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On Saturday, we join a Chinese tour group and board a bus heading to the town of Qu Fu, where the confucius temple is located. The grounds are extensive and very beautiful.
This picture is taken near the beginning of the entrance onto the grounds.
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Main temple on the grounds.
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Qufu cematary.
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Confucius grave.
Hiking Taishan Mountain - At Taiyan
After leaving Qufu, we head back to the town of Taiyan where the mountatin called "Taishan" is located. We spend Saturday night here at a hotel called Jinshan Villa located near the entrance to the mountain in preparation to hike Taishan Mountain the following day.
This is our hotel lobby.
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Sunday morning we begin our journey up Taishan Mountain. Taishan Mountain is considered one of the most spiritual mountains in China where many locals take incense to light at the top of the mountain and along the way to ask for guidance and wishes.
Mitch and Rick are at the entrance to the mountain where minibuses take us to our starting point where we have a short walk to the gondola lift that will take us near the top of the mountain.
For our decent, we walk down the entire way.
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Pathway to the gondola lift. The first part of the morning was cloaked in low hanging misty clouds, adding to the spiritual feel of the mountain. Later, the clouds would break and closer to the top of the mountain, it became extremely clear and sunny !
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Mitch and Rick at a viewpoint stop along the way.
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Catching the skill of a man making fresh noodles at a noodle house restaurant along the way.
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Stopping for a picture in front of one of the many gates located along the hike.
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Writings left by kings, sages and poets.
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Incense shrine with temple rooms where people could make offerings or ask for guidance. Located near the top of the mountain.
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Reaching the top of Taishan !
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Mitch in quiet observation at the top of Taishan. Views overlooking the mountain top were spectacular !
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People reaching the top can secure a "lock" to represent something significant to them. This is a picture of the thousands of locks already there.
As a gesture to the importance and meaning of our trip to China, we secure a lock for our friendship and for our adventure that we will share together over the coming months !
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Picture of our lock with our names etched in traditional Chinese characters.
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Picture of us securing our lock.
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After spending some time enjoying the view from atop Taishan Mountain, we begin our descent. Our descent takes us down thousands of steep stairs to the bottom of the mountain. Total decent takes approximately 2 hours. Though taxing on the calves and thighs, the scenery is sublime !
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As we descend, we see locals passing us by hauling heavy parcels "UP" the mountain at a steady pace ! They can make 2-3 trips per day ! Amazing !
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The end of our hike ! What an amazing day !