Jiangnan in the Rain (1): Sanqing Mountain in the Rain

Like previous independent trips, our trip to Sanqingshan and Wuyuan in Jiangxi Province was also decided on the spur of the moment, without even any plan. We have not read any written information about Sanqingshan, nor have we even viewed the pictures.

The reason why I chose to go to Sanqing Mountain is because Yuanyuan and I have both been to Wugong Mountain in Jiangxi Province. I heard people say that in addition to Wugong Mountain, Jiangxi also has Sanqing Mountain, and of course, the famous Lushan Mountain is indispensable. But Lushan Mountain is too famous. I am worried that this mountain has been developed too "commercially", so I have been reluctant to go there. Then let’s go to Sanqing Mountain, which is vague in our impression.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 19, Yuanyuan and I were lying on the sofa in the living room, planning whether to go to Maoer Mountain in Guangxi Province or Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou Province. After looking at the weather forecasts in both places, it showed rain over the weekend, so we planned to go somewhere else. Let’s go to the Qiannan area. We only have 3 days in Yuanyuan, and 3 days are not enough to visit Qiannan. It will take at least 7 or 8 days. Then go to Fanjing Mountain. We clicked on the 12306 app to buy tickets, and it showed that the second-class seats on the high-speed train had been sold out, and only first-class seats were left. The first-class seats were 165 yuan more expensive than the second-class seats. We felt that spending an extra 330 yuan for two people was not worthwhile, so I also gave up Mount Fanjing and saved it for next time. We opened the Amap map to see what other interesting places there are near Sanqing Mountain in Jiangxi Province. We found that Wuyuan is very close to Sanqing Mountain, and the drive only takes more than an hour. We can go to Sanqing Mountain for 1 day first, and then spend 2 days to Wuyuan.

It seems to be raining all over the South. The weather forecast shows that Sanqingshan will also rain on Friday and Saturday, with sunshine on Sunday. I was thinking that after arriving at Yushan Station, if it really rains, we will change to the train to Wuyuan first, spend 2 days in Wuyuan, and then go to Sanqingshan on Sunday when it is sunny.

Yuanyuan will go on a business trip out of town on Thursday morning and will not return to Guangzhou until the evening. There are no high-speed trains to Shangrao Station at night. If you choose to take the high-speed train during the day on Friday, you will waste a whole day, and it will already be evening when you get there. So, we planned to take the train from Guangzhou Station to Yushan Station at 20:45 on Thursday night, arrive at the station at 9:25 the next morning, and then take the bus to Sanqingshan. I checked the official railway website and found that there are no sleeper tickets, only hard seats. My past experience of riding on a hard seat tells me that sleeper tickets are usually available at midnight. Our ideal plan is to get on the train first, then say hello to the conductor who is replenishing the ticket, and if there is a sleeper ticket, he will replenish it for us right away. In this way, we can have a night's rest on the train, and in the morning we can go to Sanqing Mountain with enough energy.

I left Yuanyuan’s house and returned to my own residence on Wednesday night. Yuanyuan asked me to do my homework for this trip in advance. But my past travel experience tells me that as long as you have never been to this place, any preparations you make for your itinerary will be almost useless when you get there. Therefore, I said I would do my homework in advance, but in fact I did nothing.

We entered the platform at 20:35 on Thursday night, and we were almost the last ones to board the train. At this time, the train was full of people, and Yuanyuan and I sat in a row of three seats. There was an uncle in his 40s sitting by the window, and an aunt in her 50s sitting opposite the window. Opposite us was a young couple. The woman was sitting directly opposite me. She was wearing a three-quarter skirt. Her exposed legs forced me to turn my head to the right or left, otherwise I would be suspected of peeping. It makes my head feel really bad. After putting away my backpack, I went to Car No. 7 to ask if I could still get a sleeper ticket tonight. The conductor told me that there were no more tickets.

