All Day in Lú Mountain
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Lu Mountain, also known as Lushan and Mount Lu, is a very popular scenic resort area in Jiangxi Province. It is in the northern part of Jiujiang Prefecture, just south of the Yangtze River and west of Poyang Lake.
It is especially popular in the summertime when its higher altitudes offer cooler temperatures and breathtaking scenic views. The Lu mountain range is about 25 km (16 miles) long and 10 km (6 miles) wide. Its highest point is Dahanyang Peak, at 1474 m (4836 feet). This height is roughly equivalent to Needle Peak, Big Bend Ranch State Park, in southwest Texas. [a] [b]
^ Fig. 1 (W15-180320)
Today (July 15) we visited the following sites of Lú Mountain:
- GǔlǐngTown (“goo leeng”) (牯岭镇 gǔ lǐng zhèn)
- Hánpó Pass (“hahn pwo”) (含鄱口 hán pó kǒu)
- Hánpó Ropeway (含鄱索道 hán pó suǒ dào)
- Dàkǒu Waterfall (“dah koh”) (大口瀑布 dà kǒu pù bù)
- Five Old Men Peaks (五老峰 wǔ lǎo fēng)
- Lúshān Botanical Garden (“loo shahn”) (庐山植物园 lú shān zhí wù yuán)
Jerry’s pronunciation guide (Click here)
Hánpó Pass
Hánpó Pass is a very popular site on Lú Mountain. At around 1,211 meters (3973 feet) in height, Hanpo Pass lies between the Five Old Men Peaks (#5 in Fig. 1 above) and Jiuqi Peak (just west of sites 2 and 3 in Fig.1).
- Jiuqi Peak (“jyoh chyee”), Nine Wonder Peak (九 奇峰 jiǔ qí fēng)
- Hanpo Pavilion (“hahn pwo”) (含鄱亭hán pó tíng)
“The deep natural depression called Hanpo Pass – though it is in fact a lower-level mountain range itself – has a series of stone steps carved into the face of one of its slopes, atop which stands Hanpo Pavilion. [See Fig. 2 below.] Hanpo Pavilion offers the best panoramic view of the entire area, given its central location, from whence one can also see Poyang Lake glimmering in the distance. Hanpo Pavilion is also THE venue to observe the rising sun as it clears the highest mountain peaks east of the pavilion and floods the lower mountain ranges, valleys and gorges below with bright light that catches reflective surfaces here and there, and casts deep shadows on the leeward side of trees, rocks, and even entire canyon walls. It is said to be a very tonic experience.”
https://www.chinatravel.com/jiujiang-attraction/mt.-lushan/
^ Fig. 2 (W15-180329)
I didn’t take this photo, but it’s an excellent view of Hánpó Pavilion and environs.
Photo from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g494935-d1855241-Reviews-Lushan_Waterfalls-Jiujiang_Jiangxi.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=30513093
^ Fig. 3 (W15-073939)
The entrance to Hánpó Pavilion.
^ Fig 4 (W15-6827)
Doris climbing 5,000,000 steps up to Hánpó Pavilion. 🙂
^ Fig. 5 (W15-6829)
Doris at the Hánpó Pavilion. The pavilion itself was interesting, but not particularly spectacular. However, the views from the pavilion definitely were.
^ Fig. 6 (W15-6830)
Figs. 6 to 7. This is how millions of Chinese people “get away from it all” in the summertime! They go to the mountains to enjoy the cooler temperature and, of course, spectacular mountain views.
^ Fig. 7 (W15-6841)
^ Fig. 8 (W15-6843)
Doris getting recommendations.
^ Fig. 9 (W15-6823)
Figs. 9 to 13. Some views of Hánpó Pass.
^ Fig. 10 (W15-6840)
^ Fig. 11 (W15-6846)
^ Fig. 12 (W15-6876)
The Hánpó Pass Ropeway (Cableway).
^ Fig. 13 (W15-6855)
My beautiful wife Doris (祥牡) in a cable car.
Dakou Waterfall
^ Fig. 14 (W15-180402)
Dàkǒu Waterfall. Site #4 in Fig. 1 above.
Photo from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%A4%A7%E5%8F%A3%E7%80%91%E5%B8%83_-_Dakou_Waterfall_-_2016.04_-_panoramio.jpg
^ Fig. 15 (W15-6908)
Dàkǒu Waterfall.
^ Fig. 16 (W15-6903)
As you can see in Figs. 6 and 7, there were Chinese and foreign tourists everywhere. When you take pictures with so many people around, you gotta be close, and you gotta be fast!
^ Fig. 17 (W15-6898)
The base of the waterfall.
^ Fig. 18 (W15-6915)
Donations for the Buddhist temple.
