Laojun Mountain climbs
▓ Zhang Quanning
Laojun Mountain
It has long been heard that Laojun Mountain in Henan Province is a sacred place of Taoism in China and a national nature reserve, with the reputation of "the unparalleled holy realm in the world and the first immortal mountain in the world". In mid-August, I traveled freely with my family to Luanchuan County, Luoyang, and stayed overnight at a homestay on Zhongling Cableway at the foot of Laojun Mountain. The owner, a native of the county seat, said: "In the past, the traffic in the mountainous area was blocked, and most of the villagers lived a self-sufficient life, but the Laojun Temple on the mountain has been burning incense, and the villagers and people from other places worship immortals are endless. In 2007, after the tunnel to the mountain was opened, the number of tourists and pilgrims increased significantly, and the living standards of the mountain people also improved significantly. ”
Zhongtian Gate
The next day, I took a cableway directly to Zhongtianmen, but I saw a statue of Lao Tzu riding a green ox in the square, wearing a yellow robe (above). There is a propaganda column for lunch service points on the left: according to the records of Lushi County, since the temple was built in Laojun Mountain in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the temple fair on April 8 every year will give porridge to the local people, which has continued to this day. In 2007, Laojunshan was restructured from a state-owned forest farm and Henan Laojunshan Cultural Tourism Group Co., Ltd. was established. Laojun Mountain has been subsidizing poor college students for many years, visiting the lonely elderly and poor people during the New Year's holidays, and Taoist priests go down the mountain to send fast meals, mistletoe, zongzi, etc. to tourists for free. During the 11th Golden Week in 2017, a one-yuan lunch was launched to solve the difficulty of dining for tourists and provide public welfare services.
In a shop on the right side of the square, when my wife and I were buying instant noodles, we saw a lot of books on the shelves, and we saw a photo album of "Laojun Mountain", which showed the four seasons of Laojun Mountain and the historical and cultural landscape. There are several pictures of Laojun Mountain in the sea of clouds, which are appropriately left blank to give people a sense of fairyland. The photographer Yang Jianjun is a native of Luanchuan County, who was born and grew up in Si, and he wrote in the afterword: When I was a child, I often looked at the peaks of Laojun Mountain in a daze, looking for a white-haired immortal riding a green ox to appear among the misty peaks, which was when I made my grandfather's story into my childhood dream.
In order to photograph the majestic beauty of Laojun Mountain, Yang Jianjun wore the stars and the moon, and slept in the open for more than ten years. He said: Every time I stand on the top of Laojun Mountain, the sea of rolling clouds under my feet purifies my soul and arouses my pride. I couldn't help blurting out: "I want to climb the peak of Laojun Mountain to see the sea of clouds." The shopkeeper said: "Laojun Mountain has a lot of rain in July and August every year, and the water vapor is sufficient, which is the best time to watch the sea of clouds. The best commanding heights are the Golden Palace and the Jade Emperor Peak on the top of the mountain. ”
Get up and take the secondary cableway to the peak forest fairyland, step on the suspended plank road and follow the mountain to the high place, look down on the cliff below by the railing, as if walking on the heavenly road, step by step and change the scene, see many stone peaks of different sizes, different shapes, there are independent protrusions, there are several groups, there are continuous rows, standing in the mountains, or wearing green clothes, or exposing muscles and bones, like a firm watchman.
Laojun Mountain is the main peak of Funiu Mountain in the remaining veins of the Qinling Mountains, with an altitude of 2217 meters, due to the continental orogeny movement hundreds of millions of years ago, it has created the geological wonders of Laojun Mountain in a thousand postures, the peaks are showing, the earth reaches to the sky, and the momentum is magnificent.
I carry a camera on my back, take pictures of the landscape along the way, the heat under the mountain hits people, the autumn on the mountain is as cool as water, the summer tourists are endless, I have heard that Laojun Mountain does not allow foreigners to enter, and I really did not see a foreigner along the way.
