Working Trip 9

Toward the end of my working trip, the host rewarded us with an adventure rendezvous. The place we are going is one of the five sacred mountain in China. Millions of people go there for a pilgrimage and for the Chinese, this place is equivalent to Mecca to Muslim. They say, every Chinese dream of visiting the temple at least once in a lifetime. The place is called Mount Tai or Tai Shan located 1571 meters above sea level and the highest mountain in Shandong Province.

I didn't realise the significance of this mountain until i got to know that only 72 Emperors out of more than 2000 emperors existed during the dynasties era have made to the peak and prayed at the temples located on the Mountain. One of the greatest emperor and the first King to ever climbed the mountain to its peak was the same King that had built the Great Wall of China. It was said that only the successful emperors dare to pray at the temple or else he will embarass himself to scale the heights. It was believed that whoever managed to reach its peak will return to his home as a 'new' rejuvenated person.

Can you see the peak? Yes. We will be climbing up by foot. By foot? Aiyaa. Anyway, it was a majestic sight from downtown Tai An.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain a bit late. Thus, the guide advised us not to climb up by foot or else we will not be able to come down the same day. Phewwww... I was glad but my colleague looked frustrated. It was a blow to him because the Chinese believed that the pilgrimage will not be fullfilled if the person does not complete the 7000 steps climb towards the sacred temple.

There was a bus ride until the mid-point and from thereon visitors can choose either walking up the stairs or take the cable car. I chose the cable car. The cable car ride took 20 mins to reach the top. It was high up in the air and i enjoyed the God given scenic nature.

This is the sacred temple. It is said that a person need to write his prayers and wishes on a piece of paper and a priest will complete the process. The piece of paper is then burnt to ashes and the person is given a padlock which is then he will lock at the center of the shrine. The lock symbolises that our prayers and wishes are secured and safe at the temple. The Chinese believed that prayers made at this temple are the purest of all prayers and high possibility of it being fulfilled by God.

Behind me is an ancient hotel that was used by the emperors to stay up there for an extended period in those days. The temperature was around 10C. I was standing above the clouds. Beautiful sight.

I had the chance to say my quiet prayer during sunset. I wish only good things for me, my family and my friends. for MU too. Hahah....

There were many ancient buildings built at the peak. I wonder how they carry the building materials up there during those days.
Soon after sunset, we were supposed to catch the last cable car down. Unfortunately, we missed it. Darn. The cable car service ends at 530pm but due to bad weather it stopped earlier that day. How, huh, now?
We were told to walk down the mountain and take the 7000 stairs. Alamakkk.... You can see the stairs from this picture and we started walking down at 530pm. We were told not to take more than an hour to reach the mid-point or else risking missing the bus ride down. If we missed the bus, we have to walk down another three hours to the foot of the mountain.

Thus, without wasting any time - we started our journey down. Throngs of people walked down with us but no one complained anything. There were people still climbing up and some carrying water containers, supplies, clothes etc. Walking down the stairs made me realise why the Chinese regarded this journey as a pilgrimage. It was tough walking down but three times harder to walk up. I saw many determine young and old people struggling to climb up.

On the way down, we saw this sacred tree too. It was said that the first King that climbed the mountain sheltered under it from cold weather. As a result, the King rewarded the tree by making it as one of his Minister during his administration era. Sound funny, huh? But mind you, do not make fun of this in front of your Chinese friend cos it is considered as insulting. The exact tree is still exist until today and only god knows how old she is. (must be at least 2000 years old).

I completed the walk down within 60 minutes and managed to catch the last bus. Nasib baik.....

I came down with new spirits, renewed vigour and great feeling that i had completed the pilgrimage. It was not easy but the satisfaction sensation that ran through my blood at that time cannot be describe in words.

Keat - I stand corrected but i hope you can confirm whether my facts are accurate. You must go, my fren.