Today we spent the day at 华山 or Mount Hua. We started off our day with a 7:30 breakfast and departed in two vans soon after. With the large amount of traffic in Xi’an during the morning, it took about two hours to reach our destination. After stopping at a rest stop, we ended up at a station where buses left to take passengers up to the mountains. The road taking us up the mountain was curvy but beautiful! From the place where the bus stopped, we took a gondola ride up to the peak of the mountain. The views of the rocks and gorges were incredible!! When we reached the peak, we ate lunch at a restaurant. We ate a lot of spicy food as well as several plates of fried rice. Outside of the restaurant, we smelled the scent of burning incense and saw a Taoist temple. It’s amazing to think how it was built so high — we were 6500 feet up!
After finishing our meal, we began hiking from the high peak of the mountain to a lower peak where a different gondola is located. From the paved pathway, we saw the beautiful view of the surrounding tan-colored, green-spotted mountains. Besides the deep green trees, some of the mountains featured gorgeous cherry blossoms. Along the way, we passed people from many different nations including England, Korea, and France. We also saw a group of cats that were sleeping on a rock. Many vendors sold their products along the pathway. After a long trek, we made it to the second gondola. Finally, we took a smaller bus back to the parking lot and took the two vans back to the hotel. Afterwards, tired, we crossed the street and ate at a restaurant.
Thanks,
Gwen