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Ascending to Heaven

On reaching the summit of Taishan, the famous Chinese scholar Confucius is reputed to have proclaimed "The world is small". Taishan (Mount Tai), located in central Shandong province about 550 km south of Beijing, is the only sacred mountain in China with a Confucian temple near its summit. It is hard to know what was meant by the Master's apocryphal statement, but it is certainly true that Taishan stands head and shoulders above the surrounding countryside dominating all with its 4,569 foot peak.

Gerry and I found ourselves at the foot of this most revered of mountains on an overcast fall Sunday morning, the first week of November, and mid-way on our trip from Beijing to Shanghai. We were determined to scale the 6600 steps of the central path under our own steam. Although it is also possible to drive or take a minibus to the halfway point (Zhongtianmen) and from there take a cable car to the summit area (leaving a few hundred feet or so to climb to the peak itself) we wanted to discover for ourselves what sort of people climbed the mountain and be one of them. And we wanted to be able to stop at the temples along the way that devoted pilgrims visit to burn incense sticks for their ancestors, Buddhist deities, or simply their own hopes and dreams. We had been told that if we got tired along the way we could also pay for the services of the sedan chair carriers to carry us up part way, but we were determined not to succumb to this temptation.

Although we had been told that the average time to ascend the mountain was four hours, we expected, even intended to be much slower than average. We did not intend to get so tired, however, because, unlike some, we were not going to make the journey up and down in one day. On the one hand that would punish our middle-aged muscles too much, and on the other, it would force us to miss the celebrated sunrise. With the help of our hotel in Tai'an at the foot of Taishan, we had booked a room for ourselves in a hotel in the summit area, only a few hundred feet from the peak itself; on the morning after arrival we would get up early, brave the cold, and see this famous spectacle.

We left our hotel in Tai'an just after 7 a.m. and walked the 1.5 km to the ticket office just by the entrance gate into the park. We were pleased to learn that in the off-season, the $6.00 entrance fee was 25% off. Our initial goal was the first gate to heaven — in Chinese Yitianmen. There are several of these ceremonial gates that mark stages in the climb to the summit. The most important are Yitianmen (the first gate to heaven), Zhongtianmen (the middle gate to heaven), and Nantianmen (the south gate to heaven). Getting from Yitianmen to Nantianmen on the main path requires climbing 6600 steps. That's right, steps. This is no rough mountain hiking trail. It is a very well maintained stone path that culminates in a very steep staircase. The mostly three metre wide path has low walls on either side and is paved either with regular paving stones or, more attractive, irregular stones. It is rarely flat for more than ten or twenty metres. The lower half has some sections with no or very few steps while the upper half is almost entirely steps.

As we started our walk we were almost alone on the trail. Even the tourist shop village just inside the entrance had not opened yet. But our solitude would not last long. Nor would our escape from the souvenir sellers. As the day wore on, we were joined on the trail by more and more Chinese family groups. Often numbering six or seven they would sometimes span three or more generations and all were walking faster than us! The atmosphere was a jolly one. Everyone encouraging everyone else to put their best foot forward. As foreigners we seemed to receive more than average encouragement, as if simply by being there we were paying China and its people the highest of compliments.

An hour and a half into the walk we were already tired. As we had reached our first goal, or almost (we cheated a bit), we stopped at a small trailside snack bar and shared a bowl of instant noodles for our breakfast. There are many such trailside stores usually grouped into clusters. Perhaps they had always been there, clustered around each temple. In the time we stopped and caught our breath, the mist that we had outpaced since setting out caught up to us, so when we set out again we were accompanied by swirling clouds of dampness.

After another hour or so, we had left the mist behind again and were beginning to meet people coming down the mountain. This added to the crowd on the trail made narrower still by the unlicensed vendors who parked themselves here and yon along the path, spreading a cloth to display their trinkets. The increasing crowd also announced our imminent arrival at the midpoint, Zhongtianmen. At about the three hour point, we climbed the last steep staircase to the mid-station and crossed under the ceremonial gate to the temple area for a welcome break and piece of fruit. The square in front of the temple gave us our first real indication of the glorious views to come. From it we could look back down the steps and out towards the city of Tai'an, hidden still in the cool morning mists that were still following us up the mountain.

The cold breeze pushed us to press on and leave the relative tranquility of the temple for the mid-station village. The first shock was the sight of the road and of cars. An insult almost to our strenuous efforts. The second was the extent of the facilities that served the tourist hordes — hotels, restaurants, and an endless supply of souvenir stalls. We didn't linger but walked on muttering "Bu yao" ("We don't want any") to discourage the more aggressive salespeople.

