Shaoguan Danxia Mountain 韶关丹霞山– Guangdong, China

        Have you watched the famous Korean movie called “Winter Sonata”? Do you like it? Do you like summer or winter best? I love winter for it suggests a romantic experience. Winter 2009 has left me a precious memory I will never forget. It was the first winter I spent in China. Before that, I never knew what winter felt like or how cool it would be. Indeed, winter in Guangzhou was freezing although it was not snowy like the southern part of China (Beijing and its vicinity).

        On one winter day, when I just got back from Shenzhen, my friends directly asked me to go with them to visit a relative's friend in Shaoguan. Shaoguan is still part of Guangdong province and is regarded as the north gate of Guangdong with Hunan in the north and Guangzhou in the south. Because of my great passion to explore China, I responded my friends’ request with excitement and finally agreed to go to Shaoguan despites my tired body. I soon prepared my clothes, winter jacket and some food, ready to set off to Shaoguan.

 

        Early in the next morning, we took taxi to go to the train station. When we arrived at Guangzhou East Railway Station to buy train tickets, the queue was terrible. We had to wait for more than one hour to buy the tickets. While waiting for the queue, we took turn eating our breakfast at KFC. There were four of us at that time and we were all having a great time. When it was time for us to depart, we then proceeded to get in the train. The train to Shaoguan is much dirtier than normal MTR train or train to Shenzhen or Hongkong. What a difference I saw at that time. People carelessly threw their food inside the train. The smell was not really good combined with unpleasant view of litters all over the train really made me uncomfortable.

        Along the journey, to crack the boredom we played song guessing. It was really funny. We were divided into two groups and each group had to hum a song for the other group to guess. Laughter and jokes filled our trip until we reached the destination.

        Upon our arrival at Shaoguan train station, a lady wearing modest clothe shouted my friend's name, Ficky, with his Chinese name. She warmly welcomed and greeted us. She smiled very often and offered her help to carry our luggage. It is Chinese culture to carry guests' luggage. However, to respond to their modesty, we should politely refuse their help to show our humility. Since we did not want to burden her, we carried our luggage by ourselves. She then took us to a tour agency nearby the station. The tour agency men excitedly started to explain all the facilities, services and destinations they had. They were speaking very fast like how the majority of Chinese people would speak. Most of my friends could not understand them fully, including me. However, I tried my best to understand what they meant. After having some discussion, we finally agreed to pay the down payment and registered ourselves. No matter how hard and convincingly we persuaded the auntie, she would not receive our offer to treat her to join us in the tour. She said “I'm already old. You guys go”.

        After we left the tour agency, the auntie took us to her modest house located quite far from the station. She lived in an old flat and her house was on the second floor. The house was just like common traditional Chinese houses. It looked very modest, but what made us feel welcomed was the warm smiles of the owners. The auntie asked us to sit in her small living room. She served us with a glass of hot tea to warm our body after touching with the outside coldness. As we sipped our tea, she began telling stories of herself and her family. She had a husband and two children. Her children had gone to big cities to work. In the middle of our discussion, her husband approached us. For dinner, the auntie served us with typical Chinese cuisine consisting of rice, soup, and vegetables. She made them all by herself. Both the auntie and the uncle were very friendly and nice to us. We were all having a great time. Their warmness and humility made me feel like home.

 

 We were welcomed with a glass of hot Chinese tea, making our body feel a little bit warm.

        Visiting the auntie’s house was like a practice for me to learn to live a simple rural life. For most people who use to living in big cities with glamour lifestyle and practicality, it is not easy to adapt with the conditions of a rural life. Sometimes, it can create uneasiness and inconvenience. Thank God, I am not a type of a “real” city girl, so it is easier for me to adapt with the situation. That night, Lusi and I were sleeping in the same room. The bed was not bumpy and the outside weather was very cold. We only had a blanket to share. Before going to sleep, we played cards together. We played “mosquitoes clap” cards game. To avoid anyone getting hurt, I took off my ring that my friends gave. What made me sad was I forgot to put it on, so I lost it… huhu…

        The next day, we hurried to go to the meeting point to catch the bus that would take us to Danxia mountain. We then finally decided to take a tour to Danxia mountain, the most famous mountain in Shaoguan. It is a destination visitors should not miss.

        Positioned in the northern part of Guangdong province, between the Pearl river and the Yangtzhe basin, Shaoguan enjoys a long history and has a highly developed culture. Occupying an area of 184,000 square meters, the city is populated by over 3.17 million people. It was once the “powerhouse” with great influence in Guangdong. However, its position was then replaced by the vast economic development of Shenzhen and Zhuhai as the Special Economic zones. It also functioned as a strategic military site during the World War II.

        One of the most famous landmarks in Shaoguan is a mountain called “Danxia mountain”. Located in Renhua county of about 45 kilometers from Shaoguan city, Danxia mountain is a famous natural landscape visited by local and international tourists. The site boasts of being the largest scenic area that has the most beautiful scenery in Guangdong. Due to the major structure of the mountain that consists of red sandstone, the mountain is called “Danxia”, which means “red rays of the sun” in Chinese. There is also a local version telling how the mountain retains its current name. The local legend tells a love story between a man called Dan Zai and a fairy called A Xia. Because of her love, A Xia came down to the mortal’s world to marry Dan Zai. They lived happily until the Jade Emperor commanded the fairy to return to the palace. However, the fairy refused and the Emperor in his rage turned the fairy into a beautifully reclining stone statue by the Jin river and the man into the Monk-hood peak on the opposite bank. That is how the mountain retained its name, taken from the man's first name and the fairy's last name.