The train stopped at Ganzhou Station at 1:50 in the morning for 20 minutes. I got off the train to breathe fresh air, while Yuanyuan remained on the train and slept on her stomach. For some places, I think the sound cannot make people fall asleep, but it doesn't seem to have much impact on Yuanyuan, and she can sleep. I don't know if she fell asleep, but seeing as she kept her eyes closed, maybe she fell asleep. After getting back on the train, I asked again if there was any sleeper ticket reimbursement. The conductor said there was no more and that I would have to wait until dawn to get to Yushan Station.

I sighed inwardly.

I didn't sleep all night.

I arrived at Yushan Station around 9:25 in the morning. The sky was gray and it looked like it was going to rain. I stood on the platform and checked the local weather forecast, which showed that it would still rain in the next two days. I planned to take a bus to Wuyuan first, and then come to Sanqingshan when the weather cleared on Sunday. But Yuanyuan said that since we are here, let’s go to Sanqing Mountain first. I thought it would be difficult for her to travel far away, so I would accommodate her wishes. After exiting the station, a few drivers soliciting customers asked us where we were going. One of the middle-aged men in his 40s said that it costs 150 yuan to go to Sanqingshan. We said it was expensive, but he said the cheapest was 120 yuan, and a taxi from here would cost almost 200 yuan.

"100 yuan, if it doesn't work, forget it." We responded to his price this way. But he actually compromised, and we got into his seven-seater business car.

On the way, he asked us several times whether we were going to the east gate or the south gate, and encouraged us to go to the east gate first, then go up the mountain and then go down to the south gate.

Although I have never been here, looking at the mountain roads here and the direction to Wuyuan from the Gaode map, I think it is in line with our plan to go up the mountain from the south gate and circle around, then go down the mountain from the east gate and take the bus bound for Wuyuan. route (it turned out that my idea was right).

The car still hasn’t arrived after driving for an hour. At this time, I felt that 100 yuan was too little. Of course, at that time, school was about to start, and most students were already at home catching up on homework. It just so happens that today is Wednesday and there are fewer tourists. There are few tourists, but there are many drivers soliciting customers. If he doesn't accept this 100 yuan order, he will lose dozens of yuan in income today (excluding the gas expenses for his round trip). And if he has a chance to attract repeat customers when he comes back, then maybe he can earn more from this order. But the fact is that there are almost no tourists going to the train station from Sanqingshan Mountain early in the morning. This is what Li said, but it seemed too cold to Qing. So I decided in my mind to give him an extra few dozen yuan after getting off the car.

Due to not sleeping all night on the train, and also doing upper body strength training yesterday, I was extremely exhausted in the car now. Even though I couldn't sleep in the car, I knew I had to force myself to close my eyes and rest my mind, so I entered a state of drowsiness and dizziness. Entering the terrain of Sanqing Mountain, all the roads leading to the south gate are dangerous and winding mountain roads, and the driving speed cannot be increased. I understood why the driver kept encouraging us to go up the mountain from the east gate. On the left side of the road is a green and clear Yuya River. This endless river seems to accompany us all the way. I know that its source flows down from the top of Sanqing Mountain, but I don’t know where it flows and which river it joins with. However, along the way, you can feel that the air is moist, the plants on both sides are lush, and the crops are growing very well. I think this river has the greatest contribution.

I opened the Gaode map on my mobile phone and saw that the entire Jiangxi Province is covered with large and small rivers and lakes. No wonder Jiangxi has been known as the land of plenty since its inception.

Entering the south gate of the scenic spot, there are restaurants, restaurants and small shops on both sides. It has started to rain lightly. Although I had read the weather forecast in advance, I still felt disappointed. Because my many travel experiences have told me that to see mountains and rivers, it must be on a clear day, otherwise it will be impossible to see clearly.

After getting off the bus, I gave the driver an extra 30 yuan. He recommended that we eat at a restaurant right next to where the car was parked. Of course I knew in my heart that this would bring him a kickback. But you still have to eat, and it costs about the same amount of money wherever you go to eat, so let’s do good deeds for others.

