When I was climbing up Mount Qiyun, I was drawn to the above sight; a crop formation of a Chinese gourd that kind of represents Taoism as "a sacred symbol of the universe, healing, and transcendence".
Hence, when I was jogging at the foot of the mountain before dinnertime, I kept thinking of that area even though I eventually went to the other side, near the entrance of Qiyun resort as I recalled the coach driving past some interesting structures.
Like this pavilion which had a gigantic Chinese character of 道 painted on the stone. A trivia, Mount Qiyun is known as one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism, with Mount Wudang being the most famous amongst overseas Chinese.
Unique structure made of cargo containers that supposedly housed the office of 自由家, a company specializing in tree top accommodation and adventure camps.
Jogging towards the Hengjiang River, where there were more people around. It could be quite disturbing when there's no one around me, and I am in a foreign country. And I am not exactly known to be careful. Cable car station that made the climb up Mount Qiyun much more comfortable! A five-minute ride up 308 meters versus a torturing uphill climb that will take hours just to get to the cable car station on Mount Qiyun.
Just felt so relaxing to be jogging next to the river surrounded by mountains. That's what we really lacked in Singapore; thus, the constant need for wanderlusting, especially as we age, and crave for a relaxing environment.
Having said that, camping is not my cup of tea. At my age, let's just pay for a hotel room with balcony where I wouldn't have to prepare so much stuff, with a lot of unknown variables in play, like wet weather.
Hengjiang River, which separates Mount Qiyun from the main township, is a pretty short river that's less than 70 kilometers in length, and connects to the more famous Xin'an River downstream.
Remember the crop formation of the Chinese gourd earlier? I finally managed to make my way to the original spot! This area is known as Nankeng, which to me, should be considered as one of the highlights of my Huangshan tour even though it wasn't part of our itinerary!
Plenty of instagrammable spots! It appeared to be trying to be a touristy spot but compared to the Mount Qiyun resort, which was just about 500 meters away, this place was almost devoid of crowds! Strongly, strongly recommended. And in case you are wondering what fields these were; they were rapeseed flower fields! However, there didn't seem to be many flowers; maybe it has yet to hit the peak flowering season. Pictures look better from far though.
Helping a dog owner take picture for her dog!
So adorable right?! Very photogenic canine too.
See how expansive the place was!
Nestled right at the foot of Mount Qiyun, you would have to look closer at the photograph to catch sights of the line of traditional buildings almost right at the top! Imagine staying there, where you would be blessed with fantastic panorama every morning you wake up!
Nankeng Village I presume. There were a few guesthouses there but as I mentioned earlier, I am of the age where official hotels are very much preferred. Time is running short; so why run the risk?
As you have probably realized from the photographs I shared from the start of this post, there were many props that were built and installed to enhance your photographs, and they were just the tip of the iceberg! More to show below!
So many to choose from right?! As I was alone, I could only take photographs and then share them with my travel companions! Alex and my dad actually walked over the next morning to check out Nankeng even though for my dad, it's the scenery that still matters. Time to cross the Suiying Bridge.
And back to people-filled civilization.
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Location
Within Xiuning County,
Huangshan City, Anhui China
Map
As above.
