrise ruined by heavy cloud cover, The whole Emishan experience was really enjoyable and I was aware that only around 60 days per year it provides breathtaking view.
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