The End and the Beginning

I can't say I'm fully done talking about China. There's too much to say. This blog really only scratches the surface of the highlights. The culture is too rich and too old. I do have to mention one last thing, though: Huangshan. 黄山 It means "Yellow Mountain", and it is one of the more famous mountains in China. After some considerable persuasion on the part of a few of my friends, Amy included, we decided to have one last big adventure before the semester ended. Having heard about this mountain from my roommate, my advisor, and even a stranger I met in Sichuan, I decided I had to go. When my roommate showed me pictures of the place, though, I was adamant that it wasn't true, that it was a photographer's handiwork, and that it was probably rare weather, she told me no. They were her photos and her experience. I was still skeptical.

Let me share with you so that you may never make my mistake. This mountain is not our average mountain. Anyone seen Avatar? It could have been filmed at Yellow Mountain. I'm not talking the blue people or the glowing insects. Yellow mountain isn't tropical, either. But they way the clouds come down and settle into the dips of the mountains is almost identical. The floating mountains wouldn't be a stretch for comparative purposes; it's just that Yellow Mountain is firmly planted to the ground.

Don't believe me? Take a look.







And that's just part of the mountain during the day. Here are a few more, including the same day, that night, and the next day. They're probably out of order, but I bet they're just as good lookin'











Such a beautiful day happened to proceed an even more breathtaking sunset. Although the next day had less than ideal weather, it still retained a kind of mystery and intrigue. One woman who we met on the way said she was a photographer at Yellow Mountain and a resident of a nearby town. She told us a saying in Chinese that loosely translates to "The scenes of Yellow Mountain change as quickly and as often as a woman's mood". Not that I approve of the saying, but it does carry a certain resonance. The mountain is always different and always new.

While this was the last big trip that we took, it wasn't the end. We had more dinners, conversations, and experiences afterward, but they won't appear here. It just so happens that as I type this I'm in Washington DC awaiting my plane to Paris. So, really, this is yet another beginning. Parisian cheese, wine, bread, and chocolate await me. Sure there will be other things...


...But more on that later.

See you in France!