"Road trippin' with my two favorite allies"*

This week marked the celebrations of both NationalDay and the Mid-Autumn festival in China. It is a week of mooncakes, bright festivities, and vacationing. Thus, I took advantage of this special week by venturing to a geologic jewel in the northern part of Guangdong Province: Danxia Shan.

At the entrance of Nanhua

With meager research, a few hundred kuai, and our backpacks and phrasebooks, Gary, Tiffany, and I set out early Tuesday morning to catch a bus to Shaoguan (a middle sized city--3 million--in northern Guangdong). Once in Shaoguan, we bought maps and headed to Nanhua monastery...a temple with more than 1,500 years of history. It was founded in 502 by the Indian monk Zhiyao Sanzang. However, the temple became renowned when Huineng, the sixth patriarch, reached enlightenment. It was Huineng's doctrine of Nanzong Chanfo (Chan Buddhism) that spread throughout China and eventually bled into Japan as Zen.

A monk explaining something to a child.

After enjoying the monastery, we caught a bus back to the city center and began the "accommodation search." Many people would consider this a daunting task...especially when you are on a budget, don't speak the language very well, and happen to be traveling during one of the busiest seasons in China. However, God blessed me with pragmatism, Gary with tremendous linguistic skills, and Tiffany with empirical reasoning.....thus, we found a hostel in the city center. Fortunately, God also graced all three of us with endurance, patience, and understanding......because for 20 kuai ($2.53 per person) a night, you can't expect air conditioning, a personal bathroom, or your door to close all the way. However, you can expect a fan that doesn't work well, a mosquito net above your bed, a community bathroom (a floor below you) that contains two squatters, and mysterious noises that occur at 3 am.

Looking out the backdoor of our room.

We rose early the next morning due to a combination of necessity and a deep desire to leave the hostel and caught a bus to Danxia Shan. According to Chinese legend, this is the place where Lady Nuwa molded man and woman from the red clay and gave birth to civilization. Strangely enough, the topography and geologic wonders of this park reinforce this legend, or as my friend Tiffany writes: "We didn't realize until we got to Mount Danxia geological park that it was known for its sexually explicit rock formations. We were shocked to see these types of formations and erotic artwork in puritanical China." Yes. It is true; there are rock formations in the shape of genitalia. Despite these symbolic rocks and interesting sociological discoveries, the mountain provided us a much-needed escape......an escape from Shenzhen's noise and pollution. There is nothing like cool, crisp mountain air, a difficult climb, and the exquisite view on top of Danxia's highest peak.

Climbing to the top.

A view from the edge of the Buddhist monastery in the mountain.

Trekking through narrow passages in the mountain.

Yes, money can buy an easy ride to the top.

After our day on the mountain, we returned to Shaoguan, found a new hostel, and enjoyed dinner and a beer on Shaoguan's famous pedestrian street. Although we planned to go white water rafting the next day, the bus schedule did not accommodate our vacation plans....thus, we were forced to forgo the river and hop on the bus at 9am.

On the pedestrian street, enjoying our favorite candied fruit.

This was a particularly interesting encounter. A wedding party was having its reception at this restaurant. Upon arriving at the entrance, we were given cigarettes (which we were required to light and smoke) and a warm welcome. I hope they understood that the Meiguo ren were not part of the celebrations.

Three kids, three backpacks, and a mandarin phrasebook......we had the time of our lives.

Due to the large quantity of pictures we took during our short stint, I cannot show them all on this blog. However, you can visit both Gary's and Tiffany's picture sites and view some fabulous photographs:

1) Gary's Pictures
2) Tiffany's Pictures

*One must give credit where it is due: This is a song lyric from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.