On Sunday we took a long and beautiful hike through 西山 Xishan (“West Mountain”) to view a variety of temples from different faiths and beliefs. Our journey started in 3 different vans making our way out of Kunming. One of the vans made a detour to pick up our American-style sandwiches, while the other two drove in circles for a while before finding a place on the side of the road and under the freeway. Most everyone got out to take a quick stretch and do a mini yoga lesson. When the sandwich van joined us we continued on our way - 30-minutes later we arrived to where we purchased tickets to our next adventure.
We all hopped on a large bus and rode up a windy mountain, offering views of Kunming. While we drove up, many people were on foot walking up and down the road. When we arrived to our stop we were treated to a view of a large temple. We walked across the road to a temple in honor of Xuyun 虚云, a Buddhist priest/monk. He lived 119 years on Earth, which is the age of 120 in Chinese. The Temple is five years old and a beautiful tribute to a priest who was recognized as a 菩萨 pusa (“Bodhisattva,” or “enlightened person”), and perhaps the most influential Buddhist figure in China during the 20th century. There were three rooms we could enter: the middle room had a very large statue in his honor, the room on the right had scriptures (???) and other writings, and the room on the left had robes, books, and other items that belonged to Xuyun and were instrumental in his life.
We next made our way to three more shrines/temples honoring Buddhist figures: two male, and one female. Here two very large fierce-looking guards on either side protected him from evil doings. Across the path was another shrine/temple in honor of Kuan-yin (观音Guanyin). I found this one particularly interesting and awe-inspiring. Where other shrine/temples had a total of four very large protectors, Kuan-yin had over a dozen smaller protectors on each side.
We all hopped on a large bus and rode up a windy mountain, offering views of Kunming. While we drove up, many people were on foot walking up and down the road. When we arrived to our stop we were treated to a view of a large temple. We walked across the road to a temple in honor of Xuyun 虚云, a Buddhist priest/monk. He lived 119 years on Earth, which is the age of 120 in Chinese. The Temple is five years old and a beautiful tribute to a priest who was recognized as a 菩萨 pusa (“Bodhisattva,” or “enlightened person”), and perhaps the most influential Buddhist figure in China during the 20th century. There were three rooms we could enter: the middle room had a very large statue in his honor, the room on the right had scriptures (???) and other writings, and the room on the left had robes, books, and other items that belonged to Xuyun and were instrumental in his life.
We next made our way to three more shrines/temples honoring Buddhist figures: two male, and one female. Here two very large fierce-looking guards on either side protected him from evil doings. Across the path was another shrine/temple in honor of Kuan-yin (观音Guanyin). I found this one particularly interesting and awe-inspiring. Where other shrine/temples had a total of four very large protectors, Kuan-yin had over a dozen smaller protectors on each side.
We made our way up the hill and to another very large temple, 华亭寺Huating Si. Here we decided to sit in the courtyard and eat our lunch at small stone tables set around the courtyard, with stools for four. It was an amazingly intimate setting and a nice place to relax and connect in a smaller setting with our travel-mates. After using the restrooms (with a western toilet!!) we resumed our walk through the Temple and saw a few more shrines to various gods and Buddhist deities.
We finally found our way to the base of a set of stairs that would lead us up a very steep hill to the Taihua Temple. The setting was gorgeous and allowed us to take in much of the scenery – including views of Kunming’s city skyline and the spot of the Yunnan Minorities Village we will be visiting on Wednesday. Along the way we saw silk worms (???) hanging from trees, bugs we believe were centipedes, a spider wrapping and eating its prey, beautiful butterflies, and a variety of birds.
When we finally got to the temple, but decided not to walk up more stairs to view it. We made our way over another path, with much fewer steps, and found ourselves at a gondola – the next mode of transportation in our adventure. This was about a one-mile ride in a chairlift over an expanse of forest and trees. Traveling in pairs, we hopped on and enjoyed the ride and spectacular views. We were so close to the trees at times our feet grazed the tops of them! We also saw huge black butterflies that looked almost like birds. There were also a variety of birds flitting about the treetops.
When we arrived at the end of the gondola ride, we all met up, and some were taking advantage of dressing in outfits of the Miao ethnic group and took pictures all together. A short rainstorm hit, but couldn’t stop us from continuing on our way up to Dragon Temple. On our way up the steep and winding steps, we heard more thunder. Although the rain stopped, it had made the stairs and railings slippery. When we finally arrived at the temple, it was well worth the hike, as we had breathtaking views of Kunming, the water of Lake Dian, and other sites below and around us.
We finally found our way to the base of a set of stairs that would lead us up a very steep hill to the Taihua Temple. The setting was gorgeous and allowed us to take in much of the scenery – including views of Kunming’s city skyline and the spot of the Yunnan Minorities Village we will be visiting on Wednesday. Along the way we saw silk worms (???) hanging from trees, bugs we believe were centipedes, a spider wrapping and eating its prey, beautiful butterflies, and a variety of birds.
When we finally got to the temple, but decided not to walk up more stairs to view it. We made our way over another path, with much fewer steps, and found ourselves at a gondola – the next mode of transportation in our adventure. This was about a one-mile ride in a chairlift over an expanse of forest and trees. Traveling in pairs, we hopped on and enjoyed the ride and spectacular views. We were so close to the trees at times our feet grazed the tops of them! We also saw huge black butterflies that looked almost like birds. There were also a variety of birds flitting about the treetops.
When we arrived at the end of the gondola ride, we all met up, and some were taking advantage of dressing in outfits of the Miao ethnic group and took pictures all together. A short rainstorm hit, but couldn’t stop us from continuing on our way up to Dragon Temple. On our way up the steep and winding steps, we heard more thunder. Although the rain stopped, it had made the stairs and railings slippery. When we finally arrived at the temple, it was well worth the hike, as we had breathtaking views of Kunming, the water of Lake Dian, and other sites below and around us.
We soon started our descent down, which continued to be treacherous thanks to the earlier rainfall. A group of us ended up passing a tourist group with older explorers. When we got to a rest stop and viewing area, we realized there was no railing on the final six stone stairs. Luckily we were still there when the older explorers arrived and we helped them down the slippery stairs. We continued down and down the very steep and narrow steps until finally arriving at the starting spot and hopping back on the bus to make our way back down the winding road and to our waiting vans.
This was quite an experience but pushed many of us farther than we had been pushed in the past. Our feet hurt at the end! While the road was a long and challenging one, we were rewarded with amazing sites and views. It is one trip that will not soon be forgotten!
- Jill Rosenberg
This was quite an experience but pushed many of us farther than we had been pushed in the past. Our feet hurt at the end! While the road was a long and challenging one, we were rewarded with amazing sites and views. It is one trip that will not soon be forgotten!
- Jill Rosenberg