The journey to Wudang Mountain was a very long and cold ride.
It took us around 6 hours to reach there.
During one of Ms Sally's lesson, she did explained to us a little about Wudang Mountain.
Wudang Mountain is actually a sacred Taoist Holy Land in China which was listed as the World Culture Heritage Site. This is because of its naturally magnificent views, brilliant serenity as well as the charming touches that composed this beautifully renowned mountain. It is mostly famous for its long history of Taoist practice and profound culture as well as its deep-rooted tradition of wushu.
Compared to Singapore, the highest hill that we have is only Bukit Timah Hill. I guess the history of it isn't as rich as that of Wudang Mountain. Because of that, I believe people like us should really treasure this chance to be able to step foot on this mountain not only to admire the scenery, but also to appreciate the presence of the mountain itself. (:
Today we went touring around the mountain. We went to the different places of attraction of the palace halls and temples which showed the practice and culture of Taoism.
The first place we went to was The Prince Temple. (:
This is the place where the Chinese would pray to the God of Zhenwu so that their children will become bright and intelligent. Zhenwu was actually the Prince of Jinle Kingdom. He ran away from his kingdom and came to Wudang Mountain to learn Taoism and become immortal.
The buildings at The Prince Temple were built in 1412 in the Ming Dynasty.
The long winding passage that leads to the temple.
The zigzag walls actually gave me an impression of some mystery that lurks behind them.
Hahaha.
This is actually a place where the Chinese would burn the incense. It is also commonly seen in the other temples.
I wasn't really able to take the whole picture of the beams.
There are actually 12 beams piled and intersected upon one another on 1 pillar as you can see from the picture. The purpose of this was to evenly distribute the weight of the roof and also to save the floor space so that it can be used to the maximum. Isn't it simply a wonder that the Chinese architecture were brilliantly built? They don't even need to use concrete to make buildings. Just strong beams will do. (:
A group photo outside the temple. (:
The next place we went to was The Purple Heaven Palace. (:
The history behind The Purple Heaven Palace was that Emperor Zhenwu was once the ruler of the Middle Heaven. He stamped out the demons and brought peace in the Heavenly Palace. Thus, the palace is now a peaceful residence of immortals, which reflects the Taoist ideology of holding themselves apart from the world.
At the palace, there are quite a few halls such as The Purple Cloud Hall and The Parents Hall. The Purple Cloud Hall is the place for prayers and religious services and The Parents Hall is where the statues of Emperor Zhenwu's parents, Emperor Mingzhen and Empress Shanshen, were worshipped in the middle shrine.
A view of the palace from the outside.
At the palace, this was the one which caught most of our attention. (: WUSHU!
We thought that some of them were girls. But on second look, all of them are actually boys. (: The master was very strict with them. If they did not do any steps properly, he would come over and hit them on the abdomen. The boy whom he hit was trying hard to do the step but he wasn't able to and was actually enduring the pain. Maybe it was because of the prolonged practice that they were having. I guess this is how they discipline the students so that they can master the wushu skills. It could also be because to keep up the recognition that they have for their wushu.
Sometimes, I do think that children in Singapore are being too pampered. In the past, parents really put their trust in the teachers such that they did not mind if the teachers were to scold their children for the mistakes that they did. However, in the present time, if teachers were to raise their voice or scold the children, some of them would complain to their parents and parents would then question the teacher. How ironically things are changing.
Hahaha.
Like I mentioned in my previous blog post, students in China do not dare to go against or oppose the teacher in any way because they do not want him to lose face. Maybe we should start inculcating this to a certain extent. (:
Wushu students wannabe.
Hahaha.
MDE Wushu!
See the small statues on the rooftop?
If I remembered correctly, there were four men who are tied to the middle of the rooftop so as to hold the building together. This was because they actually wanted to be higher than Taoist God, meaning more powerful than Him without even putting in any effort. Thus, He granted their wishes by placing them higher than Him, that is on the rooftop.
The story shows that we should never ask for the impossible. Be contented with what we have and if we want to have better things, we must always work hard for it. Good things don't come easily. Only with effort then can we see the results. (:
Somehow, the palace looks like a painting in which we are standing in front of.
