We
head southwest, to Mount Emei, in search of some beautiful hiking and
scenery. Mason warns us that it will be quite touristy but he has not
been there since he was a child and i do not really believe him.
Thus, we take the bus, looking for a sacred and remote place,
searching for an unforgetable experience. Mount Emei's cultural
significant is extraordinary because it is were Budhhism first became
established in China via the Silk Road from India. The first Budhhist
temple was built on its summit during the first century A.D., there
are now over 30 temples on the mountain and some of them are
authentic masterpices. Imagine these pieces of art surrounded by
striking scenic beauty consisting of lush forest and a mist which, at
times, uncovers the wild peaks of the mountains and you will
understand why it is one of the four holy lands of Chinese Buddhism.
When
we get there we find out how correct Mason was. We see hundreds of
people with huge expensive cameras making their way to the entrance.
I realize we stand out even more there since we are the only
non-asians and besides, we are carrying our huge backpacks and
wearing hiking guear while all the others seem to be just going for a
Sunday evening walk. I think OMG! Where the hell are we?!?! The first
few km is just going up the road and we see some small settlements
and we even have the chance to see a postwedding celebration. On the
way up i realize there is a reciprocal curiosity and great surprise
between the Chinese and me. I look at the girls going up the road
with their high heels in massive groups towards what is supposed to
be a natural and cultural wonder and i feel fascinated, i suppose as
much as they do when they see two foreigners going with massive
backpacks on their backs like they are about to climb Mount Everest.
We make it to the entrance where you have to pay an entrace fee
which, if i recall well, was 240 Kc (about 10 euros) for students.
The place becomes more and more beautiful and the more we ascend the
less people we find, until we make it to a place where monkeys
(Tibetant Macaques) often loiter. I understand why there are so many
people, they have come to see the monkeys! We leave a man behind
fighting a monkey and as we make our way through these little
fellows, making sure they see we have nothing for them, i realize we
are pretty much the only ones who continue further and then i take a
deep breath and exhale it feeling relaxed...now yes!
After
a few more km, the first temple appears before us. I cannot help
holding my breath as i stand before a magnificient think which opens
its doors to me. Getting in one of these old architectural
masterpices is like stepping into a different world were the air is
full of mysticism and the inner peace invades into the smallest
corner of your body. The gardens, the gilded statutes cast in iron
and bronze, the absolute silence and the peaks of the mountains in
the distance, shrouded in mist. We were extremely lucky and we got in
one of them just on time to watch and listen to the monks during one
of their ceremonies and all this being the two of us the only
visitors. I was close to having an epiphany! We slept in a temple
that night, with the beautiful sound of the rats running back and
forth in the ceiling above our heads. The experience of getting up
early in the morning with the bells, knowing a beautiful hike was
awaiting for us was just the icing on the cake...
After
a few hours of hike we finally meet two more guys. They are
university students and one of them speaks some English and he is
really charming. He asks a bit about our countries and languages and
what type of music we like and he says of course what he likes is
pop. After meeting them several times on the way we find them with
two more girls and an old man. One of the girls has been bitten by a
monkey and she is scared. There is a pretty big group a few meters
ahead and they are too excited. We make some sticks and the 7 of us
go together, to show those monkeys they have to back away...
We
wake up next day at 5 am to reach the top before the sunrise. We have
heard the sunrise on the summit is simply incredible but
unfortunately the fog is too dense and we cannot really see much. It
is still worth it, we are on the summit, at 3070 m, were the massive
statue of Samantabhadra, a bodhisattva (enlightened being) in
Mahayana Buddhism, welcomes us. The summit also brings a surprise.