        Danxia mountain is praised as the most unique mountain in Guangdong and Guangxi areas. The mountain is primarily composed of red sandstone rocks and has around 700 pieces of red glutenite. It is well known for its red walls and cliffs, with the red color giving a sense of solemnity and sacredness, which is in line with authoritative and noble color by Chinese traditional culture. The color implies a strong religious dignity and mystery. The site has also been acknowledged as the national geological landscape reserve by UNESCO, which is characterized by upright cliffs, gently sloping hills, countless sized red stone peaks, stone walls and stone bridges, with places the red stones expose are usually craggy cliffs. It was once an inland basin of reddish stone that through years of erosion became a series of mountains surrounded by steep cliffs and many unusual rock formations.  Lying against the blue sky, jade waters, green trees, this largest most beautiful scenic area in Guangdong shines its laid-back charm and looks like a picturesque painting.

        The enchanting mountain has a variety of plants and many wonderful scenic spots such as Zhanglao Peak, Yangyuan Hill, Xianglong Lake and Jin River. Zhanglao Peak and Yangyuan Hill face each other. Yangyuan hill is renowned for its Yangyuan stone that looks like a male genital organ. The Xianglong lake is located at the south of Zhanglao peak, which is named so for it resembles a flying dragon. The Jinjiang River provides a beautiful waterside scenery and offers a series aquatic programs including swimming, boating and yachting.

 At the entrance gate of Danxia Mountain Geopark

 The stone stele of Danxia Mountain Geopark

 We took the cable car to reach the peak of the mountain for it was quite risky and dangerous to climb it on foot

 The view of the mountain from the peak

 I was pretending to climb the rocky mountain… haha

 There were four of us and we all had a great time

 I climbed these staircases to reach the top of the mountain. There were hundreds of them, quite enough to make me tired.

 At the mountain’s peak, I found a granite gate

 The sun was shining brightly and added a little warmness to my body

 The view at the mountain’s peak was very beautiful, offering visitors with tranquil surroundings

 I found it very interesting to see love padlocks along the chain inscribed with couple’s names on them 

 They said if you inscribe you and your spouse’s name on the love padlock, your love will last forever. One day I will inscribe my and my partner’s name on the padlock.. :p

 The giant love padlock resembles an everlasting love that is locked together until death separates. The padlock is a symbol of two hearts bound together

 I was climbing down the staircases

 As I climbed down the mountain, I saw giant red sandstone rock with Chinese inscriptions on it. The ancestors have left countless cliffs and cliff coffins. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the mountain played an important role as a center for Buddhism activities. Throughout dynasties, writers, poets and painters have expressed their admiration of the stunning beauty of the mountain by inscribing poems and paintings on the mountain rocks.

 Look at this sandstone rock. It has a very unique form

 Another impressive sandstone rock

 The local resident’s house at the foot of the mountain. There was also a small shop selling ice cream and snacks nearby

 A building at the foot of the mountain with typical Chinese architecture

 There was also a small temple at the foot of the mountain, located adjacent to the local resident’s house

 Four of us at the foot of the mountain

 When we reached the bottom part of the mountain, we saw a group of local people wearing traditional costumes ready to perform their culture to the visitors

        Danxia mountain has several outstanding red appearance in the form of penis-like big stone, vagina-like cave, breasts-like rocks, and naked sleeping beauty rock. The four beauties of the mountain consist of Yangyuan Rock (Male Organ), Yinyuan Rock (Female Organ), Wangfu (Longing for Husband to Return) Rock and Longlin Rock. The two source of life stones that face each other across the mountain, Yangyuan stone and Yingyuan stone, have become the icons of the scenic area. One is masculine and the other is feminine. The two stones have been the key attraction points for visitors for they resemble male and female genital organs respectively.

 Yangyuan rock stands as high as 28 meters and has a 7 meter-diameter

 Yangyuan rock seen from afar. It looks like male genital organ

        Enjoy a great moment traveling through the rocky mountain by a boat on Jinjiang River. The river also offers various opportunities for yachting, boating and swimming. As you boat along the river, you can encounter unique peaks having different forms like the Elephants Crossing River, the Golden Turtle in Worship, the Monster Seized in Six Fingers, the Sister Peak, the Tea-Pot Peak and the Goddess of Mercy Sending a Baby.

 Preparing to boat along the Jinjiang River

 I and Lusi enjoying the bewitching view from the boat

 Two women yachting on the river

 As we travelled along the boat, we saw many rocks of various shapes and forms

 Unique form of the river

 The six fingers rock. Can you see the nails?

 Can you guess what this big rock resembles?

 Do you notice that this mountain peak looks like a head of an elephant?

 We were preparing to go home

                                                           The road in the mountain area

        The next day after the tour, we decided to go back to Guangzhou as we did not want to be a burden to the auntie and her husband. With the train ticket in our hands, we left Shaoguan for Guangzhou, leaving behind a series of wonderful memories. I will never forget the natural beauty of the mountain and the inner beauty of the new acquaintance. I cherish every moment we spent there, and I will keep that memory in my heart forever.

Sources:
Personal experience and additional information from other online articles