mount qingcheng

whereas the front side of the mountain is known for taoist temples, the back side of the mountain is known for hiking. there are 20 km of pathways up and across the backside of the mountain.

scenes from tai an, the old town at the foot of the mountain:

there wasn’t much sun on the day i went, but there was a lot of green.


apiaries; lots of waterfalls; prayer flags

there are food vendors along the paths to cater to the hikers (also selling toys to distract the kids from being dragged up the side of a mountain). one of the snacks they sell is a pancake made from ground corn, freshly cooked in a wok. delicious.

whereas the front side of the mountain is dedicated to taoism, the temples on the back side are buddhist.

a few more shots of the hiking path:


ferry across the lake.			a good place to draw.

next: chengdu

mount qingcheng is one of the most important centers of taoism in china. according to myth, it was where the yellow emperor, a legendary ancient chinese ruler studied with ning fengzi, an also legendary taoist teacher. there are temples all the way to the top, 1,260 meters above sea level.

first, we have gates: the main gate to the park, the entrance to jianfu palace, and some temple gates.

there was a lot of up to get to the good views.


the sign next to the monkey reads “hey, kids, your parents keep saying ‘we’re almost at the top,’ but you’ve only been walking for five minutes – they’re lying.”