All posts tagged: outdoors

Around Town: To the Mountain

Published by Sula H.

It’s our favorite retreat: the mountain about 30 km from our town. It’s not really anything special, not even the place the majority of Chinese around us would choose for a hike – they prefer the neighboring highest peak in the area that has stairs leading all the way up to the top. But when it comes to hiking, we like the “non-stairy” business, the natural trails. While everyone in this area knows about the neighbor peak, hardly anyone knows about the gorge that leads just past said peak between the mountains. We just found this place early in spring last year, but it was our first time to go there since the beginning of winter. And with all the undergrowth gone, we found a lot of new trails that we’ll definitely explore in the future.

Places to Go: Great Wall – Huang Hua

Published by Sula H.

Probably the most spectacular tourist attraction in China is the Great Wall. While there are many places where the wall can be accessed – it stretches from east coast all the way to the Gobi Desert in the West, after all – the most popular point from which to approach it certainly is Beijing. The most popular place for tourists is Badaling, without question. But I would like to take you to Huang Hua today. Huang Hua is a well-preserved section, where the wall was kept rather genuine (“Wild Wall”), with only little work of restoration being done – just enough, so visitors can climb it without risk. About 60 km north of Beijing, the Great Wall at Huang Hua clings to a high hillside bordering a reservoir. It perfectly portrays the Ming defense period with high and wide ramparts. Only few tourists find their way to Huang Hua, especially compared to famous Badaling where souvenir shops, restaurants and amusement park rides draw crowds of visitors, and vendors offer their goods every couple of steps …

Places to Go: Yuntai Mountain

Published by Sula H.

Mighty mountain ranges, deep gorges, hidden valleys, countless springs, waterfalls and lakes – all this is Yuntai Mountain. Situated in the northern part of Henan Province right near Jiao Zuo, the spectacular scenery of this area draws people from near and far. Corel Peak, the highest point, rises about 1308 m above sea level, but it’s not only those who like to climb mountains who get their money’s worth. Since Yuntai Mountain was turned into a national park, the area has been greatly developed and is now conducive to lots of outdoor activities. The park offers countless opportunities for tourists, and visitors who like to spend more than one day exploring the scenery can stay in one of the various accommodations on site. Those planning on visiting Yuntai Mountain, should know about the two downsides involved, though: On the weekends and during the main season, the park is really crowded, requiring visitors to spend long hours waiting in line in some areas; Admission fees tend to be on the higher end of the scale (at …

"Plane Watching"

Around Town: To the Airport

Published by Sula H.

You know how people like to do bird watching? Well, we decided to do the same. Only a little more sophisticated. Ours is called “plane watching”! So, yesterday we grabbed our bikes and went for a ride … to the airport. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there, and first, the guys wanted to go explore the terminal. Most of them have never been on a plane, so just going to the terminal was already quite the excitement. But the real excitement came, when my friend E. and I could convince them to go to the end of the runway to watch the planes. That area is actually quite walled off, but right at the runway where the planes touch ground there is a small area with only a fence. We found that little spot (right in the “backyard” of some farmer’s land) and that’s where we settled in for “plane watching”. We were lucky to be there at “rush hour”, so the planes kept coming in. I let my friend E. play …

Saturday Feature: My Little “Prince”

Published by Sula H.

It’s time for the Saturday Feature again, and today I want to introduce to you another one of my little “friends”: my tennis racket. I got this little guy from a good friend of mine more than two years ago when I actually bought a Wilson tennis racket, only to discover that it was too heavy for me and ruined my arm. So, my friend and I switched rackets and ever since then I’ve been charmed by this little Prince! I’ve played with “him” many times, have shared with him the joys of a successful hit, as well as walked with him through the dark valleys of failure when I simply messed up my game! He knows what it means to feel beaten up and really can identify with the way I’m feeling when I’ve been having a bad day. He also helps me a lot in making new friends among the students who play tennis here at school. After all, he is a little prince charming. However, when school started again back in September, …

Around Town: Bike Repair

Published by Sula H.

So, every Thursday I go on a bike ride with a friend. Last week, when it was Thursday-Bike-Riding-Time I could feel something was wrong with the chain. (Actually, I had realized the problem for some time before that, but it was then that it really caught my attention.) Silly me didn’t think much of it – I assumed it had to do with shifting the gears and that the problem would simply dissipate, if I just shifted several times, until the chain was properly adjusted on the gears again. (Can you tell I don’t know much about bikes?) Well, you’re right because my logic didn’t work. Though nothing happened on Thursday, the following day when riding my bike to the tennis court, the chain came off as I was going uphill and shifting the gears. I fixed it after I got home (yes, I know how to put the chain back on, though I really hate getting my fingers dirty) – or at least I thought I’d fixed it. Saturday, riding my bike again, all …

Places to Go: Taishi Mountain

Published by Sula H.

A place well worth a visit is Dengfeng, a comparatively small city in the heart of China. Dengfeng is most famous for the widely renowned Shaolin Temple – the birth place of both Kong Fu and Zen Buddhism. Surrounded by impressive mountain ranges, Dengfeng is not only a place for those interested in culture, it also offers great opportunities for outdoor activities, especially hiking and mountain climbing. Probably the more well-known mountain in the area is Songshan (shan = mountain), which is accessible via the Shaolin Temple grounds. However, another mountain worth climbing is Taishi Mountain, with an altitude of about 1440 m one of the highest peaks in the area. Not far from the city center, it’s easy to access and takes you right into a beautiful landscape of bizarre rock formations and untouched nature. The only downside to hiking up Taishi Mountain: you have to be willing and able to climb lots of stairs. And – like many other scenic spots in China – accessing the mountain isn’t free, unless you can find …