Summary

Many of the best walks in the hills and mountains of China seem to have been turned into entirely man-made routes. Perhaps this is the legacy of the Great Wall! It also reflects the fact that many of the most popular mountains are regarded as sacred, with recognised routes of ascent linking temples and other religious monuments. You don’t need to use as many hiking skills, but the routes still demand lots of stamina!

This hike took us up one dramatic gorge to a temple, and down the next gorge, covering about 20 km (12 miles) on a path built entirely of concrete and stone! The concrete was fashioned to look like wood, and there were thousands of steps to climb, so it still made a pleasant and demanding walk through impressive scenery, and a good route to choose on a cloudy day.

• The most memorable aspect was walking right through the gorge scenery
• The best bit was getting to the temple
• The worst bit was trying to get a bus afterwards
• I hadn't expected to walk on a man-made path all day like this, but it was OK (and easier than you'd expect for a gorge walk)
• The funniest aspect was the imaginative language on the information boards
• I was surprised by the number of visitor facilties without any customers! 

Read the full story of the walk with lots of photos

Read the alternative stories from the notices along the route!

Read the story of the walk at nearby Qingcheng Shan >

< Return to China Background Page with list of walks

Contributed by:  Andrew Llanwarne