I finally went on a “real” hike this weekend, taking the number 65 bus to the end of the line at “Xian Hu”, or “Fairy Lake”, a small resort much like Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It features a large lake with paddle boats, a small beach, lots of trails through gardens, a Buddhist monestary, and a cupla cool little pagodas. It’s also surrounded by some decent hiking opportunities…the best I’ve done yet. Our group ended up hiking along the ridge to Xiao Wu Tong Shan, or the smaller version of Wu Tong Mountain (I don’t know what “Wu Tong” means or which tones each word is). There’s a large TV tower or something on the very top which makes it a prominent landmark in Shenzhen on clear days. The hike was actually quite long with some decent elevation. With the various false summits, it was probably 2000 feet of elevation at least. It felt more like 3000, but I’m out of shape. As usual, the trail was a sidewalk and all of the uphill, save the very end, was stairs. Many of the steep sections were demanding and some of my fellow hikers set a nice “stairmaster set on…OK, moderate psycho” pace, more than I could comfortably keep up with.

(l-r) The top of Xiao Wu Tong Shan, The Endless Stairway…slow down!, Great view of Fairy Lake from high up (See the cool pagoda? Of course you do!)

The higher we went, the more people we passed because there was an intersection about 400 feet below the summit that led down to the monestary. Some of these poor folks ascended from that steep side, but it would be the perfect way to get back down to the lake for us. Some of the people commented that a “foreigner” was on the way, and when they realized I understood them, they just giggled.

There are water salesmen that haul bottles of water up for poor-planning hikers. They jack up the price five times to about 80 cents a bottle. A peasant who was collecting discarded bottles (in the trash bins for the most part!) for extra money, exclaimed “gui lao!” as I approached some of the water stations announcing that a foreigner was on the way. Apparently, that used to be a derogatory term for foreigner (“old ghost”,basically) and I can’t quite get a straight answer if it’s still considered a little rude. Some say yes, some say no. Maybe he wanted them to jack the price up 10 times.

(l-r) Getting close, Me on da top, The Han Hoarde

We didn’t stay on top that long. It was already in the afternoon and we wanted to visit the monestary, the pagoda, and the lake before dark.

(above) Wu Tong Shan in the distance. See over on the righthand ridge of the large mountain in the distance what looks like a dirt road going straight up the mountain…two tire tracks and all. That’s actually a set of double staircases. One for going up, one for going down. Have a look from space here.

It was the steep descent to the Buddhist monestary that really punished my calves and made them sore for the next few days.

(left) Naw man, China’s not that crowded. (right) Me sitting on a very steep part of the stairs with the monestary in the distance.

The monestary was pretty cool. It was teeming with people. I saw the only other foreigners down at the entrance negotiating for a ride back to the park entrance. The fragrant odor of incense covered up the usual reek of kiddie pee. At the top of the stairs at the entrance was a large cauldron filled with incense sticks standing erect in ash. The monestary is large and features several small shrines where folks were letting their troubles vanish away in incense smoke. I enjoyed a high perch looking down into the courtyards and watching the worshippers.

(above) Just inside the entrance

(l-r) Don’t mess with homes, Looking down into the courtyard

We followed a stone walkway through a smelly creek drainage that led to the lake. Beyond that, we went to the pagoda and climbed the stairs, my legs were starting to ache at this point. The views weren’t that good anyway, but it was nice to at least said you’ve done it. Wheee! Back down, we wandered some, consulting the confusing map and eventually figuring the way back to the bus. Quality day. I want to go back to Wu Tong Shan and hike up that. Gotta stop being so lazy!