Neverending stairs, monastaries and a big motherfucking buddah

If you’re thinking about visiting famous tourist sites in China, remember to bring lots of cash and patience. It seems as though every place of interest, no matter how mundane, will charge you a hefty entrance fee. Sometimes you have to pay additional money in order to access a temple, park or other attraction within the site. You definitely can feel ripped off a lot of the time, especially when these ancient sites were “restored” (i.e. rebuilt from scratch) within the last few years and you’re sharing the experience with thick hordes of Chinese tourists.

We headed south from Chengdu towards Emei Shan, a gorgeous Buddhist mountain with undulating peaks that poke through the mist.It looks like the ancient Chinese landscape paintings on display in museums (for those of you less cultured, think “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). Our mission was to make the difficult pilgrimage to the summit. Like other Chinese tourist sights, the mountain is well served with bus lines to several starting points, trams to shortcut the hard parts and “trails”that are paved with handrails. In fact, you don’t have to hike at all – you can take a bus to the summit parking lot, then a cable car to the top. We started out first day on a positive note despite the rain, taking the vertical ascent gradually and exploring the monasteries along the way. However, the weather worsened and the temperature dropped as we continued climbing. By the time we arrived at the summit, we were soaked to the bone, starving and nearly hypothermic. Don’t follow our example kids – know the conditions and prepare adequately!

As if we hadn’t gotten enough of the tourist crush, we decided to head to Leshan to check out the Giant Buddah (Dafo). Carved into a hillside on the banks of the Dadu and Min rivers, Dafo is 71 meters high and the world’s tallest Buddah. I’m not sure which was more awe-inspiring – the buddah itself or the 5-hour line to walk down from the head to the feet. We just couldn’t deal with the wait and decided to hop on a river boat to get the full frontal view from the river. After this experience, we think we’re going to be more selective when visiting China’s tourist hotspots….at least, avoiding them at all costs on weekends.After spending the night at a summit hotel, we were ready to tackle the mountain to make our way down. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining and the sun even made an appearance on several occasions. Going downhill was much easier and we bounded down the mountain, dodging aggressive, teeth-baring monkeys and gawking at amazing views. Near the bottom, we hit a glut of tourists who only climb a few kilometers before hopping on a bus to the summit. It was here that Emei Shan distinguished itself as a true Chinese tourist destination. With gift shops, artificial waterfalls and monkeys baited to entertain tourists, it was more like a theme park than a wilderness trek. The premise of escaping civilization by getting out into unspoiled nature is not a sentiment shared by everyone.