Hiking in the depth of Huangshan Mountain

Huangshan Tour

First，I want say that，this article is writen by my colleague Henry Chen in Chinese, and then translated by his friend Professor Cao,Henry is our manager of CTS(Huangshan),and he is very like to hiking and bicking,this is one of his story hiking in depth of Huangshan Mountain.OK,let's go.
The route I would take was not clear to me. I was only sure I wanted to head to Huizhou village.

On a rainy day on 29th December, I caught a bus, embarking on my lonely journey. According to some folk, there was a spot where maple tree leaves were supposed to be blooming most beautifully at this time of the year. So that was the lengendary spot where I got off. The bus left, with a roaring sound, echoing in the still of the open countryside. Now all I could see were green mountains and an expanse of rural land. All I could hear was the steady rain, coming straight down through the clean air.

At first I thought I saw forest through the veil of steady rain, then I realised it was a mixture of sugar cane, Canona oil plant, green bamboo and pine trees. I felt like I was almost lost in early spring, yet the maple tree leaves gently rustling in the air reminded me that it was only autumn.

The dark blue stone path I was walking on shone. Raindrops on the green grass along both side of the path were glistening. In the distance, I saw HuiZhou village, surrounded by sugar cane on four sides. I smelt something sweet in the country air. In this somewhat sweet-feeling place, I saw some farmers working. They had their raincapes on, planting canola oil plants and chatting. Their Huizhou accent softly echoed in the country fields, as if the beat in such place and time were rmore relaxed and unhurried than any other part of the world.

The farmers were quite curious when they saw a stranger (me) passing by. Thus, they asked in a friendly manner, who I was? Where was I from and where was I going? Who was I looking for? When they knew that I was aimless, they felt a bit sad for me and suggested I find a place to stay, out of the rain.

I followed the farmers' suggestion and walked towards the village. The village was in a narrow oblong shape. This made the rain appear to be heavier and more vehement. With wind whistling by, it seemed the falling rain was conversing with me.

There were large country houses along both side of the village. Of lonely and dilapidated appearance, the houses stood there, silently, experiencing generations of life, showing proof of history. No one would dare underestimate the value of their silence.

In a little alley I came across an elderly man. He was over 70, carrying two buckets of pig manure on a bamboo pole over his shoulder. He appeared to be in the pink of good health, and spoke like a knowledgeable gentleman. I coulden't help showing my respect to him.

Bidding goodbye to the elderly gentleman, I walked through a village playground and saw an ancestral temple. Although close to being in a ruined state, it still stood there. Obviously, it had survived the sacking during Ten Years Cultural Revolution. Not far away from the playground I sighted a house. It possessed a common HuiZhou village housing style, with a clean courtyard and a tasteful hallway. My respect increased when I saw an antithetical couplet on scrolls hanging in a small family room, handwritten by a Chinese celeberity - Guo Yin. Mountains isolated Huizhou village from rapid modern developments compared with nearby cities. However, Huizhou village retained its own style - rich in invaluable inheritance from history, culture and tradition.

I kept on my lonely journey, walking along the stone path, finding my way through the steady rain. Once again I could see the vast country landscape, and green mountains on the horizon. I saw an extremely large and tall maple tree, gazing at the far distance that I could never see. Right here, at this moment, I felt that the wind and rain stopped whistling. I sat down on the stone path under the maple tree, silently. Right here, at this moment, I felt that my thoughts and spirit were gone with the wind.

30/12/2008, Zhongping.