July 6th
Yesterday we drove to Shíbǎoshān, which is a remote and ancient Buddhist monastery built around, and carved into a mountain. The temple was truly breathtaking, with gorgeous, ornately carved buildings and several temples build right into caves in the side of the mountain. Water runs down the side of the mountain and into channels and pools carved all along the stone steps, so while we were hiking, we were surrounded by the sounds of water flowing.
Students enjoyed seeing goatherds with goats, cattle and donkeys on the roads on the way to the temple, and were particularly impressed by the mountain monkeys who accompanied us for part of our hike. There was even a friendly and playful dog to play with at the base of the mountain, so there was a bit of a "wildlife" theme yesterday.
After we ate some lunch, we traversed a mountain path that was steeper than we anticipated (but really only composed of stone stairs and a cobbled pathway), stopped to take pictures of the great views, and hiked down into Shāxī village, where we checked into our boutique hotel, rested for a couple of hours, and then headed out again to explore the old village, which was very quiet, peaceful, and a bit like stepping back several centuries in time. Shāxī was a trading town along the Tea-Horse trade route centuries ago, and every Friday the town is once again transformed into a large traditional market, so this morning we'll get to experience that for a couple of hours before we move on to Lìjiāng.
We happened upon a playground.
And a bridge!
During our meeting last night, many commented that yesterday was the highlight of the trip so far, since the mountain views, the temples, and the very old, remote, and quiet atmosphere of Shāxī all left quite an impression. Lots of laughter in this group, and lots of eagerness to explore each place we visit. All are looking forward to our final destination, Shangri-La, as well.