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Mt. Huashan at nighttime
Desending from Mt. Huashan
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Looking back at my experience in China, I would have to say I was truly captivated by the landscape. Huashan, one of the country’s most famous mountains, took my breath away.
Getting there was quite a challenge in itself. After standing for the two-hour train ride, I got off in the middle of nowhere. For little pay, locals offered to drive my travel companions and me to Huashan. I felt out of my element having to accept a ride from complete strangers in their personal cars, not a taxi. Seeing no other alternative, we accepted.
After a few additional problems, we were finally able to get to the foot of the mountain. We knew the mountain was big, but it was too steep to gauge the height. Despite the consequences, we decided to climb through the raining night.
The hike up started with a slight incline, which eventually evolved into the steepest stairs I have ever journeyed in my life. To keep from falling backwards and off the cliff to an immediate death, we held a tight gripe onto a nearby chain. I had to hoist myself up with each step I took. I have never been so sore in my life.
I doubted we would ever reach the top. Seven hours later, we did.
Without stopping, we climbed from 9 p.m. until we reached the North Peak at 4 a.m. We arrived just in time to sit, have a few Oreos and some water, and watch the sunrise.
As the clouds cleared and the valley brightened, we could finally see what we had climbed; the view was incredible. All the effort to reach the top was completely worth it. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming, especially considering we weren’t even sure if we could get ourselves to Huashan.
After taking a lot of pictures, we began the two-hour descent down the mountain. Having this wonderful memory was one of the remarkable advantages of interning abroad in China.
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