^ Fig. 19 (W15-6920)
You can safely (?) climb the face of a mountain!
^ Fig. 20 (W15-6921)
^ Fig. 21 (W15-6928)
There’s something to do for everyone.
^ Fig. 22 (W15-6949)
Eagle’s Beak.
Hánpó Ropeway (Return Trip)
^ Fig. 23 (W15-6951)
To wait for our next cable car to the beginning of the ropeway, we had to wait in a long line in a very crowded building. If there had been a fire or an earthquake, we would have been in deep trouble.
So, while we were crowded together, we made valuable use of our time. In China, many people — especially the kids — LOVE to have their picture taken with Lǎo Wài (“Old Outsider”). In China, lǎo (“old”) is used as a term of respect. So, you could also translate Lǎo Wài as “Honorable Foreigner” or “Honorable Visitor.”
Since I can speak a little Mandarin Chinese, I had so much fun having a simple conversation with this family. It went something like this:
“How old are you?”
“Five years old.”
“Wow! You’re so big. And how about you?”
“I’m seven.”
“It’s very nice to meet you guys. Thank you for the photos.”
“See you again!”
I think even my Chinese wife, Doris, was impressed with my ability to have a very simple conversation with this family. This was so much fun!
^ Fig. 24 (W15-6957)
Hánpó Ropeway on the return trip.
^ Fig. 25 (W15-124445)
Doris and I on the cable car.
Five Old Men Peaks
五老峰 wǔ lǎo fēng, also called Wǔlǎo Peaks.
^ Fig. 26 (W15-180406)
The Five Old Men Peaks are at about 1358 meters (4455 feet or about 0.8 mile) above sea level. The path going throughout the district is about 3124 meters (about 2 miles) long. However, most of that distance was ascending or descending. It felt like we were walking 33 km (22 miles)!
^ Fig. 27 (W15-6989)
Doris at the entrance to Five Old Men Peaks.
^ Fig. 28 (W15-7002)
We climbed . . .
^ Fig. 29 (W15-7004)
. . . and we climbed . . .
^ Fig. 30 (W15-7033)
. . . and we climbed some more till we reached the top of the First Old Man.
^ Fig. 31(W15-7018)
Figs. 7018 to 7038
On our way to the First Old Man, we encountered fog that the wind was blowing UP OVER the mountain!
^ Fig. 32 (W15-7024)
^ Fig. 33 (W15-7038)
^ Fig. 34 (W15- 7069)
I think this was the First Old Man. (I’m talking about the mountain peak, not the old man in the picture!)
^ Fig. 35 (W15-7075)
More fog and wind up to the Second Old Man.
^ Fig. 36 (W15-7091)
Doris and I at the Second Old Man Peak.
^ Fig. 37 (W15-7099)
If we wanted to go to see the Third Old Man, we would go straight ahead through the rock tunnel. By this time, though, we were so tired that we made a very quick left toward the entrance/exit of the Five Old Men Peaks.
Lúshān Botanical Garden
庐山植物园 (lú shān zhíwùyuán)
My wife and I both agreed that the entrance area to Lushan Botanical Garden was kind of nondescript and uninteresting. So we didn’t spend a lot of time here. That’s unfortunate because apparently, Lushan Botanical Garden is a well-renowned destination site in Lushan (Lu Mountain).
^ Fig. 38 (W15-7119)
The greenhouse in the entrance area of the Lushan Botanical Garden.
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^ Fig. 39 (W15-7127)
Doris at the Lushan Botanical Garden.
^ Fig. 40 (W15-7129)
One of the many monuments at Lushan Botanical Garden.
End of Day 6, Saturday, July 15, 2017. We walked about 14,013 steps today, about 6.26 miles or 10 Km.
z
Immortal Caverns (仙人洞)
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Resources
[a] https://www.bing.com/search?q=lushan+mountain&PC=U316&FORM=CHROMN
[b] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountain_peaks_of_Texas
[c] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lu
[d] http://www.chinese-tools.com/
Ropeway / Cable Car Technology
If you’re interested in ropeway / cable car technology, please click on the following links. This will be interesting for very few people, I know, but for me coming from a structural engineering background, it was very interesting for me.
https://newsroom.doppelmayr.com/en/doppelmayr/press/chinas-first-tricable-ropeway-doppelmayr-opens-gondola-lift-to-lushan/
http://gondolaproject.com/sponsors-corner/doppelmayr-sponsors-page/
http://www.advantageaustria.org/international/zentral/business-guide-oesterreich/importieren-aus-oesterreich/tourismus-knowhow_infrastruktur/CN_Doppelmayr.en.html
http://railsys.co.in/ropeway.php