After crossing the Yellow River bridge, you get to Shaanxi province. There isn't much water in the river, and I can't tell if the water is really yellow.
Arriving at my hometown around early evening.
Heading out to one of the most important mountain ranges in China two days later. My hometown lies at the foot of Qinling Mountains (also called Tsinling Mountains), which divide the country into the South and the North, similar to the Mason-Dixon Line.
This division is foremost a geographic one. The South is humid, while with the Mountains blocking much of the warm wind from the ocean, making the North dry and cold. There are also cultural and dietary differences. The Southern people are mild-tempered. Their Northern counterparts are more wild like the Texans. The main grain for the South is rice, while the North likes wheat-made noodles.
The countryside is beautiful. Like everywhere else in China, no land is spared for food production.
Wild flowers on the roadside.
Driving into the Qinling Mountains. Its peak, Taibai Mountain, is 3,767 meters. It is just an one-hour drive to the foot of Taibai Mountain from my hometown. But the steep mountains led us quickly ascended to over 2,000 meters. My ears kept popping like pop corns.
Stopped for a picnic next to the river.
A small waterfall, possibly man-made.
The road is generally exciting like this one.
Driving up, and up…
Didn't make it to the cable station, where people are transported to the peak for a view from the top. But it was enough to get a taste of Qinling Mountains. Even though it was a hot day, it felt cool and refreshing inside. The water was ice-cold too.
Heading back to Beijing after three more days. Stopped in Shanxi province again, but this time in Taiyuan Jinci Temple, a place about 25km southwest of Shanxi's capital, Taiyuan.
Jinci Temple was first built around 560 A.D. to commemorate the first lord who founded the country Jin (today's Shanxi province). But most of the existing buildings were built later. Jinci Hotel is convenient located right next to the temple in a secluded garden area.
The well-groomed gardens look old and may be part of the original Jinci gardens. You can walk to Jinci Temple from the garden backdoor, and it feels like the whole landscape once belonged together.
Many of the buildings in Jinci Temple look old and in desperate need of repair.
The most famous building is the Holy Mother Palace (below), which is over 1,000 years old. Though much younger than ruins like the Colosseum, it is still a miracle for a wood structure to be preserved for such a long time. Can you imagine how hard it is to not have a fire for a thousand years?
Many emperors have visited over the centuries and have left their signatures – in the form of a framed calligraphy artwork. When the New China founders visited, they didn't write one (I think). Their gift to this ancient temple was a change of its name. They took out the word "King" from the name. Their reasoning was that there would no longer be any kings or lords in China's new era.
The thing wrapped around the pillars are wooden sculptures of dragon.
With the number of tourists there, possibly more people have seen the temples nowadays than any other time. But few know what was the building for, or what did people do in it? It stands sadly, as an empty shell.
The temples are old, but are much younger than this cypress. It was planted over 3,000 years ago and is still going strong.
This one is also 3,000 years old.
