Living in the city or in the suburbs of a giant city it's easy to forget that there is in fact "nature" outside the Big City. We miss seeing "nature" so we decided to book an appointment and see "nature".
hee hee hee
Say what????
We decided it was high time to go visit the mountains! Why not check out Panshan- or Mt. Panshan. Shān means mountain in Chinese and the Chinese character for it really does look like a mountain:山
Kind of redundant to say Mt. Panshan, doesn't it??? "Mount something Mountain"???
Panshan is about a two-hour drive straight north of Tianjin. You can read more about it here and here.
FYI- The blue sky was NOT, I repeat NOT, photoshopped in! It really was that blue!!!!
We talked it over with our driver, via our broken bits of Chinese and hand gesturing and we've decided to travel up the mountain via a couple of cable cars (lǎnchē). You can buy your tickets at this kiosk:
So….are you brave enough to do a one-way trip up the mountain and then hike all the way back down???? We *think* we are!!!!
Up, up and up we go!!!!!
Time to get out at the cable car! Oh, and we're not quite at the top of the mountain- at least not yet. I think we're going to find the next cable car to take us all the way to the top.
Mr. Li and his wife are just about to exit their cable car.
Now, which way to go??? I like the sound of "Ropeway amidst clouds and pines". Don't you??? Although, "forest of pagodas" also sounds amusing.
Standing beside something…a mini pagoda? We're in the middle of a cluster of buildings. On the left side there's a drum tower and to the right there's a bell tower. And behind us there's a room with monks and a small shrine inside.
A BELL!!!!
wow! a Green Metal Bug!
Mr. Li's wife and the girls. Mrs. Li was very sweet and kind.
And this would be a drum!!! (do they always come in matching sets- it seems so far that wherever there is a bell tower you'll also find a drum tower in close range to it.)
A quick peek inside one of the buildings. There's a monk peeking into the photo. Or at least, I assume it's a monk or someone dressed to look like one!!!!
Check out all the greenery growing on top of the roof….and check out that guy below with a piece of fabric on his head. ?
And we've made it to Cable Car #2. We can partly make out the loud blaring announcement in Chinese- the ride on the cable car lasts 29 minutes. Oh my. Are you up for it??? These cars are smaller- they're two-seaters.
If you squint you can see the top of the mountain.
Ava and Mark exiting the cable car. Just waiting for Mr. Li and his wife.
Let's break for lunch! We packed a picnic lunch. Did you pack anything????
Weeeeelllllll…..I suppose some people get to travel in style! Check out how this fellow is being carried onward and upward. Or is it just sheer laziness????
See that red looking building off to the left side of the photo? I think that's a hotel of sorts….
Here's a sign for what we assume to be a hotel….Maybe next time we come we can try to stay a night here!
A view from the hotel (?) terrace….
Another view from the hotel terrace.
Look down from the terrace: what are those white sheets hanging there? Oh! I wonder if that's the bedding from the hotel air drying out in the sun???
Check out all the locks!!! Lots and lots of locks. Left behind by visitors to the mountain.
The lion keeping watch over the locks.
A view from the top.
A gate guarding the steps to the top of the mountain. There seems to a spring nearly bursting out from the bottom of the steps.
Making our way down the mountain.
Watching the cable cars. Stopped. They stopped… just like that. Making us wonder why….???????
Could this be the forest of pagodas???
Odd looking fellow!!!
Pretty waterfalls and rock formations.
Something about this reminds me of a house in the alps. Maybe it's the wood facade among the large rocks???
One last look down the hill….
So…how do your legs feel??? Mr. Li said it would be a 90-minute walk down the mountain which turned into three hours. Oh my! I can definitely feel that my legs got a workout!!! None of that couch potato stuff for us!!! Thanks for hiking with us!
(now, sit and relax for a bit!!!!)