Mulan Immortal Mountain
Text/Shi Qinghua
slept until more than nine o'clock, and the family got up. At ten o'clock, breakfast and lunch are combined, and then drive to Huangpi Yunwu Mountain.
The advertisement of Yunwu Mountain is loud, and the picture is beautiful and the flowers are happy, which may be a good place to play. The daughter-in-law checked the road conditions to the scenic spot. The road was red and purple, indicating that it would take two hours for vehicles to pass, and it must have been overcrowded, so we had to change to Mulan Mountain, which is not far away.
All the way to the northeast, after passing the Tianhe Airport, basically leave the downtown area, and have probably entered the Huangpi District. The round hills on both sides of the highway stretch out all the way forward, and there seems to be no end in sight. In the delicate blue hills, solar panels on buildings and spires of power towers are occasionally exposed. Perhaps it is they that have written the message of modernization into every corner of the motherland.
On the gentle hillside, the verdant rape pods are paved, and the fat pods are slightly upturned one by one, looking up at the sun, hoping to grow full grains. The dotted rape flowers are hidden, winking mischievously, still refusing to leave, smiling to welcome the guests from the north and south.
After a while, two high mountains jumped into view not far away. They are steeper and more majestic than the surrounding mountains, just like the chickens in the flock. Approaching, the white-walled and blue-tiled houses that ascended the hillside almost reached the top of the hill. On a large flat ground on the mountainside, there is a seven-story double pagoda with yellow walls and black tiles, perhaps it is the gate to enter the fairy mountain.
At 12:40 minutes, we arrived at the entrance of the Mulan Mountain Cableway. The blank spaces on the walls of the scattered shops and hotels are full of colorful advertisements. There is a propaganda with red characters on a white background that is particularly conspicuous: Mulan Immortal Mountain, sensing the Quartet. The radio on the tower of the ropeway tirelessly recounts in a loop: the ropeway is about 1,000 meters long, and it takes 16 minutes to reach the highest peak of Mulan Mountain, eliminating the hard work of climbing. The view from the air, such as entering a fairyland, is beautiful.
Although I have taken the more dangerous Lushan cable car, how here may be different. Buy a ticket to enter the cable car, there is no advanced Lushan can pause. Fortunately, the girl who is responsible for tourists getting on the cable car is well-behaved and flexible, and has quick eyes. When the cable car turntable is moving at a constant speed, it tells passengers in concise language, and helps to board the train with quick and accurate movements, ensuring the safety of guests. If the unresponsive tourists are a little more unresponsive, they can only get on and off the cable car. It really achieved the admonition of "I'd rather stop for three points than grab a second". After all, a second away is an abyss, and no one dares to take a step beyond the thunder pool.
The cable car climbs slowly, a little slower than a walk. People sit in the car, their feet on the pines and cypresses. In the clouds and mist overlooking the middle of the mountain, tea farmers scattered all over the stars bend down and bow their heads, holding a basket in one hand and pinching a few light green young leaves with the other, which may be the raw materials for making cloud tea. The large and small weir ponds near and far under the feet are like mirrors inlaid in the green splendor, gathering the cable cars, pines and cypresses, wild flowers, tea farmers, etc., in the mirror, and jokingly turning them to a 180-degree rotation. Near the top of the mountain, on the steep and bare gray rocks, carved in large red letters: Mount Mulan. Between the rocks of the steep slope below, there are bushes one to two meters high. Between the new leaves, the small white flowers and red flower bones compete with each other, making the whole hillside more charming and moving.
When you reach the mountain, you will see the "Mulan Mountain National Geopark" on the huge stones.
Climb the Dragontail Stone. It is located on the cliff to the west of the Jade Emperor Pavilion and may be five feet long. The stone is blue schist, separated from the main mountain, and soars from the top of the cliff, which is steep and abnormal. According to legend, it was transformed from the dragon's tail left after Mulan slaughtered the evil dragon. Towering on the mountain gate of "the first peak in the world". Behind the mountain gate, there are several dwarf Taoist temples that have just been built, and there are several shining sitting immortals in the temple. At the entrance of each view, there are merit boxes of different sizes. Each merit box has a big mouth open to eat money, and almost without exception there are Taoist priests and Taoist aunts sitting next to it. They look attentive, staring at every visitor who enters and exits with greedy eyes. Money, money, can really pass through gods and immortals.
Climb several dozens of stone steps to reach the highest point of Mulan Mountain. The golden dome, a Taoist building, was built in the Tang Dynasty and was called the "Imperial Court" in ancient times. At the top of the main hall, there were originally three large gold tiles, which were renamed "golden tops" in ancient times. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the three gold tiles were replaced with copper tiles, and then they were replaced with iron tiles and green tiles. It has undergone changes, is declining, and is sighed by the world. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and restored in 1987. The new Taoist temple has four corner cornices, two-story rest mountain, and is luxurious. Standing on the top of the mountain, it seems to be proud of everything, but the dust is still there, and the world is still there. The most important thing is the Dao Immortal who collects money. The bald monks in the temple also knock on the wooden fish and recite scriptures. The black-hatted Taoist priest in the temple rested his chin on the back of the chair, as if dozing off. When I looked closely, I found that the squinted eyes were probing the tourists who entered, staring at the merit box in front of the Immortal Venerable. Of course, there is no shortage of "good men and women" who donate money generously. However, a large number of tourists, young and old, walking around, talking and laughing, "there is more merit, there is happiness", they may never pay attention, maybe happier than others.
Visitors stand on the top of the gold and look out in all directions. The hills in the north and west are connected and mostly independent, while the hills in the south are almost small hills, and the open space between the hills is scattered with random settlements, and houses of different shapes are hidden in the greenery. The green water bends around the mountains, and some of the hills become peninsulas, and the hills in the water are naturally islands. If you can go to the water's edge, listen to the birds, watch the fish swim, and smell the flowers, it will have a special interest. Climbing to the top of the Golden Peak, you can truly experience the taste of "seeing the mountains at a glance".
On the opposite side of the ropeway, down the gentle hillside, there are a number of temporary stalls, large and small, less than three-tenths of which are in business, and look a little bleak. Although the number of tourists coming and going is not crowded, it can be regarded as a constant flow of people. Is it because the developers are not thinking enough? Is it because the operators are not doing the right thing? Is it because the economy is sluggish? In short, many facilities and equipment are idle. Whether it is individual, collective, or state management and operation, this is a waste of resources. As long as people go outside to see more, they probably don't think it's an isolated phenomenon.
Such a beautiful landscape is definitely right to be named "Immortal Mountain". But at present, it seems that the "fairy energy" is insufficient, and I believe that in the near future, it will definitely be able to "sense the Quartet".
(6 April 2024)
【Author's profile】Shi Qinghua (male), retired teacher. From a humble background, he was fortunate to grow up, but the years went by and he achieved nothing, so he had to work diligently and be a down-to-earth man. has no ambitions, travels to civilians, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, permeated in the heart. I hope that he will awaken and strive to improve. For their own welfare, for the country's loyalty. Talk about peace and civil affairs, and share human feelings.