A Walk in the Clouds...

Today was our much-anticipated adventure up the Lushan Mountain.

Lushan Mountain is famous for its magnificent scenery, a poet's and photographer's dream throughout its history. It is located in the northern part of Jiangxi Province, to the south of the Yangtze River and northwest of the Poyang Lake. It has a history of over 2,000 years and is made up of 171 peaks, the highest peak being the Dahanyang Peak which towers 1,474 meters above sea level. Historically, the mountain has played host to many signficant political meetings, and has offered shelter and retreat for monks and priests practicing Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Catholicism and the faith of the Orthodox Eastern Church.

Jane was a little apprehensive as we started our ascent, but figured it couldn't be all that bad. Well, note for Bonni & Lynn - you didn't do it justice!!! Or should we say, you didn't warn Jane enough!!! The twists and turns during the early part of the trip up had Jane and Jennifer gasping and grabbing at the arm rests in the van. As the fog grew thicker, the anxiety increased. About 30 minutes into our ascent, we asked our travel guide if we were almost at our destination only to be told that we were not even half way up!!! A Gravol seemed to be in order, but was saved for the trip down. Just after the half-way point, there was some chuckling going on in the front of the van between the driver, our guide and Steve. After some arm-twisting, Steve finally noted that the driver said he was glad it was foggy or the ladies would have been a wreck. It was assuring to learn that our driver was very experienced having made over 100 trips a year up the mountain, often in the fog.

The fog was also worrying Steve, the thought of not seeing a thing at the "summit", playing with his photographer-for-a-day psychy. We could barely see 20 feet in any direction - just enough to pick up the oncoming, descending vehicles at a moment's notice.






Immediately following our arrival at the top, the fog miraculously/magically cleared, opening up a window to a beautiful town nestled in the mountain's grasping arms. After a leisurely stroll along a man-made lake and through some historic gardens, it was off to "Brocade Valley". A beautiful walking path led us to some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever witnessed (even Flat Stanley and Flat Jessica were in awe). The photos from our China coffee-table book came to life before our very eyes. We followed the trail around the mountain for about 2+ hours, stopping many times for photographs, before arriving back at the van. Hannah and Stephanie were real troopers and did not complain or ask when we would be finishing until very near the end. Hannah, Stephanie and Jane were the least daring of the bunch when it came to going out on rocks for photo ops, but Steve and Jennifer got some beautiful photos of the mist rising up from the lower valley. The end of our hike on a fairly crisp and chilly day at the mountain, was also the arrival of rain, so we decided to forgo the "2nd half" of the tour.




Having felt completely fulfilled with the experience at Mount Lushan, we decided to leave a carrot dangling for a return to this amazing place. Our trip down the mountain was less eventful and we made it back to our hotel in time for a late afternoon nap.

Tonight, we took one last walk around this wonderfully charming Jiujiang city. We purchased some tea from a tea shop, while Hannah and Stephanie played with the shop owner's 5.5 year old son. Children are amazing - language is no barrier to having fun, and we suspect/hope that Quinn's transition into our family will be made easier with the help of Hannah and Stephanie. We again enjoyed the action-packed streets and brightly lit signs as we made our way back to our hotel, following a short shopping venture.

After returning to our hotel, we settled in for a delicious hot-pot meal. This was the girls' first experience with this type of meal, and they thoroughly enjoyed the food - or was that playing in the pots :).

It's off to our rocky nests for our last sleep in Jiujiang. We will truly miss this city, which has a warmth about it that will stay with us for a long time. Off to Wuhan in the early morning in eager anticipation of meeting Quinn on Monday.