To digress a little, it seems to me that the Chinese must be some of the best salespeople I have ever met. They are certainly the most persistent, but I don't think that is the secret to their success. Rather, I think it is the level of focus they show. They seem to always manage to smile no matter how many times the customer scowls and says no. They know that if they ask again, even the most determined customer can change his/her mind, while if they don't ask they are guaranteed not to make a sale. The choice is an easy one. Understand this, and everything is easier. There is no personal desire to make your life a misery, only a fervent wish to make their own life better by making that next sale.

Eventually, though, we left behind the Zhongtianmen mid-station vendors, and embarked on the second and hardest part of the trail. Here is where the trail was at its most crowded since now we had been joined by those who took the road to the halfway point and the late risers who were by now on there way down. Once again, we outpaced the rising mist and were happy now finally to have some sun to warm us a little as we climbed higher. There were only infrequent flat spots now; looking up one could see only steps for ever more. Our breathing was becoming more labored, and the rests more frequent. But the harder it got, the louder the shouts of encouragement from our fellow walkers, especially those on their way down. "You're almost there!" "Not long now!" we imagined they must be saying, although we rarely understood a word. Once in a while there was the English word of encourgement.

And then we saw it, an hour after leaving Zhongtianmen. The top of the 6600 steps! Nantianmen, the south gate to heaven. We'd seen in it photos but in real life it made us skip a breath. Painted red, the gate itself looked about an inch high at the top of this endless staircase. Beyond it was deep blue sky. We went on another half of hour of relative ease and then the final slog began. Walk fifty steps, rest. Walk forty steps, rest. Walk thirty steps, rest. The higher we got, the smaller the number of steps before we were gasping for breath. But finally, inch by inch, step by step, we gained on the red gate until suddenly we could see people ahead of us who were there already. Soon after it was our turn. Five more steps, then through the gate and onto the courtyard of the temple and the right to sit down at last.

Summit and Sunrise

Nantianmen is not the summit, but rather the entry point to a gently rising and flatter top of the mountain. But our sense of accomplishment made it feel just as though it was summit, so great had been the effort expended on that last giant set of stairs. Just through Nantianmen there is a small temple; we passed it giving a prayer of thanks for our success, and then entered an area of several small hotels and restaurants aligned on one side of the now much wider trail. On the other side there were views of the steps stairs we had just climbed and beyond to the city below.

Even though we were still not quite at the real summit, we were tired enough that after a slow wander around the summit area to admire the increasingly lovely views, we decided to stop and have lunch in one of the cafes. The one we chose had a big window that gave us a very pleasant view of the sunny mountain top. There we ate omelette and green beans and drank some very welcome glasses of hot Chinese tea.

From there we walked to our hotel, the Shenqi Guest House, climbing more stairs another few hundred metres to just below the true summit, to settle in before the final assault on the highest point. In spite of the anticlimax of the last few tens of feet after all those steps, we still felt a great sense of accomplishment. We had made it. We had climbed Taishan!

As if to underline our achievement, we were treated that evening to a lovely sunset, followed by a crystal clear night giving us unparalleled views of the city of Tai'an and its lights below. The clear weather overnight meant of course that the temperature would drop dramatically. This highlighted an unusual fact about Chinese hotels. Rooms and restaurants are usually well heated (at least in 3-star and above hotels), but the public areas, especially the lobby, are often not. The Shenqi was no exception to this rule. I don't know how the staff could stand it. The front doors of the hotel were wide open to the freezing cold, but the lobby had no heating! 

Another interesting fact about summit hotels is that each room comes equipped with a pair of heavy greatcoats for the guests so that when they get up at the crack of dawn to go and see the sunrise they can keep warm. Even though we had come with as many layers of clothing as we owned, we were very glad to have access to these huge, shapeless, khaki, military surplus overcoats when we emerged at 5:30 the next morning in the first glimmer of morning light to see the famous sunrise. And looking around it was clear that almost everyone else on the mountain felt (and so was dressed) like we did. As for the sunrise itself, I guess it was worth it. Although to be honest, after a 30 minute wait it was something of an anti-climax.

Cheering on those who follow

The walk down, however, was not. On the contrary it was in many ways more enjoyable than the upward journey had been. Going down was so much less of a struggle. Now we were the ones encouraging those fighting their way up hill. We had time, and energy on the way down to visit more temples and simply to take time out to enjoy the views and the peace and quiet of a weekday on the mountain compared with the hubbub of the weekend.

The clear weather of the previous night had stayed with us so that we walked down bathed in a very pleasant sunshine allowing us to shed our extra layers almost as soon as we had left the summit area. Because there were far fewer tourists, there were also far fewer trinket salesmen, so the whole route was transformed. Taking advantage of this, we stopped in several locations on the way down to spend half an hour reading a book in the sunshine.

By the time we got back to the entrance gate and the streets of Tai'an, we were undoubtedly exhausted. But we were also very pleased with our two-day excursion and proud of having done it without any mechanical aids. For the next two days my legs ached each time I went up or down a stair. But I felt like I was really in shape and ready to conquer the world.

Copyright Jan Bates 2000