There is actually a road that comes to almost the top through which
dozens of buses bring thousands of people. There are lots of shops
next to one another selling food, all type of merchandising, jewelry
and where they even dress up people with traditional customs to take
photos of them and charge them one of their kidneys (meaning a lot of money). There is even a
cable car to make it to the other summit. All those shops with lots
of Chinese people buying and taking photos are surrounding the temple
and the Samantabhadra, holy places for buddhists. People are feeding
the monkeys and throwing rubish everywhere and i go in shock. The
journey to the top has been done in 40 hours including two nights, in
which we have seen 5 more people. The place is full of signs asking
for respect to the temples and the place, to keep silence and to
carry all our rubish with us. It is a National Park, UNESCO site and
a place of incredible cultural and natural significance. We are with
the two Chinese students who came with their small backpacks to enjoy
some free time and relaxation, and we are surrounded by thousands of
Chinese flooding the place with plastic bottles, food debris and
paper (which lie next to the sign that asks people to carry their
litter), buying stuff and taking thousand of photos, all going in big
groups. We take a photo the four of us together and some Chinese
people come pointing at their cameras asking me if they can also have
a photo with me. I forgot that i am still a fairground attraction for
them, which i really love so of course i say yes. I am just having
this feeling all the time since i got in mainland China that this
gigantic country has two very well defined souls (definitely more)
and that they collide in such a strong manner that i really wonder
how long this can last. We go down to find out that the buses take
you to the village for 50 yuan (150 Kc, 6 euros). If you count the
number of people there and the distance of the journey, they are
making incredible amounts of money.
Before
heading back to Chengdu we visited Leshan and its Giant Budha. We
were welcomed by massive floods of Chinese smiling at us and taking
photos of us. For the first time we also see some other foreigners
(non-Asians). The place is still worth it if you can really stand the
crowds. A 75 m Budha carved in the 8th
century A.D. stands on Xijuo Peak, from where you can see the
confluence of three astonishing rivers. Other monuments include the
Lingbao Pagoda, the Wuyu and Dafo temples and Mahao Crag with its 500
tombs from the Han Dinasty. While waiting for the bus to go back to
Chengdu we meet this guy who asks if we need help. We don't, but we
start talking to him. He is actually an English teacher and he knows
about Czech Republic and the split with Slovakia. He talks about
Dubček,
who attempted to change the Communist regime during the Prague Spring
or Husák, the Communist leader of Czechoslovakia after the Soviets
invaded it. I don't remember very well his words but he came to say
something like: “Communism is nowhere here, it is an illusion, just
like a dream”. He wishes us luck for our trip and we hop on the
bus, back to Chengdu...
It
is time for breakfast with an Israelian guy who is traveling around
Asia and a Dutch guy who teaches English in China. It is also
interesting the conversation because the English teacher tells me
that the students also cast away demons during class (do you recall
what that means?). He told me it is quite frustrating because they
show no interest or motivation at all and that they are not used to
engage into any participation. He said in korea or Australia he would
always get feedback from the students but that in China it is
impossible. He prepares games and other things but they never pay
attention or they cheat. He said during his classes most people are
sleeping, chatting or playing videogames. When i asked him about the
age he told me they are at University! But also that they have no
motivation because most of them have a lot of money or connections
within the Party and those are promoted to the next course no matter
what they do. Anyway after breakfast we head to the Tibetan quarter,
which is really nice and from there through a nice park to an
incredibly beautiful street with a Chinese opera and some amazing
buildings. A guy on a bike with very long hair stops and tries to
communicate but he doesn't speak English. We can hardly understand
anything but he asks if we are from America. We say we are not
although he does not seem to care and continues: “America,
democracy”, pointing at his phone and showing other words like
“woman”. I really wonder if he knows what he is talking about or
he is just saying some words he has heard which make no sense to him
but then he continues: “America, democracy”. Everyone who has
tried to communicate with us goes around the same thing like
communism, democracy etc etc.
We
decided we had not had enough that day so we went to meet our friend
Mason, who was giving a drawing lesson to some kids. We are invited
to join them in their home. They are two girls, 14 and 16 years old
and very excited about us being there. The oldest speaks quite decent
English and so the question time begins. She asks me what teenagers
are like in Europe. What they like, what they usually do and if they
get as much homework as they do there (4-5 hours a day). An even
better question comes when they ask me if i have facebook and say
that they do not understand why they are not allowed to have it.
After failing to answer those questions, they show us some drawing
they are doing and some photos on their phones of drawings from other
days. They do not have the originals and Mason tells us their parents
quickly sell them or take them somewhere to try to get them a name.
He talks about “tiger mums”. So it is actually true! If the
children were not good at this the parents would never invest any
time or money on it. We finally leave our little friends and we
decide to end the night in a reggae bar where quite a few people are
smoking pot. I ask mason what would happen if they were caught and he
says nothing good but according to him it is ok because the police do
not know what a joint is...That night we have to say goodbye to our
friend and he tells us we are really nice which i really
appreciate...he is a good guy.
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