Out of her usual politeness, Yuanyuan called out, "Master, do you want to come over and eat together?" This is a polite saying that Chinese people are accustomed to, just to avoid making the atmosphere awkward. Who would have thought that the driver didn't even hesitate and said, "Hey, okay, okay." At this time, anger showed on my face. But he put it away in an instant, and Qiao Long said calmly: "Sit down, you're welcome."

After dinner, we walked up from the hotel for 20 minutes and arrived at the south gate of Sanqingshan Scenic Area. Here you can take the ropeway to reach halfway up the mountain and close to the top of the mountain, and then visit the trails and plank roads built in the mountain. Even if you take the ropeway up the mountain, it will take 2 days to complete the tour. Of course, you can leave 65 yuan and choose to hike up. But I would like to suggest that for those who plan to visit Sanqing Mountain, this is not a place for hiking, but a place for you to appreciate the special mountain features that are extremely rare today due to geological movements in ancient times. If you don’t believe it, you might as well take a look at the mountain scenery at my feet that I took from the cable car. It’s actually extremely unsuitable for hiking.

Although the rain stopped at this time, the entire mountain had already been soaked. The haze formed by the evaporation of rainwater looks like a layer of flour floating around, making it blurry. We can vaguely make out with the naked eye the strange rocks standing on the ridge, as if they were crafted by ancient people after thousands of years of sharpening with tools. I recently read the American book "Geography and Life" and learned that these are formed by the deflection and folding of the earth's internal tectonic forces and the chemical reactions of organisms. Today's Sanqing Mountain was part of the sea in ancient times. In a few hundred million or one billion years, it will become part of the sea again through crustal movement.

Therefore, the poem written by the ancients: "I want to know you, and my life will never fade. The mountains have no mausoleums, the rivers are resting, thunder in winter shakes, rain and snow in summer. Heaven and earth are in harmony, so I dare to be with you." . If they live this long, it seems that one day they will die.

There is a suspended glass bridge in the mountains, but Yuanyuan dare not cross it. After many urgings from me, she reluctantly moved forward. But he still said tremblingly as he walked: "I'm so scared, I'm really scared." Although I wasn't afraid, when I walked to the bridge and looked down, my legs became slightly weak, and my heart was raised due to the strong awareness of protection.

In addition to this suspended bridge, there are also many suspended plank roads. You can't imagine how much danger and difficulty the original workers had to endure to build them. The 120 yuan ticket and 65 yuan ropeway ticket will feel not expensive at all.

What surprised me was that I could see many squirrels foraging for food in the rain and some beautiful birds that I didn’t know about on this mountain. It shows that the ecological protection here is very good, and the local animals have long been accustomed to the presence of humans.

The rain gradually became heavier, and Yuanyuan and I came to a small pavilion to take shelter from the rain. Because I had never observed such handsome birds at close range, I sat on a stone chair and quietly observed their beautiful postures and the way they foraged for food.

When I got up, there were many stinky bugs on my body. Oh my god, I was so scared that I clapped my hands in panic. After taking the photo, I raised my hand to smell it, and felt a strong vomiting sensation that almost caused the contents of my stomach to spit out. I stepped forward and saw a few bugs jumping on Yuanyuan's body. Having learned the lesson of nausea, I picked up the branches and pulled them down one by one. At this time, Yuanyuan was so shocked that her whole shoulders and neck were hunched up.

We really can’t tell when this rain is going to fall. It was almost 16 o'clock at this time. We still have to take a bus from here to Wuyuan, but I'm afraid it will get later and later, and by then there won't even be any buses going there.

Braving the rain, we speeded up the descent and took the cable car from Jinsha Cableway Station to the East Gate at nearly 17:00.

Of course I feel regretful. Unfortunately, the rain and fog prevented us from seeing the beautiful and rugged features of this mountain. We decided to do it again on a sunny day in the future.

Finally, here are some photos taken in Sanqing Mountain: