Last weekend (October 17-18), I had the good luck to join a group trip to the Wanxian (10,000 Immortals) Mountains, in the far north of a province that neighbors Anhui. Today, while looking at my map of China, I suddenly realized just how far north it is. Keep heading west and you soon reach Shanxi province, where I want to visit Xi'an, and Emperor Qin Shi Huang's ca. 214 BC terra cotta army, during my December vacation from teaching.
The trip was organized on behalf of at least 3 clubs, including the Tongling bike club, www.tlbiketo.com.
Lucky for me I've made an English speaking friend here in Tongling, so I was allowed to tag along. I'd really like to ride with this group, but I suspect they're total hammerheads. They all ride Giant or Merida mountain bikes. I have a tear in my right meniscus, so it would be very unwise to join in. Several members brought their bikes on the bus, and I was astounded to watch them all chain smoke as they disassembled and reassembled their bikes. On Saturday, they all rode through the tunnel shown on this entry ticket. I hiked through it on Sunday. The tunnel was built by hand in 1972-78, by the local villagers who were tired of hauling their stuff up and down a set of Ming dynasty stairs, called, unsurprisingly, the "Sky Ladder." It was too misty on Sunday to see these steps cut into the local pink sandstone.
It was a wonderful trip, and not something I could easily manage, logistically, by myself.
I sure hope I get the chance to do another trip with these guys,
Cathy Donaldson
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