Walk to the ten miles of the screen, there is no cave, this section of the road to climb up along the stone steps, there is a sedan chair man who carries the sliding rod is carrying the elderly tourists to go up, the sedan chair man is from Sichuan Dujiangyan Qingcheng Mountain professional lifting sliding rod personnel. Laojun Mountain is free of charge for the elderly over 60 years old, and most of the tourists are young and middle-aged, and many parents bring their children to play.
My wife and I walked up the stairs to the first line of sky, where two huge rocks sandwiched a small rock (below) and many tourists stopped to take pictures. Through the first line of sky, there is a Tengyun plank road with outdoor natural cliff activities, which can be high-altitude rock climbing, walking on tightrope bridges, and a few rock climbing enthusiasts, like Spider-Man, slowly squirm on the almost vertical cliff wall. The vast majority of visitors continue to walk up the suspended boardwalk. We follow the flow of people, close to the high cliffs on the right, and look out at the mountains on the left, and follow the mountain slope up to every corner of the world. The landform landscape of the Ten Mile Picture Screen has been praised by experts as: the largest granite peak forest wonder discovered in the world so far. Laojun Mountain is large, and it takes a long way to climb to the peak.
A glimmer of heaven, two huge rocks sandwiched between a small rock.
After walking for about two hours, you will pass through the cave heaven blessed land to the top of the mountain, and see the magnificent Jinding Taoist temple: Laojun Temple, Golden Palace, Jade Emperor Peak, Daode Mansion, Liangbaotai and other palaces. Looking back at the artificially built suspended plank road on the cliff, I can't help but sigh that the magic of nature and the human landscape created by humans are so perfectly integrated. Many tourists and pilgrims burn incense in front of the Daode Mansion to seek immortals, and the smoke is filled.
There is a brief introduction of Lao Tzu in front of the house: Lao Tzu, name Li Er, character Dan, a native of the Spring and Autumn Period, an ancient Chinese thinker, philosopher, writer and historian, the founder and main representative of the Taoist school, once served as the history of the Zhou Dynasty's Tibetan room, famous for his erudition, Confucius once entered the Zhou to greet him. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the world was in turmoil, and Lao Tzu wanted to abandon his official position and go into hiding, so he rode a green ox westward. When he arrived at Hangu Pass, he was invited by Yin Xizhi to write the Tao Te Ching. After traveling to Jingmur Mountain, looking at the ten thousand peaks here, the strange peaks are uplifted, the atmosphere is haoran, the creation of heaven and earth, the essence of humanity is gathered, so it is hidden here, Lao Tzu finally realized the avenue, and was respected as the Taishang Laojun.
In the Tang Dynasty, Lao Tzu was posthumously regarded as the ancestor of the surname Li, which led countless emperors to compete for worship. Jingmuro Mountain was given the name "Laojun Mountain" by Tang Taizong, and Mingshenzong edicted Laojun Mountain as "the world's famous mountain", which has been inherited from generation to generation, and the worshippers of the world are endless all year round.
I climbed to the Golden Temple built on the cliff, climbed to the high place and looked at it, the mountains were ups and downs, the sky was blue, there was no sea of clouds, and Luanchuan County at the foot of the mountain was embedded in the green water and green mountains, which was a picture of the harmony between human settlements and nature. I thought of Lao Tzu's spirit of relying on the high wind, collecting the breath of heaven and earth, and talking to heaven and earth.
Lao Tzu was the earliest sage in ancient China to stand on a high place and look up at the sun, moon and stars, and think about the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. He advocated that the governance of the country should be natural, not too much human intervention, do not impose their own will on others, let the people develop naturally, so that the society can be harmonious and stable.
Standing on a high place, the wind is clear, and thoughts are flying.
The author, Zhang Quanning, is a member of the Chinese Photographers Association and the Jiangsu Writers Association, and was a cultural worker before his retirement.