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Mount Huashan is one of the four sacred mountains of China, a place of peaceful beauty where some go on pilgrimages to find a sense of enlightenment.
Also it’s also a place where people go to get the living crap scared out of them in a way not available anywhere else in the world.
ANCIENT HERMITS
In ancient times the mountain was used by Taoist and Buddhist hermit monks to practice their religion undisturbed.
The only way up certain parts of the mountain were narrow planks of wood fastened to the sheer face of the windy and icy cliffs. The small bits of security offered were chain link hand holds that each traveler gripped with white knuckle intensity as they scooted slowly along the planks.
And the religious hermits liked it this way. This terrifying pathway was considered a barrier to keep out all but the most devoted of pilgrims, those determined few who had found the way of enlightenment.
THRILL SEEKERS
But what had started out as a barrier for the unenlightened started to become a source of tourism starting in the 1980′s as thrill-seekers began to use the mountain paths of Huashan as a way to test their nerve.
Reports of people falling to their deaths trying to traverse the rickety planks only served to deepen the mystique of the mountain and heighten people’s interest.
Nowadays the local government has done much to improve the safety of some parts of the path, including making stone steps and railings and even a cable car in one part.
However there are still many stretches where a traveler has nothing to keep them from plunging into the deep below but a creaky weathered plank with a cold chain nailed into the mountain, and a guideline if they’re lucky:
PATHS
(Picture by Ondřej Žváček.)
Although the number of tourists has been steadily increasing in recent years there can still be found amongst the crowds traditional Taoist and Buddhist monks traversing the cliffs and clouds of Huashan, walking the ancient paths of enlightenment.
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How many people died on Mount Hua Shan??
Hi JenniJurassic,
It’s hard to know the numbers of deaths since (from what I can tell anyway) the Chinese government isn’t exactly being forthcoming with the information.
Geez! You couldn’t pay me enough to do that – guideline or no. Seriously. Parachute, hand of God – NOTHING could make me do that.
And why bother when enlightenment can be found anywhere? You simply have to know when to whip round and catch it unawares. You risk looking like a total fool, but you never know when and where enlightenment will come.
Krudler,
Made me think of that Buddhist saying:
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” :)