Magical. (:
The last place we went to was Xuan Di Temple. (:
The temple is behind me. (:
A group photo. I wasn't smiling because of the tiredness from walking up the hill. Hahaha. (:
The soothing wind that swept across their faces. (:
This was a common sight seen here. I am not too sure how much they charge though. But it seems fun! Hahaha.
The red strips are actually for the Chinese people to pray for their loved ones and also for themselves. They believe that the higher they throw, the higher the chance of their prayers being answered because it will be nearer to Heaven. (:
After that, we went down the mountain by bus. I had a little motion sickness because of the rounds of turns around the mountain. Hahaha.
We soon checked into our hotel rooms at Wudang Mountain Hotel. (:
Unexpectedly, the hotel rooms are much better than we thought it would be. Our room was a little bigger than the rest because Xinhui, Nadiyah and I shared a room while the rest was two to a room.
The bed was VERY comfortable. The mattress was so thick that the moment I lied down, I didn't want to get up. Hahaha.
Well, Weiguang and the three of us decided to take a walk outside and explore the area for a short while to buy some food to fill our stomachs.
The post box.
And again, unexpectedly, there were small fireworks!
In China, people are free to do things that they want. In some aspects, it may be good because they are not restricted by the law. However, it may also pose certain problems to the society. For example, the fireworks may disturb some people around the area because of the noise produced. It may create unhappiness because they may feel disturbed by it. But I think the Chinese people are quite acceptable towards it. (:
If this were to take place in Singapore, you will soon see red and blue lights flashing on the road. (:
day 20 ; Wudang Mountain, accomplished!
Honestly, I wasn't prepared to climb Wudang Mountain today. I wanted to take the cable car up but then I changed my mind. Well, I guess this is adventure is a new and different way. I'm glad I did changed my mind. (:
We saw this man carrying 2 wooden doors up the steps. The amazing thing was that he was going much more faster than us. Hahaha. He carried the doors by using a thick pole and placing it on top of his head while carrying it. He then put the weight of the doors on his back, get his balance and continued walking. (:
Only after several flight of stairs, we were thinking, "How long more will we get there?".
Hahaha.
A group photo with our tour guide. He climbed up with us as well and he kept saying that we were going to reach soon although it was still far away. I guess it was a motivation for us not to give up. (:
While walking and climbing, we saw this beautiful scenery that shows the view of the rest of the peaks around the mountain. (:
Us!
My first reaction when I saw this was "OH MY..". Hahaha.
But we still made it through with each other's support.
While climbing this 100-step stairs, I saw a lady carrying 2 big packets of incense on her shoulders and I heard a small girl counting the steps while climbing. Even though the lady was carrying quite a heavy load, she still encouraged her daughter to carry on counting. (:
Throughout the climb, the five of us stayed close to one another and encouraged each other every time we felt like giving up. It was hard in the beginning because the steps were steep and furthermore, we didn't really do any warm-ups. We were also not used to walking such a long distance and this time, it was climbing up vertically. Well, there is always a first time to everything. (:
And finally, when we reached the Golden Summit, we felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. The view there was definitely worth the climb. (:
Usually, different people have different perspective about the things around them. Some may look at things only on the negative sides and forgot to see how colourful the other side is. During my stay in China so far, I feel that at times I do look at certain things on a negative view. Like how can they survive with toilets without door, the cleanliness of it and even the way we are being served as customers. Well, I guess that is just their living style and culture.
But if I were to always look at things that way, my perspective would be so little that what I see is only that much.
But if I were to further widen my perspectives for the next 2 weeks, I would see things even more than what they really are.
Just like this.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It is more beautiful this way. (:
This is the Golden Palace that is cast in copper and coated with gold. The Chinese people would walk around it while touching the bars. Some would even throw coins up to the roof of the Golden Palace. Sitting in the palace is actually the statue of Zhenwu.
These photos were taken when we were at the Golden Summit. (:
Around Wudang Mountain, there are actually peaks rising one higher than another and range upon range of mountains rolling towards the Golden Summit.
We took the cable car down the mountain. (:
You can see that it is actually very steep. It felt like we were going down 90 degrees vertically.
Our lovely tour guide again. (:
Before we departed, she told us that it was fate which brought us into meeting each other this time round as she wasn't supposed to be there. One important thing she said was that we must always treat others with a sincere heart without hoping anything in return. The least we could do is to smile and make others' day. (:
Wushu students wannabe.
.jpg)
.jpg)
