I mentioned climbing more than 900 steps up the Hongfu Temple at Guiyang [Guizhou] yesterday and thought nothing's better than to show you the pictures; it's tiring but not boring.
There were plenty to see up the mountain and aside from the free roaming monkeys, there's also a commercial store that offered religious / fengshui items like prayer beads / agate stones.
My limited Chinese assumed the words to refer to the 9-turn path which i guess would mean the path would have a number of twists and turns.
Fortune teller next to a statue of a Bodhisattva; the notice on the floor claimed he was a living immortal and consultation would be free. Well, he did look pretty ancient.
Plaque stuck to the stone; i frankly how no idea how many names the path has! The plaque clearly stated 菩提路; which is like the road / path to enlightenment.
第一山 - referring to Qianling mountain, this can mean the first mountain or the most famous one. I am assuming Qianling mountain is likely the most notable one in Guiyang as it's not listed as one of four sacred Buddhism mountains in China.
Continuing our way.
Said to be one of the oldest relic in the mountain, it's known as the Old Buddha Cave and a Ming dynasty traveller had paid this a visit in Year 1638. With the lack of infrastructure in the past, it's a feat for people to be able to travel from place to place.
Notice the winding paths!
Photograph of dad with the hillside pavilion.
Another fortune teller; there were two things that i found strange. One is that the customers of the fortune tellers were all pretty young and second, don't they have to work / study?!
Notice was straightforward in its message; monkey area, rock falls, no staying. Our tour guide didn't mention anything about rock falls which are likely more prevalent during the raining season. However, we were warned about the thieving monkeys!
A lot of Buddhist elements found along the way.
We can still spot the skyscrapers of this provincial capital, half peeking from over the mountaintop.
It's only when i looked closer did i notice there's a sketch of a man in ancient clothing. Guess it must be some famous man given the amount of incense sticks in front of it.
The way down!
With uneven steps, it's not exactly smooth sailing but i saw old men and women patiently and diligently making their way up! Thanks for the good weather; rain would have made the floor real slippery.
Another fortune teller!
Last few dozens of steps before our arrival at Hongfu Temple! Maybe due to the congregation of devotees, you could spot more and more monkeys!
When you see an empty pavilion, don't rush towards it as this move would have frightened the monkeys who were taking a rest too! The last thing we want is to have a bloodied fight with the primates.
Finally!
For more information about the Hongfu temple that's built in Year 1672, click here! Quite a nice place to walk about if the weather isn't too hot and if you have time, go check out the luohan hall where you can eventually get a card for RMB 3.00.
Making our way down!
Imagine that these elderly men and women would have to climb up and down the mountain every day. It may seem rather sad in the first instance when we think about it but don't you think the fresh mountain air and the walk would actually be good for them? Gosh, my thinking is so PAP!
Last photo!
p.s. dad loves to walk.
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