7th of May, 2021

Since it seems like we will be stuck in Beijing for a few weeks and can’t travel outside the city without high risk of being quarantined, I went through pictures of previous trips and enjoyed some good old wanderlust. Here are some impressions from Guizhou, a province in southwest China which is not yet on many travelers bucket list, which we visited in May 2021.

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梵净山 || The sacred Fanjing mountain

During our road trip though the small Guizhou province, I have been monitoring the weather constantly, since visiting mount Fanjing make sense only on a clear day. It is the highest peak of the Wuling mountain, which has special significance in Buddhism and has been considered scared for centuries. Since 2018 its a UNESCO world heritage site, protecting the unique biosphere, with its primitive vegetation and several endangered species.

There are two rock pinnacles at the top of Mount Fanjing. On top of the New Golden Peak there are two Buddhist temples connected by a narrow bridge spanning the fissure between two parts of rock.

While Fanjing mountain is not incredibly difficult to ascent, it’s also not a walk in the park. After the ticket check you get shuttled by air-conditioned mini van to the cable car station. This takes around 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes are spent in the gondola with spectacular views. Then the tough part begins. You could hire two guys to carry you up on a sedan chair if you can accept the steep price based on your weight. This will only bring you to the plateau on top of Fanjing mountain though. You still have to climb the two peaks by yourself if you want to get the full panorama from the top and the ascent it quite steep. In some places you need to pull yourself up using iron chains, explaining the vendors selling gloves at the entrance. We also had a guy with acrophobia in our cable car and I’d say this is no location for people with fear of heights. I’d also recommend a basic fitness level as there are 30 minutes worth of stairs that you have to climb even before getting to the “extreme” section. All absolutely worth it if the weather plays along.